“Do you have SAD?” No, that’s not a grammatical error that is supposed to be “Are you sad?” It is SAD, as in Seasonal Affective Disorder, or popularly known as seasonal depression.

It’s the season to be jolly, and now it’s the season to be depressed. That is how people with seasonal affective disorder live their lives. As the cycle of the year goes round like a wheel, so does their mood. So what is it really about seasonal depression and why is it so popular among people?

What Is It?

Seasonal depression is depression that occurs each year at a certain season or period of time. The thing is that it occurs at the same season each year. As soon as that time of the year comes, you get that ‘I hate my life today’ kind of feeling.

Some people usually start having seasonal depression at the start of fall or winter that ends during spring or summer. While there is also a rare kind of seasonal depression that starts during late periods of spring or early parts of summer then ends when fall comes around.

Exclusive Symptoms of Seasonal Depression

Seasonal depression, like the general kind of depression has the same symptoms of having extreme sadness, irritability, and too much anxiousness, loss of interest in daily activities, sudden unsociability, and concentration problems. However, there are other symptoms that are exclusive to a certain season only.

For example, during winter depression, the added symptoms are fatigue; sleep cravings, low energy levels, weight gain, food cravings, and desire for solitary confinement. People who have summer seasonal depression usually experience weight loss, decreased appetite and sleeping problems.

What Causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

There is no known exact cause of seasonal affective disorder. However, studies show that latitude has high influence on the condition, due to sunlight changes. It is proposed that when you are not exposed to sunlight that much, your body’s biological clock slows down your sleep, mood, and hormones. However, with light exposure your biological clock can reset and go back to its normal pace.

Another proposed cause of seasonal affective disorder is that people who have this condition have altered neurotransmitters, responsible for the chemical imbalances in their brains. It is also believed that subsequent light exposure can correct these chemical imbalances.

If you feel that you have seasonal depression, you shouldn’t self-diagnose; that can only lead to further problems. It would be best to consult a doctor first about your symptoms, and get a medical diagnosis.

A number of people believe that there are less and less people coming to the doctor’s office for depression treatment. Probably, it is because they lack the feeling of acceptance necessary for them to acknowledge their illness. Financial problems and lack of family support may also be factors in why there are fewer people visiting clinics for depression treatment. However tight the situation may be, patients suffering from this disorder should put in mind that therapy is needed in order to lessen the severity of their illness.

Depression treatment is reliant on many factors; this includes the severity of the problem, the insistence of symptoms and the person’s individual history with the illness. The treatment is divided into three forms which we will tackle in separate issues.

Depression Treatment: Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is otherwise known as the talking therapy. This involves the patient and the specialist together in one area. The specialist serves as the client’s exhaust and vent for his feelings. Together, they aid each other in knowing and discovering what the problems are and what could have triggered the depression to appear. Also, they decide the kind of depression treatment needed and preferred by the client. In this way, the patient is guided accordingly and is given enough room for independence and self-guidance.

Depression Treatment: Medication Therapy

Together with psychotherapy, medication is needed to control the hormones responsible for depression. The medications given are considered to be a successful depression treatment. The medication therapy is used in combination with other therapies that will help the patient see his inner strengths and use that enthusiasm to cope with the illness. However, compliance with the treatment regimen is a must for this kind of therapy.

Depression Treatment: Hospitalization and Electroconvulsive Therapy

In severe types of clinical depression, hospitalization should be required. The length of stay at the hospital depends on the recuperating process of the patient. Hospitalization and electroconvulsive therapy are opted as a depression treatment if the patient no longer responds to the medication given to him. The exact mechanism as to how the ECT works was and is never understood; but it is believed to be affecting the level of neurotransmitters in the human body.

The most successful evaluation for a client with clinical depression is seeing him cope with the illness. Once you are able to see a person muddle through both the internal and external struggles, then you can say that the chances of reoccurrence would unquestionably be low.

Most people think that depression and anxiety are two very different things. The average person thinks that when they are depressed they slow down, that it becomes difficult to find the energy to do the day to day activities their life requires. When people think of depression they often think about laying around in a darkened room doing nothing but sleeping and eating potato chips and chocolate bars for weeks at a time.

When a person thinks they are suffering from depression they often think that their brain waves have slowed down. When the average person thinks about anxiety they think that their brain is working too fast. When a person is anxious they often find that it is impossible to get their brain to shut off, it is constantly worrying at various issues. When people think of anxiety they think of a person who is jittery and suffering from insomnia. Most people feel that depression and anxiety are two very different things.

The truth is that depression and anxiety often co-exist.

What Is Depression?

Depression is an illness that, although it starts in the brain, affects the entire body. People who are suffering from depression often find they feel a change in their thinking, feeling, and behavior. More often then not people who are depressed can feel the illness taking a toll on their psychical health. There is a variety of things, including body chemistry and outside influences that can trigger depression.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the feeling of constantly being worried. People who suffer from anxiety often find that they are unable to stop worrying and fretting about things. Because anxiety makes a person incapable of relaxing it takes a physical toll on the body. Some of the physical side affects of anxiety include a change of weight, change and diet, and insomnia. People who are dealing with anxiety often suffer from anxiety often experience panic attacks.

The Similarities

Even though depression and anxiety are separate things they aren’t mutually exclusive. Medical experts have discovered that as many 85% of patients who have depression also have a condition called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In some situations anxiety issues can use a person to be come depressed. Forms of depression such as obsessive compulsive disorder and Post Traumatic Stress disorder originally start with anxiety.

Helping Yourself

If you are suffering from depression and anxiety there are some things you can do to help stabilize and in some cases even cure the conditions. Many people have a great deal of success using both exercise to help them cope with their depression and anxiety. Yoga and other forms of relaxation therapy have also been very successful. Changes in diet can help improve your well being, as can a change in environment. There are also several medications available that doctors will prescribe that will help balance your body’s chemistry and work at helping alleviate your depression and anxiety.