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.
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.
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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.
