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Sadness isn’t just an emotion. It can be a sickness.
A friend of mine who I’d always thought simply hated winter — his “crusty” months, as he calls them — recently admitted he had been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I thought, “A disease, about depression, called SAD? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
My friend’s recent bout with SAD has shown me it is as real as the winter snow — and just like the snow, it can be tremendously dangerous if people aren’t informed.
Despite its recognition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, too many people ignore this affliction as being imagined, and this stands in the way of future prevention.
This is an unfortunate mind-set many people share — at one time, myself included. But the more I spoke with people who actually had it, the more I came to accept it as a valid disease.
The truth is, SAD isn’t merely a hippie, new age redressing of “cabin fever” or the “winter blues” like so many people think.
Despite common belief, not everyone gets sad or mopey during the winter — so if it’s something you or a friend has experienced it’s important to get checked out, particularly at this period in our lives when we’re more susceptible to it.
People between the ages of 18 and 40, are most likely to suffer from it. Women are three times more likely to be affected than men, and because days get shorter the further north you travel, people who live in northern countries are more likely to suffer from SAD than people living near the equator.
The most common symptoms of SAD are complaints of feeling miserable, lacking in energy, tiredness, low spirits and feeling depressed. Some people also experience sleep disturbances, changes in appetite and diminished sex drive.
What separates SAD from general depression, however, are the dates and times of symptoms. Symptoms usually start between September and November and typically disappear with the arrival of spring and longer daylight hours.
Logically, it seems the most common treatment for SAD is a combination of light therapy and antidepressants.
In light therapy, patients sit in front of a “light-box” which emits a low-intensity light while the person sleeps or goes about their morning routine. When coupled with an appropriate antidepressant, this therapy is quite effective for most people suffering from SAD.
If you think you may be the one in 20 people who are thought to be affected by SAD, it’s worth doing a bit of research. You can ignore it and try to wait it out, like so many people do with the weather, but like the cold, it will simply return year after year — sometimes worse than others.
Even if you’re one of the lucky ones who aren’t afflicted, it’s important to be aware, educated and compassionate toward the few who are — this is how these diseases are best controlled and eliminated.
If you’re the type to kick the crutches out from beneath a polio victim, so be it. There’s little I can do to change you.
But the smallest bit of understanding takes virtually no energy on your part and can go a long way to bringing warmth into the cold life of someone depressed by SAD.
James Jelenko can be reached at
jjelenko@theorion.com
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Sarah
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