Have you experienced winter blues? To be clearer, do you feel low on energy levels or depressed during seasonal changes? Chances are that you might be experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
While not all mood swings can be attributed to SAD, this is a very real thing that quite many go through when there is a season shift.
What is SAD?
As per Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year.
Such mood swings can turn serious and affect the thinking capability and behavioural patterns of a person. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, SAD symptoms start in the late fall or early winter and go away during the spring and summer, known as winter-pattern SAD or winter depression. Other people experience depressive symptoms during the spring and summer months, known as summer-pattern SAD or summer depression. Although summer-pattern SAD is less common.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of SAD may include feeling restless or sad, loss of interest in activities, feeling sluggish, oversleeping, cravings for carbohydrates that lead to weight gain, difficulty in concentrating, etc.
This type of depression, which is categorised by a recurrent seasonal pattern, has symptoms lasting about 4-5 months out of the year. While the reason that causes SAD is still being determined, it has been observed that women are often more affected than men.
How can it be treated?
SAD can be treated in four ways:
-Light therapy
-Psychotherapy
-Antidepressant medication
-Vitamin D
While light therapy and vitamin D are treatments that are prescribed for winter-pattern SAD, psychotherapy and antidepressant medication are used to treat depression in general, including winter- and summer-pattern SAD.
For more information, consult a mental health expert.
