What is Seasonal Affective Disorder, Its Effects, Causes, Treatment and Everything You Want To Know

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a famous psychological disorders which is linked to climate change. Mostly it occurs in winter this is why it is also called  "winter depression". This disorder is seen in wide range of people and usually this is not considered a big problem as well as it doesn't lasts for long time but in some cases SAD starts increasing and results in depression and other problems. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a seasonal mood and only happens in winter.

It is noted that the disease usually appears in the third decade of life, which affects women more than men, as the HLA plays a role in this matter, and experts attributed the winter depression to the physiological and biological changes that occur to the body in conjunction with the weather, climate change, leading to a number of pathological effects.

• Dischronation: which arises due to changes in body temperature, lack of sun exposure.
• Lack of the hormone serotonin: which scientists regarded as the hormone of happiness, where he works to give a feeling of happiness, comfort and calm.
• Lack of the hormone melatonin: a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, and the preservation of the body's biological clock is irregular, and gives the feeling of calm and relaxation.

It is noted that the symptoms of seasonal mood disorder usually starts as a minor problem, and sometimes it increases to resemble the traditional symptoms of depression, as it should be pointed out that the symptoms of winter depression are frequently different from the symptoms of depression summer, where the symptoms of winter depression are a ..

• Increased appetite towards food, especially sugars and fats.
• Desire to sleep for long hours, especially in the daytime hours.
• Increases the weight, which is a natural consequence of the increasing desire to eat sugar and fats, as well as sleeping for long.
• Tendency to Introversion and isolation, a sense of laziness and lethargy.
• Poor Libido.
• Disorder of the menstrual cycle in women.

The depression or summer disorder is inverse of winter disorder. The depression causes:

• Loss of appetite.
•Weight loss .
• Difficulty sleeping and the risk of insomnia.
• Increase libido.

There are different treatments of Seasonal Mood Disorder or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD),  it includes some traditional ways as well as some modern and doctoral methods. Some of the treatments of  SAD are given below:

• Photodynamic therapy: As you know SAD is also associated with darkness therefor a special kind of projector is designed which projects light rays similar to sun. The patient is exposed to that light everyday for hours and this treatment goes on for months till the cure.

• Anti-depressants: This method requires a kind of medicines to be taken. This method should be applied under the supervision of medical specialists.

• Diet Antidepressant: This is done by focusing on eating certain foods which compensate for lower level of the hormone serotonin. Consumption of specific food cures the disorder. Mostly the diet referred contains Avocados, Sates, Bananas, Pineapple, Fish, Eggs, as well as low-fat dairy products.