How does Seasonal Affective Disorder change your mood?

SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) also called as winter blues, winter depression, summertime sadness, summer depression or seasonal depression is a kind of mood disorder subset in which people with common mental health during most of the year experiences depressive signs in the summer or winter season.

Simply you can say SAD is a kind of depression that is linked to changes in seasons; SAD starts and ends at approximately the same times each year.

Symptoms of Seasonal affective disorder

• Feel moody, sad, anxious or grumpy
• Gain weight
• Sleep more but still feel exhausted or tired
• Lose interest in your regular activities
• Have trouble in concentration
• Eat more and long for carbohydrates like bread and pasta
• Irritability

Causes of SAD

The accurate causes of SAD are not fully known, but it’s frequently connected to diminished sunlight exposure all over the shorter autumn and winter days. But some known causes are:

• Production of serotonin
• Production of melatonin
• Body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm)

Treatment for SAD

For SAD -A range of treatments are available. Some suitable treatment programs for you are:

• Light therapy: Open the window
• Lifestyle measures: Spend time outdoors
• Talking therapies
• Regular exercise