Could the Seasons Affect Your Mood?

YOUR MOODS AND THE SEASONS

There is a good chance you know about Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. However, I have highlighted symptoms, causes, and treatment from Mayo Clinic.

CAUSES:

The change in seasons can influence your body’s melatonin and serotonin — natural substances that play a role in sleep timing and mood. When combined, these factors may lead to SAD. It is a type of depression that primarily affects people during the fall and winter months but also can occur in the spring and summer, although this is less common.

SYMPTOMS:

Specific symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder can include:

Depression: misery, guilt, loss of self-esteem, hopelessness, diminished interest in activities, despair, and apathy.
Anxiety: tension and inability to tolerate stress.
Mood changes: extremes of mood and, in some, periods of mania in spring and summer.
Sleep problems: desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake or, sometimes, disturbed sleep and early morning waking.
Lethargy: feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routine.
Overeating: craving for starchy and sweet foods resulting in weight gain.

A diagnosis of seasonal depression may be made after two consecutive occurrences of depression that occur and end at the same time every year, with the symptoms subsiding the rest of the year.

PREVALENCE:

In a given year, about 5 percent of the U.S. population experiences seasonal depression.
Four out of five people who have seasonal depression are women.
The main age of onset of seasonal depression is between 20 and 30 years of age, however symptoms can appear earlier.
Typically, the further one is from the equator, the more at risk you are for seasonal depression.

TREATMENT:

Light box therapy is particularly useful. Light boxes mimic outdoor light by emitting a broad-spectrum ultraviolet light. The most common prescription is 30 minutes of light box use at the beginning of every morning, with the box 12 to 24 inches away.
Many people use light boxes while getting ready for the day, reading the paper or having breakfast. Again, starting light box therapy in early autumn may help prevent SAD from developing during the winter months.

Medication also may be part of treatment for SAD. If you’ve had SAD in the past, starting to take medication in early fall before the days get significantly shorter may prevent SAD symptoms or, if symptoms do appear, it can reduce their length and severity.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES:

Some forms of prevention that can help include beginning light therapy in the early fall before the onset of symptoms, spending less time with ipads and phones, exercising more, increasing the amount of light at home, meditation and other stress management techniques, spending more time outside, and visiting climates that have more sun.

There are some self-care steps you can take all year long that may help reduce your risk of SAD. They include exercising regularly, maintaining healthy sleep habits and a predictable sleep/wake cycle, eating a healthy diet and limiting the amount of sugary foods you eat.

PERSONAL COMMENTS:

Several people I know, including my family members, have been treated for general depression for years and later discovered they suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder which changed the treatment approach. My hope is that the information in this blog may be helpful.

If you suspect you have SAD talk to your doctor who my have ideas for prevention and treatment options. Even if SAD can’t always be prevented, there are treatments available that can help you successfully manage your symptoms and make the winter months easier to take.

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Sources

1.The Mayo Clinic

2. Darren Cotterell. “Pathogenesis and management of seasonal affective disorder.” Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, Volume 14, Issue 5, Version of Record online: 7 OCT 2010

3. Stuart L. Kurlansik, Annamarie D. Ibay. “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” Am Fam Physician. 2012;86(11):1037-1041.

4. Dr. William Leasure, Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

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I am professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Kearney where for 30 years I taught classes in counseling theories, counseling methods, group counseling, practicum and psychodrama. In addition to my autobiography and a memoir about living with one arm titled One Hand Clapping (2015), I wrote Counseling and Drama: Psychodrama A' Deux (2009) a casebook on how to use psychodrama with one on one counseling. It was translated into Mandarin and published in Taiwan in 2013. I appreciate any comments.