Seasonal+Affective+Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD is a mood disorder when people with a normal mental health for most of the year get depressive symptoms in the winter or summer times year after year. Some symptoms are morning sickness, tendencies to oversleep, lack of energy, withdrawal from friends and family, and this all leads to depression. SAD is mood disorder that can effect anyone you know.

It is argued that SAD is an evolved adaptation of hibernation in humans. They think that because in winter months during most of human prehistory food was scarce and would have a tendency toward low mood during the winter months. This disorder is more common in northern states and where it is colder for most of the year. About 9.6% of Finland suffers from SAD and only about 1% of florida suffers from this mood disorder. People with SAD usually lose 5% of their own bodyweight within a month. Some scientists Believe that this is a genetic disorder because they discovered that families with past history of SAD are more likely to get this disorder than families that do not have a past history.

There are many different treatments for seasonal depression, depending on the severity of the symptoms. Doctors recommend that people with SAD try to go outside early in the morning to increase their exposure to natural light. If this is impossible because of the dark winter months, medications and light therapy may help.

The general perception of this disorder is that people in northern countries are the ones that are most prone to getting this mood disorder. There are nearly 33 males and 10 females that commit suicide every year in finland. This is something that has to be brought into light. More and more people suffer from this disorder everyday.