Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
If you go through my blog posts, you see I briefly touched on the topic of depression. We now understand that depression is not just sadness but an overwhelming sense of grief and feeling that things will not get better. Now we will touch on the phenomenon of seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
According to the Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that normally occurs during the changes of the season. Normally during the seasons when there is little to no sunlight such as fall and winter. It is thought that due to the lack of sunlight it leads to more depressive like symptoms, such as lack of energy, insomnia, difficulty eating, etc. Even though this is normally seen during the fall and winter months, there are instances where it is seen during the summer and spring.
The most suggested type of treatment for SAD is light therapy. This is the exposure to light that would replicate natural light. It is said to not be a quick fix but it would help ease the symptoms of SAD. A good example of this type of lamp was shown in Comedy Central’s Broad City in Season 4, Episode 5 where Abbi’s mother comes to visit. Ilana is seen using the light therapy lamp for her depression.
If you believe that you are experiencing this type of depression or depression in general, please reach out to a medical professional and explain your symptoms. The following suggestions are listed as a resource only and not to be done without professional recommendation or assistance.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/light-therapy/about/pac-20384604