Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
If you have seasonal affective disorder(SAD), you will usually have symptoms of depressionduring the winter when there is less daylight (October through April). Symptoms of SAD include:
Difficulty concentrating.
Low energy and fatigue.
Reduced interest in daily activities, especially social activities.
Moodiness (depressed, sad, or unusually quiet).
Increased appetite.
Cravings for complex carbohydrates (such as pasta and bread).
Weight gain.
Increased sleep.
Loss of interest in sex.
Irritability.
People with SAD may either have symptoms of major depression or minor depression. Those with minor depression are considered to have subsyndromal SAD.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that is tied to seasons of the year. Historical facts about SAD include that as early as 400 BC, Hippocrates described changes in seasons as causing illness. By
200 years later, light therapy was being recommended as treatment for people described as "lethargics" or suffering from "gloom." Most people with SAD are depressed only during the late fall and winter (sometimes called the "winter blues") and not during the spring or summer. That many cultures celebrate a number of holidays during the winter can be an additional stress for people with SAD. A small number of SAD sufferers, however, are depressed only during the late spring and summer. In contrast to SAD, other forms of recurrent depression, like bipolar or unipolar depression, occur independently of the time of year.
SAD is most common in young adult women, although it can affect men or women of any age. Statistics about this disorder include that SAD may affect as many as
six of every 100 people in North America, more in the northern portions of the country than in the South. Another 10%-20% of people may have a milder form of seasonal mood change.
Like all types of clinical depression, SAD can have a devastating effect on a person's life. Fortunately, almost all people with SAD can be helped with available therapies.
Clinical depression is not just
grief or sadness. It is an illness that can challenge the person's ability to perform even routine daily activities. At its worst, depression may lead the person to contemplate or commit
suicide. Depression represents a burden for the person and his or her family. Sometimes that burden can seem overwhelming.
Several different types of mood disorders exist.
Major depression is a change in mood that lasts for weeks or months. It is one of the most severe types of depression. Major depression usually involves a low or irritable mood and/or a loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. It interferes with the person's normal functioning. The person may experience only one episode of depression, but repeated episodes often occur over the person's lifetime.
Dysthymia is less severe than major depression but usually goes on for a longer period, often several years. ...
