If you find that your moods start to darken at the same time as the days become darker, this is not uncommon. Seasons can very much have an impact on your mental health — an impact that extends into clinical depression for many.
By the numbers, about 5% of adults in the United States have seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a form of depression that’s tied to seasonal changes.
As experts in depression and mood regulation issues, Dr. Diana Ghelber and the team at Institute for Advanced Psychiatry have considerable experience helping patients with SAD to better navigate seasonal mood changes.
Based on this experience, we want to outline a few key characteristics of SAD and how we can help you if you recognize any of these signs.
Obviously, the defining characteristic of SAD is a shift in mood that corresponds with a shift in the season. More specifically, we’re referring to fall and winter, mostly, and the shorter days with less sunshine that come with these seasons.
While many people feel the winter blues, SAD extends beyond that and into clinical depressive symptoms, such as:
While winter-pattern SAD is far more common, there is a summer-pattern version in which people experience depression during the longer days of spring and summer.
Most people with SAD experience some degree of mood dysregulation for 4-5 months per year, which encompasses the fall-winter months, or spring-summer months for summer-pattern SAD.
Another good indicator of SAD is that the cycle repeats each year. So, if you notice a pattern of depression in which the symptoms strike about the same time each year and last until the seasons change again, it’s likely that you’re dealing with SAD.
If after reviewing your symptoms and their timing, we find that you have SAD, the good news is that we can help you weather seasonal changes on a much more even keel.
There are several treatment options, which we might try separately or in combination, including:
When it comes to depression, we’ve found great success with TMS, which helps to create healthier neurotransmitter activity in your brain that can boost your mood. In its application for SAD, the results have been much the same. In fact, one study reports that, “Depression with seasonal pattern was found to respond to rTMS treatment similarly to depression without seasonal pattern.”
As you can see, we have options to help you navigate every season of the year with better mental health. To learn more about SAD and your treatment options, we invite you to contact our office today in Fort Worth, Texas, to schedule an appointment.
