Self-Diagnosis

When I was studying Psychology in college, I learned that Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that affects a person during the same season each year. If you get depressed in the winter but feel much better in spring and summer, you may have SAD.

Anyone can get SAD, but it is more common in:
• People who live in areas where winter days are very short or there are big changes in the amount of daylight in different seasons. – Not really true for me.
• Women. – Yes, I am one.
• People between the ages of 15 and 55. The risk of getting SAD for the first time goes down as you age. –Yes, I am twenty-something.
• People who have a close relative with SAD. – I guess I have a few.
That is three out of four. So, that makes me a candidate of SAD.

What causes SAD?
Experts are not sure what causes SAD, but they think it may be caused by a lack of sunlight. Lack of light may upset your sleep-wake cycle and other circadian rhythms. And it may cause problems with a brain chemical called serotonin that affects mood.
This explains my blues nowadays.

What are the symptoms?
If you have SAD, you may:
• Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious. – Yes, I do.
• Lose interest in your usual activities. – Yes, I do.
• Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta. – Not really.
• Gain weight. – Yes, I do.
• Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime. – Yes, I do.
Symptoms come and go at about the same time each year. For most people with SAD, symptoms start in September or October and end in April or May.
So, I may have to endure this long huh?

How is it treated?
Doctors often prescribed light therapy to treat SAD. There are two types of light therapy:
• Bright light treatment. For this treatment, you sit in front of a "light box" for half an hour or longer, usually in the morning.
• Dawn simulation. For this treatment, a dim light goes on in the morning while you sleep, and it gets brighter over time, like a sunrise.

Light therapy works well for most people, and it is easy to use. I may just have to try this. I may start to feel better within a week or so after you start light therapy. I need to stick with it and use it every day until the season changes. If I don't, my depression could come back.