What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

What is seasonal affective disorder?

Often times referred to as SAD. This mental illness can affect many people from all ages, primarily ages 18-30. More than 10 million Americans are affected by this disorder. Most commonly women are affected more than men. According to the Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that is related to the different seasons and changes throughout the year.

This type of depression is often during the winter months, usually hitting people around the same time of year. For example, you may start to experience this starting in late November and lasting until March. Timings can be different for everyone, but winter is normally the main time frame.

Why winter you ask?

Well, during the winter months our great friend, the sun, is not out as often. When there is a reduced amount of sunlight the chemicals in our body can become out of whack. Our serotonin and melatonin levels can be altered which then has an impact on our mood.

Also, our body’s biological internal clock can be changed due to the days getting shorter. We wake up when it’s dark and we go to bed when it’s dark. This schedule can often times make us feel more depressed than when the sun is shining as we go to work.

How do you know if you have SAD?

Many times you may just be experiencing the “winter blues”. This is when the dreary weather and the lack of sunlight just make for a gloomy day. If you have these symptoms you may actually have seasonal affective disorder, but be sure to speak with a mental health professional to be sure and get proper treatment.

Symptoms of SAD

• Feeling depressed, majority of the day, almost every day.
• Low energy
• Issues with sleeping
• Feeling hopeless
• Sluggish and agitated
• Changes of appetite or weight
• Frequent thoughts of death or suicide

If you believe that you are experiencing seasonal affective disorder please reach out to a friend, try some remedies, or best yet talk to a licensed professional. Sometimes the biggest thing we can do for our mental illness is to become self-aware. To realize that the winter months, or shorter days, can have an impact on our body and to do something about it.

Blessings!

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. You can find a therapist anywhere in the United States here.