S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

[kentuck]

Is it caused by less daylight?
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https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651

<snip>
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy.

Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.
Symptoms

In most cases, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. Less commonly, people with the opposite pattern have symptoms that begin in spring or summer. In either case, symptoms may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

...more

[luvs2sing]

1. I think so.

I know my mood brightens considerably on a sunny day and long stretches of dreary days, no matter the time of year, will put me in a funk.

[spinbaby]

2. Walking in sunlight helps

I’ve always tended to get depressed in the winter and in recent years it’s much worse because I miss my late husband over the holidays. Antidepressants just made me gain weight, but what does seem to help is to simply go outside to walk whenever the sun ones out. Even in Pittsburgh, which is known for dreary gray winters, ithe sun is out often enough o make a difference.

[RAB910]

3. GO OUTSIDE

That is how northern Europe deals with this. There is a saying- there is no bad weather, just bad dressing. Go outside regardless of how cold it gets and there will be no SAD

[Wounded Bear]

4. I suffer from it...

but most of my fellows in the PNW do, to.

However, I also got it over 30+ years of living in California, too. It might be more psychological with me, because frankly, the holiday season kind of depresses me. I've never felt the "joy of the season" like others do. In my case it is mostly forced and faked every year.

I try not to be a downer for those around me, and my daughter seems to be much better at it than I've ever been, so it's not so bad.

[3catwoman3]

5. The acronym so perfectly...

...describes the problem.

[better]

6. As a pagan who observes the influence of the elements...

I have long wondered to what extent modern central heating plays a part in SAD. Seems intuitive that not having a fire burning in the hearth all the time anymore might be related.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. I'm beginning to wonder if I don't have a very mild case of it myself.

The weird thing is that I live in Florida, so the winter landscape really isn't all that much different from the rest of the year. Ostensibly, it's bright and sunny and the leaves remain on the trees, there's no snow on the ground, and the air is usually fairly warm.

Even so, around 3 or 4 I begin to feel a tinge of melancholy, like the sun isn't as strong or powerful as should be at that time of day. It only lasts until sundown and once it's dark it all goes away.

I had always thought SAD was most prevalent in colder, more northern climates and it probably still is, but I feel a slight bit downer at this part of year at certain parts of the day.

[SharonAnn]

8. I laughed when this was originally diagnosed. I could've told them about SAD without the study.

I grew up in Northern Iowa and it it gets dark early there in the winter. As a child, I was outside a lot, even in winter, so I didn't experience SAD.

Once I was an adult and was not outside much, I began to notice it. But, fortunately, the coldest weather brought the clearest, sunniest skies.

Then I moved to Dayton, OH where winter was a long slog of grey days for months and SAD really hit me.
Traveling to Minnesota on business in the winter, I noticed that the sunny, but cold, days encouraged me to walk outside and I perked up.

So when they came up with this "official" diagnosis years ago I thought they could've saved their money. SAD affects me and I have to watch out for it, especially in the winter