What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder? Reasons, Signs, Management

Seasonal Affective Disorder a girl has keep a light in front of her

What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder, which affects people who have normal mental health, it mostly occurs in the winter season.

It is a common disorder, In today’s time, it comes in every individual. In India, more than 10 million people experience similar or the same symptoms.

SAD is mostly controlled by the weather.

In most cases, SAD symptoms may start appearing in early winter and go away during the spring and summer, this is also known as winter depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder a girl has keep a light in front of her

What is the reason for SAD?

There is no specific reason for SAD, but some scientists think, certain hormones in our body can trigger mood-related hormones at a certain period of time.

SAD usually starts at a young age and is more visible in women than in men.

A possible reason for this. include:

  • Lack of sun: In the winter season, lack of sun exposion, are one of the main reason for this, less light, leads to making less serotinin, which is a mood controler.
  • Hormones: lack of serotonin and serotonin polymorphisms could play a role in SAD (1).
  • Dim light: A melatonin, which is produced in dim light and darkness by pineal gland, can be relates to SAD (2).
  • Vitamin D deficiency: Some studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency, can affect serotonin and mood levels, but other studies did not show a link to this.

Both serotonin and melatonin hormone help maintain the body’s daily rhythm that is connected to the seasonal night-day cycle (3).

The study of women with SAD suggests that this reaction may also somehow regulate reproduction (4).

Due to lack of sun, people in North, and South countries such as Alaska where the sun exposure is very less, those countries had more SAD ratio.

NOTE: In Alaska, it has been seen that there is a SAD rate of 8.9% and an even greater rate of 24.9% for subsyndromal SAD.

Why It mostly occurs in the winter season?

The sun plays a vital role in this, due to which it is visible more in the winter season, but how sun?

NOTE: Lack of sun exposure in winter, the internal clock (that controls sleep, wakeup, eating, etc) of our body gets disturbed.

This clock gets disturbed because there is a drop decrease in a chemical called serotonin in our brain. And these chemicals control our mood.

Symptoms and signs

Its symptoms are more seen in the winter season, but in other cases, it may also occur in the summer season, as the sunset sets in, it starts to rise.

Here is a common sign of SAD are:

  • Lack of energy
  • Feel fatigue
  • Difficulty in focus
  • More sleep
  • Depression, and anxiety
  • There will be more hunger
  • Weigth will increase
  • Feel to live alone

If your symptoms are getting worse that is hindering your relationship with work, so talk to your doctor, they can refer you to a psychiatrist.

Winter season signs such as:

  • Oversleeping
  • Weight gain
  • Over eating
  • Feel low energy or tiredness
  • Social withdrawal

People who have summer SAD may experience:

  • Difficulty in sleeping
  • Poor appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Anxiety, which seen in both seasons
  • Irritability
  • Feel restlessness

However, not everyone with SAD will experience all of the symptoms listed above. Talk to the mental health doctor, they will really help you.

Who At Higher Chance to Getting It?

It can affect every person around the world, especially adults, but some take it lightly, which is a good option to manage it.

But some countries or condition peoples, who are more chances of getting SAD such as:

  • Women are more chance too getting SAD, than men
  • Mental disorder persons, such as depression, anxiety, etc increase the risk of it.
  • Sometimes runs by families.
  • Living farther north, where there are shorter daylight hours in the winter like Alaska, New England, etc

NOTE: Sometimes, living in a cloudy place can also see anxiety, suffocating symptoms. and asthma people are more prone to this.

How Doctor Diagnose It?

If you see the above-listed types of symptoms, then talk to your doctor, then the doctor can ask about some questions, such as:

  • Your symptoms
  • When it comes to night or day
  • Is there any season that triggers it
  • How do you feel when it comes

Based on some more such types of questions, the doctor may refer you to the mental health doctor (psychiatrist).

NOTE: sometimes it also becomes difficult for a doctor to diagnose SAD because this disorder can cause similar symptoms to some other mental issues.

So the health care support can apply some tests to diagnose it. such as:

Physical exam: In this, the doctor asks you about deep questioning about your deep symptoms, family history, trigger things, any medical condition, etc.

Blood test: Sometimes, blood tests are also done, with thyroid tests, to ensure, that there is no problem because of any medical condition.

However, blood tests can’t diagnose the seasonally affected disorders,

Interact with things: If the doctor has any doubts about SAD after asking so many questions, they can confirm SAD by bringing you into that environment and seeing your symptoms.

How Is SAD Treated?

Treatment depends on how severe your symptoms are, such as if depression is more and not, treatment may include:

Light therapy

Low sunlight is one of the main reasons for this. therefore, using light therapy such as lightbox or visior the brain is tricked into natural light.

Due to this, there is a significant reduction in the symptoms, which is given to do 30 to 40 minutes daily in front of her/his eyes with 30-40 cm distance.

A study published in May 2010 suggests that the blue light often used for SAD treatment should perhaps be replaced by green or white illumination.

Some studies have shown that light therapy can be useful, but some studies suggest that it was more convenient for up to 69% of patients (5).

You may have experienced some side effects such as – Eyestrain, headache, insomnia, fatigue, etc.

Medication

Antidepressant medicines such as fluoxetine, sertraline, Bupropion XL (approved by FDA) have proven effective in treating SAD (6).

According to the 2006 Can-SAD study on direct head-to-head trials conducted both fluoxetine and light therapy are 67% effective in treating SAD.

Medications also have some side effects. Therefore, talk to your doctor about the possible risk of using these medications.

Lack of vitamin D can play a role in increasing symptoms, so make getting enough vitamin D – from the sun, supplements, and foods.

It may help treat the symptoms of SAD, by lifting mood and regulating sleep schedule for sufferers (7)

Talk therapy

Talk therapy is a type of Cognitive behavioral therapy, which aims is to help people how to manage or to fight difficult situations.

Research has shown that CBT produces the longest-lasting effects of any treatment approach. and some symptoms are seen to get better.

Other Treatments

Negative air releasing: It involves releasing charged particles into the sleep environment and has been found effective with a 47.9% improvement.

If the negative ions are insufficient quantity (8) (9) (10).

Adoption of some healthy lifestyles has also seen a decline in the symptoms. these include:

Exercises can decrease the level of stress, and anxiety which triggers other mental issues and can alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem, etc

Prevention

There is no specific way to prevent developing seasonal affective disorder.

NOTE: However, there are some ways by which you can be comfortable in this situation as well. which include:

Walking outside, are really helps in this, In this way, the mind is busy looking at the environment surrounding without thinking of SAD symptoms.

Practice meditation, and yoga, which will be very helpful in controlling the mind under your control. and next time it happens, you can still control it.

Do whatever you like dancing, attending parties, going out for a night with family, friends, which suppresses the symptoms to a great extent.

Keep your body warm, especially at night, which will help in reducing tension, which I have experienced as well.

Medication: In most cases, medication helps a lot to reduce its symptoms, so talk to your doctor about this disorder.

When To call My Doctor?

Whenever you feel discomfort and any other conditions, talk to your doctor, because sometimes talking to your doctor also gives a lot of relief.

In this situation, you can call your doctor are:

  • Feeling very sad, suicide thoughts, in this case talk to your family or loves ones, really helpful
  • Nervousness
  • Feeling it every year
  • Any type of discomfort call to your family doctor

BOTTOM LINE

Due to lack of sun, people in North, and South countries such as Alaska where the sun exposure is very less, those countries had more SAD ratio.

There are many treatments such as light therapy, medication, talk therapy, bringing a healthy lifestyle in life.

Using light therapy such as lightbox or visior the brain is tricked into natural light.

Healthytalk8

Hello, I'm Sahil bisht, I am a Mechanical engineer, As well as, aspiring blogger with an obsession for health. This blog delicate to people who want to learn in health.

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