Reflection Paper on Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/2013
Jesslyn Guenther
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD)
Why should Psychiatrists trouble themselves to read about seasonal affective disorder
(SAD)? Even if it is now recognized in DSM-IV (as Recurrent Depressive Disorder with
Seasonal Pattern), many psychiatrists seem to doubt its existence. Disbelievers aver
that apparent winter depression is a temporal coincidence among some people with
recurrent affective disorder. More ardent opponents of the diagnosis accuse
psychiatrists of helping to promulgate another condition, popularized by the media,
which merely adds a further weapon to the hypochondriac’s armamentarium. Militant
doubters, in my opinion, adopt a narrow and bunkered view; even cursory consideration
of the effects of light and seasons upon behavior and evolution of the animal kingdom
ought to moderate skepticism in even the most cynical. The central issue is surely the
magnitude of such effects with regard to human well-being in the 21st century. Most of
us will identify, to some degree, with the typical winter depression symptoms of fatigue,
lowered motivation, hypersomnia, increased appetite and weight, irritability and reduced
sociability. Most people readily accept that such seasonal changes lie among a
continuum of severity, but some question whether, even at the severe end, the
symptoms merit the label of “illness” (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
In my opinion, seasonal affective disorder is a very real thing. I know from my own
personal experience because I have suffered from this disorder for years. Winters are
miserable for me, not only because of the cold and snow, but also because of the lack
of sunlight. I have wanted to move to Florida since I turned 18, but one thing or another
always prevented me from moving so I use grow lights as a form of sunlight to help me
through these times.
Seasonal Affective Disorders may be caused by different factors, depending on
personal physiology. During the winter months, the days are shorter and people spend
less time outside. Our hormones affect nearly every aspect of our biochemistry. Your
hormones also affect your personal natural circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a
biological process that oversees your internal clock. Typically you know whether you are
a “morning person” or a “night person”. This generally refers to whether you are more
alert in the morning or in the evening and the circadian rhythm is what determines this.
If the circadian rhythm is disrupted by sunlight, sad symptoms can manifest (iHealth
Cast).
Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland. This hormone responds to
day light and tells your body when it is time to go to sleep. Research has proven that
people who are exposed to long day light hours, ten or more, have decreased levels of
melatonin and they go to bed later and get up earlier. Another hormone that may have a
significant role to play is serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone that produces happy feelings
in the body and it responds to sunlight. In winter months the body may produce less
amounts of serotonin (iHealth Cast).
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
My hormones must really get messed up in the winter, because I get a lot of sad
feelings and it’s very hard for me to get up in the morning especially when it’s still dark
out. I agree with the melatonin levels decreasing with more hours of daylight because
when there are more hours of day light, I find it much easier to get up early and go to
bed later. I feel more alive when there is more daylight, but for me it also has to do with
the weather being warmer too. I’m a lot happier in warm weather. In winter my serotonin
levels must be very low because sometimes it’s hard for me to find any happy feelings
at all.
The long, dark winters of Alaska can put even the best people in a funk. Gloomy days
can intensify depression or make people sluggish. Alcoholism, drug addiction and family
violence often increase from the pressure of the dark. The glandular system responds to
the dark by slowing down and fatigue sets in which affects the immune system and
causing colds and flu (Seasonal Affective Disorder Archives).
People in Alaska say it doesn’t have to dominate their lives. People can overcome the
influence of the dark, even capitalize on it. Two basic remedies that balance out the
dark are light and exercise. Investing in a good light designed especially for seasonal
affective disorder is a great thing to shift your glandular system into high gear and wake
up the immune system. Regular workouts, (as little as 20 minutes a day) also helps to
keep the body in a higher gear. These two influences create polarity, (a balance), and a
body in balance is a healthy happy body (How to be Happy in the Dark, Jackie
Kosednar).
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
These are the things that I have been told to do for my disorder. I had a SAD light but it
broke when I moved this past year and they aren’t cheap so I haven’t replaced it yet. I
also use grow lights, which help me, not only because of the light, but watching the
plants grow give me a feeling of spring time. I don’t exercise as much as a I should in
the winter, but when I do, it really does help me feel a little better.
While SAD is almost always talked about in terms of adults, children and adolescents
are not necessarily immune. SAD might exist among children, but it has not been well
studied, says Eve Spratt, MD, Associate Professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the
Medical University of South Carolina (Health Children.org).
The signs and symptoms of SAD in children are similar to those of adults. With children,
you might first notice signs in their schoolwork and their ability to listen in class. They
may not want to play with friends and they crave carbs and comfort food more than
usual (She Knows Parenting).
I do believe that SAD can exist in children, especially children who tend to stay indoors
most of the winter, but I think it is more prevalent in adults. As a child, I remember liking
the winter and enjoying being out in the snow. I don’t remember feeling down in winter
until I reached my later teens. I think that one reason for this is that children are more
active in winter than most adults are. They don’t mind being out in the cold.
No one should ever think that they are just imagining feeling down during the winter
months because these feelings are probably very real and adults should also learn to
watch for signs of seasonal affective disorder in their children so they can do something
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
about it before it gets any worse. Seasonal Affective Disorder if gone undiagnosed can
lead to major problems with depression.
Jesslyn Guenther
Reflection Paper on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Intro. Community Mental Health
3/7/13
References
I Health Cast, Seasonal Affective Disorder, www.ihealthcast.com/?p=535
Seasonal Affective Disorder,
www.serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro00/eb1/Edmundson.html
Seasonal Affective Disorder, The British Journal of Psychiatry,
www.bjp.rcpsych.org/content/182/2/174.full
She Knows Parenting, www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/982289/signs-ofseasonal-affective-disorder-in-children
Healthy Children.org – Winter Blues – Seasonal Affective Disorder and Depression,
www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/emotional-problems
Seasonal Affective Disorder Archives, www.alaskawellness.com/SADArchive,htm