Draft 2.1 Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is defined as “a cyclic illness characterized by

Information about age of onset and duration of SAD, subtypes of SAD, psychiatric comorbidity and medication use were also obtained. The patients were assessed with an extensive questionnaire battery using observer-rated assessments and self report questionnaires at baseline, post-treatment and at 3 and 12-month follow-ups.

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.

A major depressive episode is not a disorder in itself, but rather more of a description or symptoms of part of a disorder most often depressive disorder or bipolar. A person suffering from a major depressive episode must have a depressed mood or a loss of interest in daily activities consistently for a minimum of a two-week time span (Psych Central, 2013). In diagnosing the mood must reflect a change from the person’s normal mood. A person’s daily activities and functions, such as work, social routines and friends, education, family, and relationships must also have been negatively impacted by the change in their mood. A major depressive episode is also identified by presence of five or more of the following symptoms. The patient can show signs of significant weight loss or weight gain even not dieting or trying to lose or gain weight. The patient will also display a change in appetite almost everyday, either with an increase or a decrease in their normal eating habits. The weight change is typically set at an increase or decrease in weight of more than 5% per month. The patient will display a depressed mood almost the entire day and this sadness, emptiness, loneliness, crying, and distant is observed by others or indicted by the patient, is typically

There are several types of depression some of them are but may not be limited to: Major Depression one is said to experience this most days of the week. Bipolar Disorder, these individuals experience mood episodes that can result in high energy to low depressive periods. Seasonal Affective Disorder is said to affect one mostly during the winter months when one is unable to obtain as much sunlight due to the days growing shorter. Postpartum Depression is a major depression that may affect some women in the weeks and months after birthing a child. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder may affect some women at the start of their menstrual cycles each month. 'Situational' Depression may affect an individual when they are having trouble managing a stressful event in their life, such as a death in the family, a divorce, or losing a job. People with psychotic depression have the symptoms of major depression along with "psychotic" symptoms. For some one having atypical depression, a positive event can temporarily improve your mood (WebMD, 2014). This disease is devastating for both the individual it affects as well as his/her environment.

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.

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

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

There really have only been studies conducted on people with possible SAD since 1984 when a man named Norman E. Rosenthal actually defined the psychological disorder (Lam). Since Rosenthal defined SAD as a syndrome characterized by recurrent depressions that occur annually at the same time each year characterized by hypersomnia, overeating, and carbohydrate craving (Newsome), there have been several studies conducted and published on people with possible SAD. Many of the studies that have been published for the general public focus mainly on the different forms of treatment for SAD, such as light therapy and different forms of Phototherapy, rather than focusing on the cause. Discovering the main causes of SAD would help to clearly identify who is actually in need of treatment related to light therapy compared to anti depressants. In my situation I had symptoms that were both characteristic of what identified SAD patients and patients suffering from mild forms of depression. When symptoms of one disorder are so closely related to symptoms of

An episode may psychotic delusions, or hallucinations. Mr. Z had mentioned before that his skin was falling and that his bowels were shutting down even though it was not true. Major depressive disorder is a severe pattern of depression that is disabling (not caused by drugs/medication condition). “This disorder can be categorized as seasonal if it changes with the seasons.” (pg.220) According to Mr. Z’s wife, his depressions have always occurred during the fall and winter.

For many people being diagnosed with a new disease could come as a shock because it is going to be a life changing event. One of the biggest life changing diseases is Age-Related Macular Degeneration. For those people who do not know what Age-Related Macular Degeneration is it is a disease that attacks the macula part of the eye, which affects vision. AMD is found in a majority of older people over the age of 50. For the people that are diagnosed with Age-Related Macular Degeneration their lives are going to be turned upside down. Newly diagnosed patients often suffer from depression after the diagnoses. In my research I found a journal that was written with some statistics of people with AMD that have depressive symptoms against “controls”.

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

Some of them are understandable considering what causes it. Of course, sadness is one of them. Anxiety and loss of interest are other symptoms (Mayo Clinic, 2016). During holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any days that are family and friend oriented, loneliness is present. Loneliness can be felt in a person no matter if they have someone or people in their lives that they love or not. This type of social isolation could possibly lead to depression. As mentioned earlier, Seasonal Affective Disorder can mess with your biological clock; so, insomnia or excessive sleeping can occur with this disorder. You could experience, fatigue, changes in appetite, and become irritated easily (Mayo Clinic,

A normal functioning circadian process is greatly influenced by light from the environment, since it’s detected by cells from the ganglion cell layer of the retina. A photopigment in these cells – melanopsin- depolarises when it’s exposed to light. Then, an action potential is generated and goes through the axons in the retinohypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the anterior hypothalamus. As soon as the SCN is activated, action potentials are sent to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, where the synapsis takes place and from where preganglionic sympathetic neurons descend to the spinal cord. Later preganglionic sympathetic neurons interact with postganglionic sympathetic neurons in the superior cervical ganglia. Postganglionic sympathetic axons then project to the pineal gland, which is responsible for segregating melatonin, an hormone that induces sleep. Therefore, when the individual is exposed to little or no light, the pineal gland segregates more melatonin (maximum levels of melatonin are reached between 2 am. and 4 am.). On the other hand if the environment is still very bright, melatonin production will be repressed.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) takes place during the winter weather, this is due to the lessening of the sunlight during those months. The symptoms include lack of energy, eating more than you would usually, sleeping more and gaining weight. People are diagnosed after they have had these symptoms present during the winter for more than 2 years. This type of disorder can be treated with artificial light treatment. During light therapy, you sit or work near a device called a light therapy box. The box gives off bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.

Major Depressive Disorder is marked by sadness and any four of the following seven criteria: weight loss or weight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, motor slowing or agitation, fatigue, worthlessness or guilt, impaired concentration, and thoughts of suicide or suicide attempt. Those with Major Depressive Disorder have never had mania or hypomania and may also have anxiety symptoms. When the Major Depressive Disorder is combined with melancholic features, then the person has a “loss of pleasure in all, or almost all, activities [and has a] lack of reactivity to usually pleasurable stimuli (does not feel better, even temporarily, when something good happens” (American Psychiatric Association, p. 185). Observations made by others, such as being tearful, is also a criterion of this disorder (American