Fall Starts the SAD Season For Many |
||
|
By |
||
|
|
||
|
Does your mood fall with the leaves? Do you dread the loss of light as we approach the winter months? If you get really depressed every year between later September and early April, this article may brighten your mood. When people report dread when fall approaches and say that winter really gets them down, they may not just feel sad, they may have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) . |
||
| Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD was defined in the early 1980’s by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, Chief of Environmental Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health. It affects about 11 million Americans, is four times more common in women than men, and is especially common in the northern regions where the daylight hours lesson more and more as winter progresses. According to Dr. Michael Terman, a prominent expert on SAD, more than half the people in the middle and extreme latitudes have some mood changes as the seasons change but these people usually have just a milder form of the winter blahs. Of these, about 6% actually experience a true clinical depression. In Alaska, about 10% of the population will suffer from winter depression. | ||
| SAD is characterized by recurrent episodes of depression each year during the fall and winter months in which the following symptoms occur: mild to moderately depressed mood, insomnia, daytime drowsiness and difficulty getting out of bed, fatigue (low energy level), decreased sex drive, poor concentration, irritability, crying spells, headaches, carbohydrate cravings, overeating of sweets, weight gain, social withdrawal, hopelessness and suicidal thoughts in more severe cases, and strong reactions to overcast days and decreased lighting. Different articles report different ages of onset—some say for women it is usually in their thirties, others say it starts in teenage or young adult years and most say, while less frequent, it can begin in childhood. | ||
| SAD is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus resulting from decreased levels of light, which enter our eyes. Light enters the eye and stimulates a nerve pathway called the retinohypothalamic tract which starts in the retina of the eye and ends at the hypothalamus; a part of the brain that controls mood, sleep, appetite, body temperature and sex drive. With decreased light entering the eye, there is less stimulation of this nerve pathway and a decreased amount of hormonal activity in the hypothalamus. Less light produces less seratonin, which is needed to feel good, have energy and to stay calm. Furthermore, light effects our brain’s production of Melatonin, a hormone associated with sleep. Less light exposure increases the production of Melatonin, which makes us sleepy, and more light decreases its production. | ||
| One would think that if light exposure to the eye affects mood, than all people in areas of diminished light (Michigan residents only get 50 full days of sunshine a year) would get this disorder. But the prevalence rates stated above suggest otherwise. This is because the threshold or level of light that elicits depression differs among individuals such that only a smaller percentage of people experiencing decreased light will actually meet the criteria for SAD. | ||
| The good news is that this disorder is very treatable with special high intensity light, talking therapy, and antidepressant medication. If you think you have SAD, you should first seek out help from a professional to make sure that you truly have a seasonal depression rather than another kind of depression or illness. If light therapy cannot be tolerated due to eye diseases or sensitivity, antidepressant medication that controls sleep, mood, and appetite by regulating the levels of seratonin in the brain can be used to successfully treat the symptoms of depression. | ||
| The light therapy needs to be intense with a minimum of 2500 lux up to 10,000 lux, which is at least 20 times higher than the average indoor lighting of 200-500 lux. Light therapy aimed at the eyes has proven effective in 85% of cases if used on the average of 1-2 hours per day in the morning. Bright lights should be avoided in the evening. The exact protocol of treatment depends upon the individual and needs to be determined by an expert in this area. Possible side effects of light therapy are eye strain, headache, and feeling wired. The intensity of light used in light therapy is not considered harmful to the retina on a short-term basis, but the effects of long-term exposure are not clear. It is a good idea to consult an ophthalmologist (a physician specializing in diseases of the eye) prior to starting light therapy. | ||
| To obtain treatment information and a current publication list you can write to: MedED Publications , PO Box 12415, Columbus, OH 43212. There is a national website at http://www.cet.org which offers up to date information. You can also write to the National Organization for Seasonal Affective Disorder (NOSAD) a t PO Box 40133, Washington, D.C. 20016. | ||
| Lighting companies that carry therapeutic devices are Medic-Light, Inc . in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey (1-800-668-2110), Apollo Brite Lite in Orem, Utah (1-800-545-9667), SunBox Company in Rockville, Maryland, and BioBrite, Inc . in Bethesda, MD. | ||
| Finally, some excellent books on this subject are: Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder—What it is and How to Overcome It by Norman Rosenthal; Seasons of the Mind by Norman Rosenthal; Winter Depression by Angela Smyth and The Light Book by Jane Wegscheider Hyman. | ||
| Hopefully, these explanations and suggestions have shed light on your problem and will help make SAD go away. Say goodbye to the winter woes and let the good times in again! | ||
|
This article was written by Dr. Laurel A. Sills, a Fully Licensed Clinical Psychologist (since 1987) and Life Coach. She provides direct, down-to-earth, short-term therapy with long-term results. She is passionate in her work and will help you stay motivated to change your life with regular commitment to changing habits in thinking and behaving. See her website at: www.DrLSills.com or www.BuildAStrongerYou.com |
||
|
Copyright 2006© Laurel A. Sills, Psy.D. All rights reserved Back to Articles |