subject: Seasonal Affective Disorder [print this page] Artists use light boxes for tracing an image but today these are used to help people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is commonly known as "winter depression". It is in fact a form of depression with symptoms that typically onset in the fall or early winter and then diminish in the spring.
The full spectrum lights designed for lamps that treat seasonal affective disorder are up to ten times more powerful than incandescent bulbs and emit the same spectrum of light that the sun does.
If you find yourself dreading the winter months and you feel consistently sad as the days get shorter, you are probably struggling with S.A.D. Make a short list to rule out other factors.
Humans are living breathing creatures and react to sunlight just as much as plants and animals do; we may not exactly wither in the shade, but we still need sunlight.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition, the bible of mental health professionals, people in their 20s and 30s are at the highest risk for SAD.
For some people however, the symptoms of SAD cannot be ignored or even tolerated. Severe symptoms of Winter Depression can adversely affect every part of a person's daily routine and be truly life altering.
If the only symptoms of SAD are getting depressed when the dark nights fall upon us then the whole world could be diagnosed in a second.
Regardless of your gender or age, however, the first step to getting to the root cause of the problem that may be causing your winter woes, is recognizing any variations of symptoms you may be experiencing.
The other thing you can do to help depression and SAD is to increase the amounts of raw fruits and vegetables in your diet.
SAD can begin at any age, but is rarely evidenced in childhood. It occurs mostly women age 35 and above. If one or more symptoms of SAD can be seen it is strongly suggested that one seek appropriate medical care.
Although there is some variation in the types of symptoms between Winter and Summer SAD, generally they include agitation, anxiety, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, and withdrawal.
People who find themselves losing interest in their usual activities, withdrawing from social activities, feeling sad or anxious, sleeping or eating more, or feeling irritability or heaviness in the arms and legs may have SAD.
Treadmill desks offer a solution that allows an individual to engage in moderate physical activity without the need to engage harsh weather conditions and also does not take any additional time out of their day.
There is in many cases, in addition to the fatigue, a sufferer may also exhibit signs of having trouble carrying out his or her obligations.
There are undoubtedly many writers who may suffer from SAD and who are as a result less motivated to write in the winter months.
This is caused by a chemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the lack of sunlight in winter and the shortening of daylight hours and is repeated year after year.
