Overview of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Now that the time has changed and there is less daylight, you may notice you’re feeling blue. The great majority of people experience some seasonal changes in feelings and behavior such as energy, sleep, eating patterns, and mood. At the very end of the spectrum are people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)—severe symptoms that produce significant problems in their lives.

Those short days and long nights may trigger feelings of not only depression and fatigue, but also lethargy and other health problems. While you may be tempted to ignore these feelings, there are times, if they are severe enough to disrupt your daily activities, that you really shouldn’t.

You may be one of the 10 million Americans who suffer with seasonal affective disorder – appropriately known by its initials SAD. It’s a type of depression and if left untreated can seriously disrupt your daily life. However, there are simple remedies that can lessen the symptoms.

Technically, SAD is actually a subtype of a major depressive episode. The classic symptoms of depression include a decreased appetite, problems sleeping, a poor appetite and a corresponding loss in weight. Recognized in the DSM-IV, The American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual, SAD affects more women than men.

About 70 to 80 percent of those affected with seasonal affected disorder are women. Most people first develop this depression when they’re in their 30s, but some children have also been found to be affected by this disorder.

Some health experts estimate that for every person who is actually diagnosed with a “full blown” case of SAD, there are many more people who have a milder case of SAD whose symptoms have not been diagnosed. As you might expect, the incidence of SAD increases the farther north one travels. But, this trend doesn’t continue all the way up to the North Pole.

Unlike many disorders, this one may indeed be geographical in nature. But there is no clear cut geographical lines, it seems. It all depends on the reactions of the individuals. There have been instances of people who feel fine while they live in Maryland. When they move to say a more northern city, like Toronto, Canada, they develop SAD. And the opposite is true as well. A person who lives in Baltimore, Maryland may be diagnosed with SAD, but when she moves farther south to Miami her symptoms disappear naturally.

Reference: Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder

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