It is supposed to be the joyous holiday season. But around the winter solstice sunlight is usually pretty short-lived. With daylight at a premium, darkness can cause seasonal affective disorder depression due to lack of light.
While it comes seasonally, it’s no less significant as a cause of depression. Seasonal affective disorder is a very real mood disorder that in many cases requires a visit to a mental health professional and treatment.

Psychiatrist Dr. Pender says, “It’s essentially characterized by low mood, lethargy and hypersomonia, which is increased sleep. Seasonal affective disorder can decrease pleasure in many different activities and it typically gets better when the spring comes.”
But the symptoms can even be severe in some cases, and cause one to become suicidal.
“There is some possible evolutionary aspect to seasonal affective disorder, because it’s like hibernation and in the animal kingdom this kind of hibernation helps with reproductive cycles,” says Dr. Pender.
Dr. Pender first recommends things like yoga, meditation, and exercise. Then, if necessary, he prescribes a special light box.
“It’s a matter of light intensity. So it’s not just an ordinary light bulb, you need 10,000 lux. People can begin with 15 minutes a day and increase it to anywhere up to an hour and ½ a day. Generally people put the light box on the desk or the kitchen table and they will read the newspaper,” Dr. Pender states.
The light dose actually needs to be gradually increased, because some people can actually overdose on the light. “Some people are very, very sensitive to the light and even 15 minutes of light may cause them to become manic, which is not good situation, we don’t want that to happen,” informs Dr. Pender.
On the other hand, some people don’t respond to the light box at all. Regardless, there are treatments for seasonal affective disorder, and there’s no reason to walk around with the holiday blues.
“Your mood is low, you’re gaining weight, you’re sleeping more, then you should consult a professional,” advices Dr. Pender.
The best time to use the light box is in the morning. The light boxes need to be ordered from special companies that make them. They cost approximately a few hundred dollars, but they do come with a 30-day return guarantee so if they are no effective you can return them and get your money back.
If the light box does not work, then one can prescribe an antidepressant. A person with seasonal affective disorder can just take anti-depressants during the winter months, for four to six months out of the year, and then stop and see how they are doing. If it’s a recurrent problem then they just might want to stay on the antidepressant so they don’t have to go through the relapse symptoms that can happen when you come off of the medicine.

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