Causes Of Seasonal Affective Disorder

North Dakota is far from the equator, creating long cold winters. Besides making people cold, the decreasing temperatures also have a significant effect on mental illness. Seasonal affective disorder, also known as (SAD) is a psychological condition identified in the 1980s. Seasonal affective disorder effects 4-6 percent of people in the united states. (SAD) affects women 4 times as much as men.

When the dark days of winter approach, people are slowed down and have difficulty waking up in the morning They are tempted to snack on holiday foods and find that the pounds will creep up on them, even as they valiantly try to diet. People can often find it difficult to focus at work or in a relationships, feel down in the dumps, or maybe even depressed. If a person says yes to any one of these criteria, than they may be experiencing a disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D), or also known as the winter blues. A current study shows that the population that lives in the Northern America and European. In its very basic form, S.A.D effects 6% of all Americans suffer from this distress, Seasonality can also lead to distress, both in an individual's work and one's personal life. Over ten million Americans have suffered, or are suffering from S.A.D, and while the percentage may not seem like a large number, but it translates into over a million Americans. Though Some people may not be affected by S.A.D enough to seek medical attention, they still feel less cheerful, less energetic creative and productive during the dark winter days. The effects of the seasons on humans have been well known through the centuries to artists, poets, and songwriter. For example, Shakespeare observed that a, "sad tale's best for winter", while Keats wrote nightingale singing of summer "in full throated ease", and the singer of a modern day ballad calls his beloved the

Alaskans experiences on average about five hours of sunlight during the winter months, sometimes living in Alaska during the winter can take its toll on a person. The year 1984 was when Seasonal Affective Disorder first became known in a research paper at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Seasonal Affective Disorder mainly affects people in the winter season, but can also affect people during the summer seasons. Seasonal Affective Disorder is best understood as a form of depression that affects people in the winter and, less commonly, in the summer. This paper will help provide a better understanding of S.A.D. and how it affects people living in Arctic climates.

However, these winter blues can change their daily lives for the worse. The medical field calls this Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short. According to the Mayo Clinic Staff, SAD usually begins and ends the same time every year. Most commonly, it is during the late Fall and Winter months, but can also be seen in Spring and Summer. While almost anyone could be affected by this, it is most common in women, those who lose significant sunlight during winter, and those aged 15-55 (¨Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)- Topic¨). Seasonal Depression has a magnitude of symptoms and they can change due to which season is causing the problem. Overall, there has been reported problems of insomnia, low energy, irritability, and appetite changes (¨Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal depression occurs only at a certain time of the year, usually winter, because the number of daylight hours is lower. Another form of depression is psychotic depression, which is when depression and hallucinations are experienced at the same time. They all have different symptoms and should be approached differently to receive the correct treatment.

There are generally nine recognized subsets of depression: Major depression results in extreme sadness, hopelessness, lack of energy, irritability, trouble concentrating, changes in sleep or eating habits, feelings of guilt, physical pain, and suicidal thoughts. Dysthymia depression is just an overall low-feeling mood over a long period of time. People can function with Dysthymia depression but it is difficult and in no way ideal. Some symptoms include sadness, trouble concentrating, fatigue, and changes in sleep habits, and appetite. Postpartum depression is characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, fatigue, loneliness, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and feelings of disconnect from a child after a woman gives birth. This is usually found

Having dealt with this myself, I know that it can majorly deteriorate the mental health of the sufferer. It starts out as feeling slightly fatigued and wanting to sleep more, and increases at a rapid rate to sometimes severe side effects, like suicidal thoughts or actions. Other symptoms and signs to look for are a weight gain, loss of interest, tiredness, difficulty concentrating and staying on task, and thoughts of hopelessness and worry (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017). While not all of these symptoms are applicable to all sufferers, many people face these obstacles through the entirety of winter. In the cases of SAD in the summer, symptoms are generally the opposite. Things to pay attention to in the summer are troubles sleeping, weight loss, anxiety and restlessness (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017). Though these two types of Seasonal Affective Disorder are fairly contradictory symptome wise, they both affect many people ver

However, women’s depressive tendencies may be a clue that SAD is not actually a Bipolar variation. Because unipolar depression is more common in women, this would highlight the fact that there are many cases in which women who develop SAD only experience the depressive side, and this does not follow the prescribed symptom pattern of Bipolar Disorder. Without consistent manic symptoms appearing in the majority of SAD cases, this condition would not fit into the categorization of the Bipolar family. David J. Muzina M.D is a psychiatrist and a professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. From his own experience working with SAD, BD, and BDSP patients, he states, “What happens historically is that we ask patients and we ask family members if they’ve also seen signs or symptoms of a manic or hypomanic episode, thereby qualifying bipolar mood disorder. If we don’t find that past history, then that person who has the seasonal winter response only has a depressive disorder.” This presence or absence of this manic phase determines the difference between SAD and Bipolar Disorder with Seasonal Variation (Hook).

The condition SAD is a type of winter depression and may be linked to the reduced

In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (APA, 2000) the symptoms of depression are: loss of interest or enjoyment in activities; changing in weight and appetite; changes to sleep pattern; loss of energy; feeling worthless or guilty; suicidal thoughts; poor concentration and being either agitated or slowed up.

Dysthymic Disorder causes you to have a low mood for as long as a year, sometimes even longer. What this means is that you will feel sad a lot of the time. The symptoms you would experience would be sadness, feeling tired very often, changes in eating habits, and changes in sleeping habits. About 2% of the American population has this type of depression. The best treatment would be therapy as opposed to medication, although combining the two might result in a faster improvement.

Seasonal depression, often called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), is a depression that occurs each year at the same time, usually starting in fall, worsening in winter, and ending in spring. It is more than just "the winter blues" or "cabin fever." A rare form of SAD, known as "summer depression," begins in late spring or early summer and ends in fall.

other parts of the world have reported signs of depression by being sad for different reasons. Depression is a normal occurrence that follows the death of a loved one, challenges of life struggles, problems in social life and the feeling of low self-worth.

The sunlight disrupt the body and lead to feeling depressed. A drop of serotonin a brain chemical That affects the mood which is called neurotransmitter. About 6 to 4 percent of people will have winter depression. And 20 percent would have sad. Children can get SAD, but it usually doesn’t start until the age of 20 years of age. SAD occurs once a year, and light therapy box can be offered for relief.

Too many rainy days and not enough sun can lead to depression, stress, and anxiety. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) causes people to go into a type of depression that has to do with the weather of different seasons. SAD is more common during the winter months because of the short days and cold weather. The symptoms of SAD are fatigue, depression, anxiety, loneliness,