seasonal affective disorder: what to know about sad
according to camh, adults are at higher risk of sad than children, and yet the risk of sad significantly declines after 50.
2 minute read
some people may be able to change their routine so as to get more sunlight in their day in place of light therapy, but the nature of the winter season makes that difficult.
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the changing of the seasons brings with it many stark contrasts warmth and cold, green and grey, long summer days and short winter ones, and for some people, their mood is another consequence of the seasons.
seasonal affective disorder, or sad, is a subset of depression unique in that it has a beginning and an end. while a small number of people get sad in the heat of the summer, for the overwhelming majority, it occurs in the fall and resolves spontaneously in the spring.
seasonal affective disorder related to light, not temperature
“we do know this is mostly related to light as opposed to temperature,” said dr. robert levitan, senior scientist in the campbell family mental health research institute at the centre for addiction and mental health (camh) in toronto. “a lot of us look at it as related to hibernation or some sort of evolutionary strategy that in theory was protective to our ancestors but in modern times becomes a nuisance.”
sad is also thought to be hereditary, as 13 to 17 per cent of those with the condition have an immediate family member who suffers from it as well. about 3 to 5 per cent of canadians have a serious clinical form of sad. about 15 per cent live with what levitan calls sub-syndromal sad, a milder form with similar symptoms. then there is an even smaller demographic with what is informally called the winter blues, which doesn’t have a significant enough impact on your day-to-day functioning.
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seasonal affective disorder symptoms and treatments
some of the symptoms include those associated with unipolar depression as well as a craving for carbohydrates, to the point that levitan sometimes has seen the weight gain be a bigger problem than the mood. levitan stresses not to self-diagnose before beginning treatment. once you have a doctor’s diagnosis, medication and therapy can be used to alleviate sad.
“the main treatment is light therapy and the key there is to make sure that people are using the proper protocol,” said levitan. “the key thing we always stress is that it has to be ultraviolet filtered because ultraviolet light is dangerous to the eye.”
some people may be able to change their routine so as to get more sunlight in their day in place of light therapy, but the nature of the winter season makes that difficult.
seasonal affective disorder is perennial
the biggest difference between sad and unipolar depression is the total recovery in the former, at least for a time. when spring begins, patients are 100 per cent themselves again, says levitan.
“that’s one of the downsides of sad. if you treat it in one year that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not going to come another year,” said levitan. “you do have to manage it year after year.”
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according to camh, adults are at higher risk of sad than children, and yet the risk of sad significantly declines after 50, with researchers unsure why. women are also up to nine times more likely than men to experience sad. as well, the more north of the equator you live, the greater your risk of developing sad.
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