Throughout the centuries, poets have described a sense of sadness, loss and lethargy which can accompany the shortening days of fall and winter.  Many cultures and religions have winter festivals associated with candles or fire.  People often notice tiredness, a bit of weight gain, difficulty getting out of bed and bouts of “the blues” as fall turns to winter.  However, some people experience an exaggerated form of these symptoms.  Their depression and lack of energy become debilitating.  Work and relationships suffer.  This condition, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may affect over 10 million Americans while the milder, “Winter Blues” may affect a larger number of individuals (Carol E. Watkins, 2004).

Many people may develop cabin fever during the winter months.  Others may find themselves eating or sleeping more when the temperature drops and darkness falls earlier.  While those are common and normal reactions to the changing seasons, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) experience a much more serious reaction when summer shifts to fall and on to winter.  With seasonal affective disorder, fall’s short days and long nights may trigger feelings of depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems.  People should not brush this off as simply a case of the “winter blues”.  Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression, and it can severely impair one’s daily life.  Treatment—which may include light box therapy—can help you successfully manage seasonal affective disorder.  People don’t have to dread the dawning of each fall or winter.

In his book, THE WINTER BLUES, Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal asks; when the dark days of winter approach, do you feel slowed down and have difficulty waking up in the morning? Are you tempted to snack more on holiday foods and find the pounds begin to creep on even as you valiantly try to diet?  Maybe you find it hard to focus at work or in your relationships, feel down in the dumps or, worse still, really depressed?  If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be one of the millions of people who have problems with the changing seasons.  One of the astonishing facts to emerge from recent research is that most people in the northern United States and Europe experience seasonal changes in mood and behavior, also known as seasonality (Rosenthal, 2002, p. 1).

Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition.  This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same time every year.  Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during the late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer.  But some people have the opposite pattern, developing seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer.  “If you feel worst in July or August, you have a summer seasonal pattern.  If you feel worst during December, January, or February and July or August, you have a summer-winter pattern.  Summer-winter types may enjoy only the spring and fall.  Interestingly, winter types are far more common in the United States and Europe, while in Japan and China, more people dislike the summer.  People who dislike summer may tend to socialize least at that time.  Unlike winter types, they often do not overeat, oversleep, and gain weight during the time of year when they feel the worst.  Instead, they tend to eat less, lose weight, and sleep less” (Rosenthal, 2002).

More symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder can include:  depression. Hopelessness, anxiety, loss of energy, social withdrawal, oversleeping, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates, weight gain, and difficulty concentrating and processing information.  Symptoms of summer-onset seasonal affective disorder include: anxiety, insomnia, irritability, agitation, weight loss, poor appetite, and in rare cases, people with seasonal affective disorder don’t have depression-like symptoms. Instead, they have symptoms of mania or hypomania, a less intense form of mania, during the summer.  This is sometimes called reverse SAD.

Some individuals experience great bursts of energy and creativity in the spring or early summer.  Susceptible individuals who work in buildings without windows may experience SAD-type symptoms at any time of year.  Some people with SAD have mild or occasionally severe periods of mania during the spring or summer.  If the symptoms are mild, no treatment may be necessary.  If they are problematic, then a mood stabilizer such as Lithium might be considered.

There’s no known way to prevent the development of seasonal affective disorder.  However, if people take steps early on to manage symptoms, they may be able to prevent them from getting worse over time.  Some people find it helpful to start treatment before symptoms would normally start in the fall or winter, and then continue treatment past the time symptoms would normally go away.  If people can get control of their symptoms before they begin, they may be able to head off serious changes in mood, appetite and behavior that can disrupt their daily lives.

Are you suffering this holiday season with (SAD) symptoms?  Millions experience these symptoms, and don’t reach out for help.  The last thing we want to do during the holidays is hurt the ones we love.  Simple steps can help you feel your best as in taking walks outside in the sunlight.   I strongly believe, that fervent prayer is needed, along with daily meditation on the Word of God, to help keep us strengthened spiritually, emotionally, and physically.