SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder
Winter time can bring about many different feelings for a person. One may be excited for the snowfall and skiing; another might feel competitive to ice fish with his friends.
The snowfall and darkness also is a difficult time for others, especially in the northern states. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression affecting thousands during the winter or fall months.
According to the SAD Association’s Web site, www.sada.org.uk, SAD is caused by “a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in the winter.”
Unlike most depressions, which typically happen once in a lifetime, SAD can return every winter for a person, said Marlys Borkhuis, assistant director of counseling and disability services at NDSU.
Some of the common symptoms of SAD are constant sleep but not feeling rested, eating foods with carbohydrates, losing interest in pleasurable acts and being irritable.
“ A lot of times in depression, (people have) a lack of appetite,” Borkhuis said. “Not with SAD.”
People affected with SAD usually begin showing symptoms in October and symptoms can last until March or April.
“ I think of it kind of like hibernation, like how a bear must be,” Borkhuis said.
SAD can be difficult to diagnose for doctors and counselors, Borkhuis said. Those affected with SAD show a pattern of having it almost each year. The first year a person shows symptoms, the doctor usually doesn’t recognize it.
Another way to distinguish SAD is to look at an individual’s family history. Both SAD and other forms of depression develop in people genetically familiar with the disease.
At NDSU, counselors must rely on the person’s history in order to diagnose the disease. Counselors are not able to see the students every year because many leave the area.
The disease was first recognized in 1993 by Dr. Norman Rosenthal. Researchers discovered the most common people susceptible to the disease were those living in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Westfield State College counseling center’s Web site, www.wsc.ma.edu/counseling.
Younger people have a higher chance of being diagnosed with SAD. The main group at risk of SAD is those aged from 18 to 30 years old, according to the SAD Association Web site.
“ It (SAD) may diminish as you get older … or maybe they find ways of coping with it,” Borkhuis said.
Women have a higher chance of having SAD. The female population is three to four times more likely than males to be diagnosed with SAD, according to the Westfield State College counseling center’s Web site.
SAD sufferers are able to fight the disease through a number of types of therapy. Artificial-light therapy is the most common, along with medication.
“ There are special kinds of lights that have a full spectrum,” Borkhuis said. “You sit in front of this light for 30 minutes each day … that really seems to help people out.”
The light affects the person’s receptors in the brain that produce serotonin, Borkhuis said. The amount of serotonin people produce decides the mood they have each day.
The NDSU counseling center has counselors who are qualified to help those affected with SAD.
People can use brighter light bulbs in their homes or try to go outside when the sun is shining to help with SAD, Borkhuis said.
It is also important to keep a pattern of sleeping and waking at the same time each day.