Seasonal Affective Disorders
It is rather common for a child's behavior to change due to the weather or season. Scientists have been researching this change of behavior in children for some time. Research has found that this variation happens primarily in two of the seasons out of the year. Other discoveries include both the symptoms of this disorder and some treatment options to aid in controlling it. The scientists have termed this condition as "seasonal affective disorder". This is a very common occurrence in Alaska, the only region of the United States of America with latitude of over sixty degrees north.
Seasonal affective disorder or SAD, as it is referred to, is a pattern of major depressive episodes that occur and remit with changes in the seasons.1 The two types of seasonal patterns that have been identified are the fall-onset type called winter depression; and the spring-onset type called summer depression. Winter depression is the more common of the two disorders, which begins in the late fall to early winter months and diminishes during the summer months.
Children who suffer from the disorder SAD have certain symptoms that separate them from the regular depression that is common among the general population. Almost all the children with SAD suffer from one or more of the following symptoms during the winter months: sadness; anxiety; and irritability. Some will show symptoms such as: fatigue, sleeping problems, increase in appetite, headaches, and carbohydrate or junk food cravings. There are also signs that can show problems occurring at school. These symptoms are decline in academic achievements, loss of desire to take part in activities, memory impairment, poor organization skills, and difficulty...
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...ut that the active treatment helped the majority. It shows that 71% of the twenty-eight subjects had at least a 50% decrease in symptoms, while the 25%had some decrease of symptoms. When asked, the children felt the best during treatment, 80% said during the active treatment. There have been many studies given to show the effectiveness of light therapy and how well it can work.
The change of seasons is one way in which environment has an effect on human behavior. Many people feel better and act better when it is a nice day out, when the sun is shinning, especially kids. In most cases, children have more energy in the summer than in the winter. "Seasonal Affective Disorder," affects many people, but researchers still do not know everything about this disorder, but they are finding ways to make life for the people affected by this disorder a little better.
Saunders, M. (2004, September 7). Try year-round school: The lazy days of summer may hurt children who struggle in school the rest of the time. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pp. 14A, Retrieved November 6, 2004, from Lexus-Nexus.
The seasons are caused by the toilet of the Earth’s axis. It is also caused by the way the tilt of the earth is pointed at; away or towards the sun. The tilt of the earth is 23.5 degrees. There are two solstices, the summer solstice and the winter solstice. The summer solstice is when the northern hemisphere is focused on the tilt towards the sun, maximum sunlight is reached here. The winter solstice is when it is focused on the tilt away from the sun, there will be minimum sunlight. The winter builds up cold air over North America. The Earth is closer to the sun when it is winter in the northern hemisphere. The distance from the sun varies. The earth has seasons because the earth is not straight, it is tilted. The Earth's distance from the sun does not cause the seasons. Many people believe that the seasons are caused by Earth's orbit around the sun, but this is false. Winter occurs when the Earth is closest to the sun, while summer occurs when the Earth is farthest from the sun.
From mild to severe knowing of conditions and their specific symptoms is the most straightforward way to diagnose the problem areas. The types of depression cover major, melancholia, psychotic, antenatal and postnatal, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder, dysthymic disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Major depression involves low mood and/or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities (“Types of depression”). Melancholia, a severe form of depression where many of the physical symptoms of depression are present. One of the major changes is that the person starts to move more slowly. They are also more likely to have a depressed mood that is characterised by complete loss of pleasure in everything, or almost everything (“Types of depression”). Psychotic depression, can lose touch with reality and experience psychosis. This can involve hallucinations or delusions such as believing they are bad or evil, or that they 're being watched or followed. They can also be paranoid, feeling as though everyone is against them or that they are the cause of illness or bad events occurring around them (“Types of depression”). Antenatal and postnatal depression affects women during pregnancy and in the year following childbirth. The causes of depression at this time can be complex and are often the result of a combination of factors (“Types of depression”). Bipolar disorder used to be
Due to a continuingly rising prevalence of depression in children (Hidaka, 2012), it is becoming increasingly more important to develop and adapt current psychotherapeutic interventions for use in the treatment of children. Using the case of Max, an 8 year old boy with displaying behavioural changes including social withdrawal, irritableness, lack of appetite and other symptoms of depression. He has received a diagnosis of depression and drawing from the information provided in the case study, this piece of work will apply two different psychotherapeutic interventions, play therapy and a modified
Do you ever become sad, or have trouble sleeping, and focusing in the winter, but then when it starts to get warmer, and there is more sunlight you return to being in your usual state of mind? If so, you may be experiencing symptoms of Seasonal Affective disorder, or SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. It is thought to affect roughly six percent of Americans, and women are four times as likely to be affected as men. Symptoms of SAD include changes in sleeping patterns, general fatigue, loss of pleasure, difficulty focusing, weight gain and thoughts of death or suicide; all of these symptoms are very negative and hurtful to the afflicted persons.
Depression can take several other forms. In bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic-depressive illness, a person’s mood swings back and forth between depression and mania. People with seasonal affective disorder typically suffer from depression only during autumn and winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight. In dysthymia , people feel depressed, have low self-esteem, and concentrate poorly most of the time—often for a period of years—but their symptoms are milder than in major depression. Some people with dysthymia experience occasional episodes of major depression. Mental health professionals use the term clinical depression to refer to ...
Clinical depression is a serious medical condition. It is not a case of "the blues", or being sad sometimes. Clinical depression is sadness that never goes away for those who have it. Sometimes it can be treated, and sometimes it is just something that will never be solved. Other symptoms of Clinical Depression may include, having self hate, feeling sad, anxious, or having “empty”feelings. Feelings of hopelessness,guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness. Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, angry, fatigue and decreased energy (Clinical Depression). Also difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions, Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping, overeating, or appetite loss, and lastly thoughts of suicide (Clinical Depression).
During the winter, many of us suffer from "the winter blues", a less severe form of seasonal depression than SAD. Still others are sufferers have an already existent condition, such as pre-menstrual syndrome or depression, which is exacerbated by the coming of the winter. (2). In general, many people suffer from some form of sporadic depression during the wintertime. We may feel more tired and sad at times. We may even gain some weight or have trouble getting out of bed. Over 10 million people in America, however, may feel a more extreme form of these symptoms. They may constantly feel lethargic and depressed to an extent that social and work related activities are negatively affected. This more extreme form of the "winter blues" is SAD. Typical SAD symptoms include sugar cravings, lethargy, depression, an increase in body weight, and a greater need for sleep (1). Onset of these symptoms usually occurs in October or November, and the symptoms disappear in early spring. Frequently, people who suffer from SAD react strongly to variations in the amount of light in their surrounding environment. Most often, patients who suffer from SAD and live at more northern latitudes note that the more north they live, the more distinct and severe their SAD symptoms become. In addition, SAD patients note that their depressive symptoms increase in severity when the amount of light indoors decreases and the weather is cloudy.
There are several types of mood disorders that include depression, manic episodes as in bipolar disorder and severe depression. Children with mood disorders suffer significant distress or impairment in social, educational and other important areas of functioning. Children with depression can experience feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and emptiness. They often times lose interest in their usual day-to-day activities, experience a change in appetite, changes in their sleeping patterns as well as have decreased energy and desires.
The prevalence of depression in young children and adolescents today is astounding; one out of thirty three children suffer from depression. Shockingly, until fairly recently deprssion in small children was not established as a real disorder. Consequently, the scientific research needed to comprehend how children experience depression, the causes of their depression, and treatment options have emerged over the past twenty years. (the psychiatry depressed source book) &( Dubuque, S.(1998) . Depression is defined as a serious medical condition where a person is in a constant state of sadness, feels hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way (merriam- webster.com) children who suffer from depression have constant feelings of sadness while similtaneously experience problems concentrating, have very little motivation, are often irratible, suffer from seperation anxiety and can even experience relentless physical pain like headaches and stomach pain which does not improve with treatment. Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Institutionalised seasonality is more complex as it is based on human behaviour and consumer decision making and results from religious, social, cultural, ethnic and organizational factors and policies.
Although there are several possible causes of depression, the actual cause of depression is unknown. There or some people who are more vulnerable to depressive episodes than others. (Gabbey, 2014) Causes of depression can be genetic, situational, biochemical, hormonal and seasonal or caused by neurotransmitters in the brain. Depression may be inherited and the chances are very likely that a person will have depression if a family member has. Some psychiatrist look at brain chemistry for causes of depression because people may have noticeable changes in their brains. Neurotransmitters such as: serotonin dopamine, and norepinephrine affect the imbalance of happiness and pleasure in humans. Antidepressants help to balance this issue. Many changes in hormones such as: childbirth, thyroid problems and menopause could cause depression. In the winter months people tend to be
Sadness is how the human being reacts to the loss of a loved one, the struggles of life, the disappointments, and the frustrations. Although it is a normal feeling in all these situations, there is a broad difference between being sad and being depressed. Unlike normal feelings of sadness, depression overwhelms a person, last a long time, and interferes with his or her day-to-day life. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, depression was reported as the most common mental disorder; it affects 120 million people globally and is among the leading causes of disability. The person that suffers from depression has to deal with being misunderstood and under-diagnosed on a daily basis, which leaves the patient with physical, psychological, and emotional scars.
There are four different types of seasons. They are Summer, Spring, Fall, and Winter. They each hold its own period in which they occur. Some days are long and some days are short depending on the season. Different weather, daylight hours, holidays, and different events are all events in which occur throughout the season. The events that can occur also depends on what’s the season. In each season, there are different activities that can be accomplished. For example, some seasons contain certain holidays that occur in them like Christmas, which only happens in the winter. There are a numerous amount of great activities to do during each season, but one specific season tops all of them. Out of all of the seasons, winter is the best season.
Marano, Hara Estroff. “The Season of SADness?” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC. Psychology Today, 1 July 2002. Web. 26 November 2011.