Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), researchers disagree “whether SAD is a distinct mental illness or a specific type of major depressive disorder” (Duckworth and Freedman). There are two types of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a winter and summer version. Researchers conclude that only about five percent of adults in America have the winter variant of SAD, and less than one percent have the summer variant (Khazan). NAMI defines the classic winter form of SAD as “recurrent episodes of depression, usually in late fall and winter, alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of the year” listing the symptoms as “oversleeping, daytime fatigue, carbohydrate craving and weight gain” (Duckworth and Freedman).
Khazan possibly links summer SAD to allergies by saying, “One recent study suggests summertime SAD is caused by allergies, with people reporting worse moods on days the air was thick with pollen.” As temperatures begin to rise in the spring and summer, some people report feeling overcome by the symptoms of summer SAD. Professor Thomas Wehr an expert in summertime SAD says the effects of heat can be comparable to those of depression, causing sleep issues and lack of motivation. Khazan quotes Professor Wehr, who finds that when people with summer depression were “wrapped in cooling blankets at night, their temperatures dropped and their symptoms disappeared. As soon as they went outside into the summer heat, their depression returned.” Unlike its summertime cousin that generates depression in the hotter months; wintertime SAD “causes depression when the days grow short and temperatures drop” (Khazan). “Some studies have also shown that SAD is more common in people who live in northern latitudes” (Duckworth and Freedman). Patients with winter SAD often report when the temperatures begin to drop, their symptoms begin to increase. They become lethargic in colder weather; withdrawn, fatigued and just want to
Bi-polar disorder is a mental illness that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to think clearly (Duckworth and Freedman). “Some people with bipolar disorder can also have seasonal changes in their mood and experience acute episodes in a recurrent fashion at different times of the year” (Duckworth and Freedman). Bi-polar disorder produces signs of reoccuring depression,mood swings and shifts in energy levels, as does seasonal winter and summer SAD. Just like Seasonal Affective Disorder researchers cannot pinpoint one particular cause of bi-polar disorder, but believe that genetics, stress and brain structure contribute to this mental illness (Duckworth and Freedman). Genetic Inheritance is perhaps linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder; one study connects the mental and genetic factors together by saying that more than two-thirds of people with Seasonal Affective Disorder also have a family member with a major mood disorder.
In conclusion, there are various causes that contribute to the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Several studies suggest that light sensitivity, environmental factors, mental health and possible genetic links discussed in this report play key roles in causing the onset of symptoms of this disorder. While the exact cause of SAD has yet to be discovered, the evidence presented by various studies suggests that Seasonal Affective Disorder may