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The Winter Blues
If you get a case of the winter blues this time of
year, you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective
Disorder
WebMD
Feature |
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD)
If you are depressed during the
shorter days of winter but feel happier and more
energetic in spring and summer, you may have
seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of
depression that affects you at the same time each
year, usually in the fall or winter. But as the days
lengthen in spring and summer, the depression lifts.
What causes SAD?
Shorter days of winter and lack of
light are considered one cause of seasonal
depression, especially for people who move to
extreme northern climates, where winter days are
very short or seasonal differences in the amount of
daylight are extreme. However, researchers are
studying other possible causes, including
disturbances in the body's natural biological clock
(circadian rhythms) or problems with the regulation
of a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called
serotonin.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of SAD include irritability,
sadness, anxiety, increased appetite and a craving
for carbohydrates, weight gain, decreased activity
and a need for more sleep, drowsiness during the
daytime, and problems with work and relationships.
Symptoms begin and end around the
same time each year for each person, usually
starting in September or October and ending in April
or May.
How is SAD diagnosed?
A doctor will base his or her
diagnosis of SAD on whether you have been depressed
in the winter and recovered in the spring or summer
for at least 2 years in a row. These dramatic mood
swings in response to changes in seasons are what
differentiate SAD from non-seasonal depression.
Although many of the symptoms for
depression and SAD are the same, your doctor will
look for increased appetite (especially cravings for
carbohydrates), weight gain, and excessive sleeping
as symptoms that help diagnose whether you have
seasonal depression. Your doctor may also ask if a
close relative—a parent or sibling—had seasonal
depression.
How is it treated?
Treatment for SAD includes light
therapy, in which you sit at a certain distance from
artificial bright lights, usually in the morning.
Another form of light therapy called dawn simulation
is also used. With dawn simulation, lights in your
bedroom are programmed to come on gradually a few
hours before you wake up in the morning.
Your doctor may also prescribe
antidepressant medications, such as fluoxetine (for
example, Prozac). Fluoxetine is a selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that can improve
the balance of certain brain chemicals that regulate
mood.
Who is affected by SAD?
You are more likely to develop
seasonal affective disorder if you are a female
between the ages of 15 and 55. Between 60% and 90%
of people with SAD are women, and those who have a
relative with SAD are more likely to develop it.
Older teens and young adults are also at risk for
SAD. People living farther away from the equator
develop SAD more often, but you can develop it no
matter where you live.
The risk of developing SAD for the first time
decreases as you age.
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Seasonal Affective
Disorder (SAD)
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