Seasonal Affective Disorder

1270 Words3 Pages

Did you find yourself catching the “winter blues” this season? What about when spring or summer arrives? Do you find yourself acting out or the ordinary? Maybe you’ve caught Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is a mood disorder that is taken serious by some but many others fear that it is simply an excuse for other to bring themselves down. It is not any different from a sign of serious depression, therefore can be life threatening if not given the proper treatment. In fact Seaonal Affective Disorder is a subtype of depression. Seasonal affective disorders are also know to correspond to other mood disorders such as bipolar disorder or recurrent depressive disorder( Partonen, Lonnqvist). Seasonal Affective disorder is something that maybe people suffer from and result in isolate themselves in a state of depression for several months out of the year. This disorder was discovered in 1984 by a man named Rosenthal and one of his coworkers.( Psychological Medicine 799) The two of them considered that conditions in the weather caused recurrent depressive episodes that occurred once a year for several months at a time (Psychological Medicine 799) . Many people thought that this was a skeptical disease and were not big on diagnosing people with SAD. They thought that it was no different than just a minor depression and believed that medical attention was not critical. What critics did not realize was how this disorders almost fully impaired people who suffered with it for nearly four months out of the year on a continual basis (Palmer). This is not acceptable because this kind of impairment is what can lead people to suicide. “Nearly 25 percent of people who live in the northern latitude suffer from at least some symptoms of SAD” (... ... middle of paper ... ... Howland, Robert H. "Somatic Therapies for Seasonal Affective Disorder." Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services 47.1 (2009): 17-20. Print. Levitan, R. "Polymorphism of the serotonin-2A receptor gene (HTR2A) associated with childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adult women with seasonal affective disorder ." 71.1-3 (2002): 229-233. Web. 22 Feb 2011. Palmer, Rebecca. "The evolution of seasonal affective disorder." Helium n. pag. Web. 15 Feb 2011. Psychological Medicine. Epidemiology and Seasonal Affective Disorder. 1988. 18. Great Britian: 1988. Print. "Seasonal Affective Disorder; SunBox "Seasonal Affective Disorder; SunBox Offers Treatment Option for Seasonal Affective Disorder Sufferers." Science Letter (2005): 1237. Print. Sher, Leo. "Alcoholism and seasonal affective disorder." 45.1 (2004): 51-56. Web. 22 Feb 2011.

Open Document