Seasonal Depression

Seasonal depression is also known as “Seasonal Affective Disorder” (SAD).  Seasonal depression is a depression that occurs each year, around the same time.  It will usually start in the winter and end in the spring or early summer.  Between four and six percent of people in the United States suffer from seasonal depression.  About seventy-five percent of people who suffer from seasonal depression are women.

There is also another rare form of seasonal depression that is called “summer depression” and starts in the late spring or early summer.  This type of depression ends in the fall.

Symptoms of seasonal depression include many of the common signs of depression such as a lasting sad mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, thoughts of suicide, etc.., seasonal depression can also bring:

an increased need for sleep

weight gain

increased appetite

increased desire to be alone

Symptoms of summer depression might bring:

weight loss

problems sleeping

decreased appetite

Seasonal depression doesn’t have an exact cause, but it is thought that changes in the availability of sunlight could be a trigger.  One train of thought says that decreased exposure to sunlight interferes with the body’s biological clock that helps to regulate moods, sleep patterns and hormones.  One more theory says that chemicals in the brain may be altered in people with seasonal depression.

Seasonal depression can be treated with light therapy and medication.  Spending more time outdoors has been also known to help, with special attention being paid to spending more time in the sunlight.

Light therapy  (also called photo therapy) is done with a machine that uses white fluorescent bulbs covered with a screen to block the ultraviolet rays.  A person will sit in front of the light to get the effects of the extra light.

.