Conditions
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time of year, every year. SAD is also known as ‘winter depression’, as it is common for this kind of depression to be linked with the onset of winter. The main symptoms of SAD are a low mood, a loss of interest in everyday activities, being less active, putting on weight and sleeping more. Other symptoms include a craving for carbohydrates, not being able to concentrate and a lack of libido. Usually, the symptoms are mild in the autumn and gradually worsen as winter progresses. However, SAD does affect every person differently and can even occur in the summer months, but this is very rare.
SAD affects around 1 in 50 people in the UK, with people in their twenties being most likely to develop symptoms and with more women than men being affected. Also, between 70-80% of people have unipolar depression rather than bipolar depression. This means that the sufferer only has feelings of depression rather than feelings of depression mixed with periods of feeling happy and energetic.
The cause is not fully understood, but it is thought to be linked to the amount of sunlight you receive. Sunlight affects the hormones in the brain and can control mood. A lack of light can affect the production of melatonin, seratonin and disturbs the body clock. Lack of light can increase levels of melatonin which causes lack of energy, and decrease level of serotinin which lowers mood. Disruption to the body clock can also exacerbate depression as sleeping and waking patterns are interrupted. Other causes include genetic factors, bad childhood experiences, personality traits, psychological factors and social factors.
Treatment includes light therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and antidepressants. The benefits of light therapy are uncertain, but they are known to have positive short-term affects. Use of a light box early in the morning is seen to be the most effective and works by encouraging the brain to increase levels of seratonin to improve mood and lower levels of melatonin to increase energy. Light therapy is not advisable however if you are already suffering from epilepsy, have an eye problem or are taking certain kinds of medication. It is not necessary to stare directly at the light box and you can go about normal activities like watching TV or using a laptop whilst using it. But it is important that your body is facing the direction of light and that you are not wearing sunglasses.
Talking therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling have proved to be successful in treating all kinds of depression by changing the way the sufferer thinks about the situation. Antidepressants are also a way of treating SAD, but these are only usually prescribed if the symptoms are very severe. There are additionally a number of self-help steps a person living with the condition could take to ease symptoms. For example, taking regular exercise, getting out of the house, eating a well balanced diet, decorating the home in bright colours and using relaxation techniques.
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Hi I suffer from SAD and I am about to buy a light box but I dont know which one to choose. Any advice???
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Maplin have a good one
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I rented one for my wife and the change in her was great. We were going to send it back for the summer but after my wife spoke to the adviser, she was told that it would probably come back again this winter even though she felt better so we bought it. It's been put away all summer but my wife has started to use it again last week just to be ready for this winter!
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ive been told that i suffer with SAD the thing i need to know is i have thoughts through the winter like im going to die if i have a headache i think ive got a brain tumor if i have a pain in my leg i thing ive got a blood clot i dont sleep in mt bed as i think that im not going to wake up and many more is this a symptom of SAD i have this from oct to feb in the summer i rarely have these thoughts and my life is normal??xx
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Haii I'm a 15 year old girl who happens to suffer from S.A.D. My parents brought me a sun lamp for my room and it works really well- it must be as my teachers are complaining that I am to loud and noisy :) The only reason we knew that I suffered from this particulaur disorder it that all during the winter I had no energy and it got so bad that I was self harming due to everything upseting me. I have stopped it now but I just want to say to anyone who is finding it differcult there are many people like you like me and it gets easier trust me, I should know. :) XX
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Reverse SAD (depression in Summer) does exist but it's so hard to get anyone to take it seriously. Info on this site even suggests that it's just normal depression - but for me, as soon as temperatures start to rise, I start to show similar symptoms to people with Winter SAD. Looking around the internet I've found some reference to heat affecting the hypothalamus and thyroid and therefore hormone production, but there's little advice on what to do about it. Does anyone have a similar experience and know of any way to treat it?
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!st April programme, regarding insects abroad. you said that the deer tick found in USA can get to you in the waters, well i thought i would also imform you that a american friend of mine, did in fact get the deer tick bite from playing golf in New Jersey, and was told you can get this where ever you find Deer's as these insects are manly found on Deer's. It took a year for him to get any symtoms, and it it very important to get it checked out as soon as possible, due to the 4 stages of the illness, which can become very bad to humans and leave you with permenant damage
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I saw a women drink what looked like tea! I missed what was being said ( people came to visit). Please could you inform me if this was a "treatment" she was drinking and what it was?
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I used www.sad.uk.com they were brilliant really new their stuff
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Hi, Following your recent show I feel a light box would really benefit me. I'm wary about where to buy a light box and wondered if you could recommend any professional retailers?
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I used www.sad.uk they were brillant really new their stuff
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Hi I have used a light box for about 4 years and its the best thing i ever bought. go on to amazon and there is a huge range to chose from. I have one that you can put on the table to read a book or magazine,even ironing in front of it,it was about £50 but so worth it. 45 mins in front and its like someone has lifted the cloud you are under.i suffer from january to april/ May time and at the beginning i tried to deny the condition but put yourself infront of the light box and you will feel the improvement. Dont suffer in silence. dont deny its a condtion that many people dont acknowledge. all the best
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