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Living with seasonal affective disorder

Most people are familiar with seasonal mood changes and it's not unusual to feel happy and carefree on a sunny summer's day and down in the dumps on a damp, dark winter's day. But there's more to it than that for the million or so people in Britain who suffer from SAD.

Symptoms of SAD include feeling tired all the time, low mood, disturbed sleep, altered appetite and irritability. In severe cases it can lead to clinical depression and even hospitalisation.

The underlying cause is thought to be a lack of daylight. As the winter night's draw in, the day's become shorter and we are exposed to less daylight. Researchers have shown that daylight falling on the back of the eye and neck affects the concentrations of mood altering chemicals within the brain (melatonin and serotonin).

 

It would appear that some people are much more sensitive to this change in brain chemistry than others - around 11 million people in the UK are thought to suffer from the winter blues but only around 1 in 10 of them are severe enough to be labelled as having seasonal affective disorder. There are two main approaches to treatment.

The first involves using light boxes (basically fluorescent tubes in a box) to artificially increase a sufferers exposure to light. Although effective in around 85% of cases they are not the easiest of things to use as sufferers have to sit in front of them for around 2 hours a day.

The second line of attack is to use drugs. There is growing evidence that the antidepressant Prozac can help with sufferers needing to take it from the time the clocks go back in October until early April. For more advice and information on all aspects of SAD contact the SAD Association at PO Box 989 Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3HG. Tel: 01903 814942.

Signs and symptoms of SAD

Mood - sufferers tend to feel sad and low. They're often less interested in life and find it difficult to cope with everyday tasks. They may be irritable and short with friends and colleagues.

Sleep - sleep disturbance is common in SAD but varies from case to case - feeling excessively sleepy during the day is a common feature.

Appetite - SAD sufferers tend to put on weight during the winter months and may develop food cravings - particularly for starchy or sweet foods.