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Are you S.A.D?
With around half a million of us suffering from S.A.D or Seasonal Affective Disorder each year, how can we really tell the difference between feeling a bit down and something more serious?
During the winter months our mood, metabolism and behaviour are all naturally affected by the change in season. Darker mornings and shorter days can cause us to feel a bit low and many people may find they want to sleep and eat a little more. This is what is commonly known as the ?winter blues', or in professional circles, subsyndromal S.A.D.
For some however, symptoms can be serious enough to cause severe stress and can actually prevent people from functioning in a normal fashion. If this sounds familiar, you may be suffering from the illness known as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Common symptoms are: sleep problems; over sleeping; waking but not feeling refreshed; occasionally broken sleep and early waking; overeating: reaching out for carbohydrates and sweet things, often leading to weight gain; social problems: feeling like going out less and seeing people less; anxiety: simple tasks become stressful; depression: difficulties in thinking, loss of self -esteem, feelings of worthlessness, misery and guilt; and lethargy: everything seems like too much effort.
There can also be physical symptoms including a lowered immune system, more open to illness, infection and pain. Libido can also be affected.
We all have a natural day/night cycle known as the circadian rhythm. Melatonin (A hormone created in the pineal gland) is produced in low light and darkness. This is what helps us to regulate our wake/sleep pattern. So it is easy to see how we naturally feel tired on low-lit short days.
S.A.D tends to affect people between September and April, and in particular during the months of December, January and February.
So what causes S.A.D? The problem is partly related to lack of natural daylight. Researchers have proved that sunlight has a huge effect on our bio- chemistry. Sunlight sends a signal through the eyes and ultimately to the pineal gland to stop producing melatonin, therefore telling us it is time to be awake. Production of the neurotransmitter serotonin has also been linked to increased exposure to sunlight. Serotonin helps create a sense of calm, control and well being. Low levels of serotonin cause depression.
Now, with all this evidence, it would seem like a well educated guess to say that more exposure to light would remedy this illness, however it is not understood why some people are affected and others are not. First of all, let us look at ‘light Therapy’. Light Therapy or Phototherapy consists of being exposed to fluorescent lamps or a very bright, varied spectrum bulb for a prescribed amount of time each day (this is not a standard bulb). These specially built lights can be found on the Internet and some high street shops and cost anywhere between £80 and £300 depending on your needs. This type of therapy is said to be very effective in many cases.
But why is it then that some people are affected and others are not? S.A.D is found in all ages including children but particularly in 18 to 30 year olds and most likely in women. Maybe this is because women tend to ruminate more than men, perhaps due to certain gender differences in the brain. A thicker corpus callosum linking hemispheres enables women to multi task and be aware of small changes in their surroundings. Men’s emotional centres are located in just two areas on the right side of the brain, and women’s are spread throughout both sides. So men are more able to compartmentalise emotion. Men are also more likely to take action on a perceived problem, women are more likely to sit and think about it.
In some cases a personal issue that needs working out can bring on S.A.D, this may be a relationship breakdown, or career problems. Another treatment that is used all too often in modern medicine is anti-depressants. Now without going into this subject too deeply, as it really deserves an entire article of its own, I will would just like to mention a few points. The first is that Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiters (SSRI), such as Prozac does often have an increasing effect on the amount of serotonin in the body. However, once the doses are reduced people are all too often back in the same position.
Anti-depressants are also proven on average to only work on a third of people, have a placebo effect on another third and not work at all on the rest. In addition, many have serious side effects often causing what they are supposed to cure. In light of this you should always check with your GP before reducing any prescription.
Learning coping skills is one way to keep you on top. Talking therapies such as Psychotherapy and solution-focused Hypnotherapy are extremely beneficial in treating S.A.D. People can be taught the necessary skills and techniques to deal with their thoughts more positively, understand what is happening to them and go about creating a sense of hope. These powerful techniques are used to help severely depressed people as well as post-natal depression. You can find solutions by talking freely and openly to someone who is trained to help you analyse your emotions and behaviours as well as situations. There may also be patterns in the past and present that the therapist can help you to recognise and resolve.
Although many people will suffer this debilitating illness this winter it should come as a welcome thought that there are people out there that can help bring you back on track.
Thomas Ewings DHypPsych (UK) GQHP
Psychotherapist & Solution-Focused Hypnotherapist
Brighton & Hove, East Sussex
Tel: 07877 681 600
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Tags: General Health : Health / Fitness
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