What causes it?
Experts believe SAD is related to a lack of daylight exposure, which explains why people feel well during spring and summer and only start experiencing problems when the days get shorter.
What are the symptoms?
Many people complain of feeling miserable, lacking in energy, being tired, having low spirits and feeling depressed.
Some also find their sleep is disturbed, they eat less or more than usual and they have no sex drive.
Symptoms usually start between September and November and almost always spontaneously disappear with the arrival of spring and the longer daylight hours.
Who’s affected?
Up to one in 20 people is believed to be affected by SAD, with women three times more likely to be affected than men. Younger people, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 40, are more likely to suffer.
Because days get shorter the further north you go, SAD is more common in northern countries.
Worrying about work, relationships or money make SAD more likely.
What’s the treatment?
Ensure exposure to plenty of daylight. Light boxes provide a regular dose of artificial light each day and help many people.
Counselling, exercising and spending time outdoors can help. Boost mood with rest, relaxation, regular exercise and a healthy diet.
Treatment with antidepressants or St John’s wort may help to relieve symptoms.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/sad1.shtml
MORE RESEARCH!
Brain chemistry winter blues link |
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Scientists have pinpointed seasonal changes in brain chemistry which may cause some people to suffer from the winter blues. Seasonal affective disorder, which can be debilitating, is linked to lack of light exposure on short winter days. The latest study suggests this might make proteins which clear the brain of the mood-regulating chemical serotonin more active. The University of Toronto study appears in Archives of General Psychiatry. Seasonal affective disorder is linked to lack of energy, fatigue, overeating and a tendancy to sleep longer as well as depressed mood. The condition affects thousands of people in the UK. Writing in the journal, the researchers said it was common for people living in temperate zones to feel happier and more energetic on bright and sunny days, with many experiencing a decline in mood and energy during the dark winter season. Brain scans The researchers carried out brain scans on 88 volunteers between 1999 and 2003. The scans were designed to assess the activity of a protein known as a serotonin transporter, which binds to serotonin and clears it from the spaces between brain cells. The more active the protein, the lower the levels of serotonin in the brain, and the greater the likelihood of a depressed mood. The researchers found that the protein was significantly more active in all areas of the brain examined by the scans in the autumn and winter. They believe light may have a direct effect on the activity of the protein. The researchers wrote: “These findings have important implications for understanding seasonal mood change in healthy individuals, vulnerability to seasonal affective disorder and the relationship of light exposure to mood. “This offers a possible explanation for the regular reoccurrence of depressive episodes in fall and winter in some vulnerable individuals.” Dr Jonathan Johnston, a lecturer in neuroscience at the University of Surrey, said: “The data show a correlation between a serotonin transporter chemical and hours of sunshine, although how day-length might change transporter activity is not yet known.” Professor Michael Terman, an expert in seasonal affective disorder at Columbia University in New York, said the causes were likely to be complex. He said the condition might be linked to disturbance caused to the body’s natural daily rhythm by the fact that dawn and dusk were closer together in the winter. He said research had shown that symptoms of winter depression had been reduced by brief exposure to light around dawn. This suggests that the timing of exposure to light, rather than the simple volume of exposure might be important. |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7591342.stm
Phoenix is the editor of this site and was diagnosed with bipolar twenty years ago. In between 7 periods of illness and hospitalisation she trained as a garden designer and was a awarded an RHS Diploma, gained a first class degree in Cultural Studies and a Certificate in Education that enables her to lecture in Recovery in Mental Health to psychiatric nurse students and mental health professionals at 3 universities.
Phoenix has not been in hospital now for 5 years which she attributes to embracing Wellness Recovery Action Planning and all aspects of Recovery. She also will be delivering WRAP sessions in local communities for the Health and Wellbeing project and eventually help train all the community mental health teams and nurses in practice. In the last year she has also become a stand-up comedian which she believes has been the final key to her own recovery. Laughter truly is the best medicine! 
