What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Seasonal Affective Disorder affects 10-20% of people worldwide. Some people report feeling not so good in the winter, especially if they reside in an area with frequent climatic changes and dark winters. Some claim that it feels “like hibernation” and can interfere with their daily lives. We refer to this as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This has also been referred to as having “Winter Depression” or “Winter Blues.”
Moreover, people with SAD will experience a change in personality at the same time every year. Such as losing interest in social activities, undergoing eating and sleeping issues, or other things they once found enjoyable. Similar to seasonal depression, PTSD patients experience seasonal affective disorder. If you are a trauma survivor, it’s the anniversary of your trauma which sets off your symptoms, not the weather.
So, without further ado, let’s look at seasonal-affective disorder (SAD) details in this article.
What are the causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder?
An imbalance in the brain’s biochemistry causes seasonal-affective disorder. Shorter daylight hours and less exposure to sunlight, which your body needs as a cue to generate chemicals and hormones that indicate whether you should be awake or asleep, cause SAD (seasonal-affective disorder).
Sunlight activates the hypothalamus, a brain region regulating mood, appetite, and sleep. Lack of the sun and issues with specific brain chemicals in SAD patients prevent the hypothalamus from functioning properly, and therefore impact:
- The process of melatonin synthesis (a hormone that affects sleep)
- Disturb the body’s circadian rhythm (or internal clock, which controls several biological activities, including mood, sleep, digestion, appetite and energy levels throughout 24 hours)
- The process of serotonin synthesis (a hormone that regulates mood, appetite and sleep)
Read: What Are The Causes of PTSD
What are the symptoms of SAD?
seasonal affective disorder is four times more common in women than men, and those who live further from the equator are more prone to experience it. The risk for seasonal affective disorder increases with age, peaking between the age of 18 and 30.
Attention deficit, indecision, sleep disturbance, eating disorder, weight and energy loss, anxiety, and restlessness are some symptoms that indicate a seasonal-affective disorder. Although these behaviours are also related to wintertime blues, they may also be connected to SAD if the severity doesn’t die over time.
How Seasonal Affective Disorder, PTSD and Personal Injury are connected?
If you are feeling depressed during seasonal changes, it’s a classic symptom of seasonal affective disorder. While this form of depression is short-run, experts believe that regardless of its type, depression can limit one’s ability to live life to the fullest.
Some believe that SAD Lamp treatment eases their symptoms. Others think that treatments for seasonal-affective disorder, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and antidepressants, are the same as those for other types of depression.
However, there are certain things you may do on your own to ease the symptoms of SAD. These suggestions can assist you in taking care of yourself during the winter, even if you don’t experience SAD.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the connection between the ongoing effect of traumas and the change of the seasons that trigger us is the first step in coping with SAD.
To meet our individual needs—those of our former selves who endured trauma and those of our current selves who are healing from trauma—we must commit to new behaviours and self-care methods. If you still feel you would rather speak to an expert who can help you identify coping mechanisms, we have experienced trauma therapists.
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