Dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder
Do you ever feel exceptionally listless in the dreary months of January and February? If your motivation and even your regular sleeping patterns seem to get flushed down the drain in the winter months, you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has been increasingly studied since the mid 1980s, though the diagnosis and treatment of this mood disorder are still somewhat controversial.
What Is SAD?
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a variant of clinical depression. During the winter months, particularly January and February, people with SAD (the majority of whom are women and children) experience a low-grade depression. This can include symptoms as severe as extreme mood swings, apathy and hopelessness, decreased libido, and general fatigue. However, in some sufferers, the symptoms are somewhat minor, such as changes in appetite, different responses to stress, and disrupted sleep patterns, as well as increased irritability.
Because some of these symptoms are difficult to quantify and can be caused by a variety of factors, a diagnosis of SAD is still controversial. However, the distinguishing factor of SAD is that these symptoms only emerge during the winter months, and diminish either quickly or gradually throughout the spring months and sometimes into early summer. If a person regularly experiences depressive episodes in the winter but never experiences them in, say, July, then a diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder may be likely.
SAD Treatment
The most common treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder is light therapy. This is because the leading theory regarding the cause of SAD has to do with melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone the body naturally produces. This hormone has been linked to depression and is also tied to sleeping patterns and circadian rhythms (the body’s internal clock). What SAD researchers discovered is that the body produces more melatonin in the dark than during daylight hours. This suggests that the shorter days and longer nights of winter cause a fluctuation in the amount of melatonin in the body, triggering depressive episodes and symptoms. Once the days start to get longer in springtime, melatonin levels return to a normal level, causing the disorder to subside.
So, with light therapy, patients are exposed to artificial sunlight for extra hours each day via a high intensity light box. This treatment has been effective for many SAD patients (roughly 85 percent), but some researchers view this as only a placebo affect. Beyond the high success rate, the good news about this treatment is that it can work in just a few days, provided the light box is used on a daily basis for a few hours each day. Typically, prescription medications are not recommended for those with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
What Does This All Mean?
So, if you’ve been feeling “off” lately and the constantly gray days of winter are leaving you without motivation and slightly bummed, don’t assume that the condition will be permanent. It may simply be your body’s entirely natural reaction to the change of seasons. Also, take comfort in the fact that SAD is treatable and temporary. However, if you think you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder and it’s having a negative effect on your life, performance, and the people you love, it may be time to see a doctor and get the problem solved.
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