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SAD can be more than an emotion, it can be a disorder.
SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, affects an estimated 10 to 35 million Americans, primarily women. It is a cyclical depression that begins in October or November and subsides in March or April. SAD describes people who experience clinical depression only during the autumn and winter seasons, information released by the Bowen Center said.
"This is just not the holiday blues or stress," Dr. Gerald Kauffman, senior psychiatrist at Oaklawn, said.
He said, "I usually encourage four to eight people a year to buy a light."
The disorder is also known as winter depression. Bowen Center information said researchers believe that SAD results from a shorter amount of daylight in the winter.
"It's a syndrome that by definition is a seasonal condition," Kauffman said.
Dr. Talitha Fair, psychologist with Selah Center Inc., said the disorder is "a form of depression related to the intake of light." She said the debate about winter depression is over whether it is caused by the lack of light on the skin or through the eyes.
Dr. Richard Ruhrold, clinical director at the Bowen Center, said, "It's not just that. It's more common with people who have a family history of depression."
He said the cause is most likely both genetic and the lack of light. Ruhrold also said the first major paper on SAD was written in 1984 by Dr. N.E. Rosenthal.
"To really be diagnosed with SAD, it really has to impact a person on a day-to-day basis," Ruhrold said.
SAD is more common in northern regions because the winter days get shorter.
In Alaska, as many as 10 percent of the people may suffer from the winter depression. In Florida, it's less than 1 percent.
Fair said that locally, SAD is seen primarily after Christmas. She said the disorder is foreign to people who usually are not depressed.
Symptoms include decreased energy, tiredness, fatigue, appetite changes, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, sadness, anxiety and withdrawal from friends and family. Fair said SAD is not life-threatening.
Kauffman said, "In summer, this will reverse."
"Some people report a craving for sweets and carbohydrates," Ruhrold said.
He also said people suffering from SAD sleep more. For most depressions, he said, people sleep less, but this is not the case for SAD.
If a person cannot be in an environment with more light, Fair said, there are some full-spectrum lights available for use an hour a day.
Kauffman said a full-spectrum light won't hurt but is not intense enough. He said a person with SAD needs a 10,000-lux light, which is 20 times greater than an indoor light. He said such lights are made by a company in Canada and Maryland and a doctor should be able to provide the address for those companies.
A dark working environment could be detrimental to a person suffering from SAD, Kauffman said. "Improved lighting can help some," he said.
The Bowen Center said, along with light therapy, antidepressant medications and counseling are available.
Anyone significantly depressed should be assessed by a doctor first, the Bowen Center information said, because some physical problems can show up as depression. People also should not treat themselves with light exposure until an assessment by a qualified professional can be conducted.
"People shouldn't self-diagnose themselves and then treat it," Ruhrold said. "There are other kind of medical disorders that look like depression."
