SAD Winter Blues — Seasonal Affective Disorder
By Adrienne Gross
The alarm goes off and you hit the snooze button—peeking outside, the fog mists over barren trees and the steam rises from your morning coffee. Yep, winter is here, and dreary weather can carry on into mood. If you’ve ever felt apathetic and blue in winter, but energised in summer, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder— also known as ‘SAD.’
But what is SAD, and how is it different to depression and bipolar disorder? What are the symptoms and treatments? Is it just an excuse to stay in bed on weekends—or is it a real mental illness?
What is SAD?
SAD has similar symptoms to depression, except that it tends to occur with seasonal variations rather than constantly. Winter SAD is most common, though there are other types. Those with SAD have the following symptoms:
- Appetite change: either craving carbohydrates and sweets or loss of appetite
- Trouble sleeping/insomnia
- ‘Hermit’ing, ie not wanting social interaction
So if you’re tucking into big bowls of porridge, letting the running shoes gather dust and turning down offers for dinner parties, have a think about why.
What causes SAD?
There are many theories as to what causes SAD. Cold weather per se is not the trigger—rather the lack of light, which then causes upsets to the body’s biorhythm. Variations in body temperature also may affect mood.
Who gets SAD?
The most ‘at risk’ people are the young, and those living at certain latitudes or higher (nearer to a Pole), which means 35 degrees south for Australians (Canberra is approx. 35 degrees). A study by Booker and Hellekson (1992) found that people under 40 years old were 2.84 times more likely to be affected by SAD, and women are 4 times as more susceptible (Mitchell).
Why is SAD bad?
Despite sounding like an introduction to a Dr Seuss book, SAD can be bad because the depressive mood may increase the need for hospitalisation and even increase the risk of suicide.
How is SAD treated?
It takes more than chicken soup and a cup of tea to improve mood.
Depending on the severity of the disorder, medical professionals may advise different and combined treatments such as:
- Light therapy (bright light lamps at a certain lux rating)
- Dawn simulation (low level of light emitted before waking up)
- Exercise, particularly outdoors in the sun
- Ionised-air administration (negative charged particles are released from a machine while sleeping to mimic ‘summer air’)
Professor Baigent, clinical advisor to beyondblue says that: “It's important for people to get up in the morning and get some exposure to sunlight, ideally before 8am. Dawn and morning light is believed to be integral in regulating our biorhythms.”
Even though the thought of jogging before 8am in frosty air sounds unpleasant, it’s good for treating SAD.
Can I just ignore it?
While it’s tempting to shrug one’s shoulders and snuggle under the doona until Spring, leaving SAD untreated may lead to persisting effects, such as depression and bipolar disorder.
SAD is an actual type of mental illness and can affect anyone. Luckily, there are simple treatments that can get you through to the brightness of Spring. See your medical professional for more information, who may ask you to take a Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire.
To find out more about SAD and treatments:
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
The Mayo Clinic, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195/DSECTION=symptoms
Beyond Blue, http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=59.854&print=true
Read more about Light Box therapy: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s230.htm
Winter Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Global, Bio-cultural
Perspective, http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant570/Papers/Whitehead.pdf
Seasonal Affective Disorder, Dr Paula Mitchell, http://bddgp.org.au/files/cpd/gpsad0706.pdf