About this time of year I begin to dread the shortening days and the dimming of the sun. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or “SAD” as it’s aptly named. Learning about this disorder has been a welcome relief to me since I’ve had a set of puzzling symptoms for years.
Those of us who live in the northland all over the world are more likely to suffer this disorder that is caused by the dimming of sunlight over the winter. It’s not just that days are shorter– although that is significant–it is also because the sun is lower in the sky even at its zenith, causing light waves to be less direct.
Some of the symptoms of SAD or other circadian rhythm disorders are an odd set of things that I never guessed were related to each other. Carbohydrate cravings, insomnia, fatigue, the total inability to get up in the morning, is also combined with regular depression symptoms such as sadness, irritation, feelings of low self-esteem and loss of interest in regular activities. It’s as if, like a bear, I would be most content stuffing my body with food and hibernating all winter away from contact with others.
Symptoms increase with the disappearance of the sun. Iceland is so far north there are winter days there that never see the sun and it is the country that has the highest suicide rate in the world.
In this country SAD affects about one in every 20 adults, with the higher percentage living farther north. I used to think I had a hard time with Christmas–now I know December 21 is the shortest and dimmest day of the year. Makes sense to me. I also think this is one reason I was so drawn to live south in New Mexico that has an average of 300 sunny days a year.
Researchers now think the disorder is due to the disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms–our body clock that tells us when to sleep and when to wake up and get active.
I have tried regular anti-depressants and the herbal antidepressant St. Johns Wort but these medicines just didn’t seem to be the right thing for what was wrong with me. Often I would feel better emotionally, but I always felt there was still something wrong besides the neurochemistry an antidepressant will help.
This year I am going to get one of those light contraptions that will give me a bright light first thing in the morning. I have a friend who suffers from this same problem and he swears by the light cure.
Psychiatrists and other physicians are savvy to this disorder and are the ones to seek out if you think any of this sounds like you. Everyone feels down once in awhile but for me I noticed these feelings did not relate to anything that was going on in my life. Nothing had changed– except the sun. Even three overcast rainy days in a row in the summer brought on symptoms.
People should seek medical help especially if they feel down for days at a time and notice sleep and appetite are affected. There is a plethora of information on the Internet. I usually rely on the Mayo clinic sites for my information and I noticed there is a home page for the “NoSAD support group” http://www.go2net.org/nosads/home.html
August 18, 2001