Seasonal Affective Disorder: What are its symptoms?

Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is a type of depression that is seasonal. It means that this kind of depression comes during a specific season and goes as the season ends. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), this kind of depression starts in the late fall and early winters and ends during the spring or summer. However, according to Mayo Clinic, depression episodes can also occur during summer but are much less common than winters. As mentioned above, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a kind of depression, and according to NIMH, it is not considered as a separate disorder.

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NIMH states that for a person to be diagnosed with SAD, the person must possess all the symptoms of major depression occurring during the specific season only, for at least 2 years. There are different symptoms for SAD during winter and during summer. According to Mayo Clinic, in the case of both summer and winter kind of Seasonal Affective Disorder, the symptoms become more severe as the season progresses, although the symptoms might have started out mildly. The symptoms of summer linked depression and winter linked depression are contradictory to one another. Anybody, irrespective of their stature, can be gripped by Seasonal Affective Disorder.

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Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder

During Winter:

1.       Feeling extremely tired or being low on energy

2.       Oversleeping/ Hypersomnia

3.       Changes in appetite, leaning more towards overeating

4.       Gaining weight

5.       Craving for foods with high carbohydrates

6.       Social withdrawals

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During Summer:

1.       Feeling agitated

2.       Changes in appetite leaning towards weight loss

3.       Feeling extremely restless

4.       Loss of sleep or Insomnia

5.       Feeling anxious

6.       Having episodes of violent behaviour

Famous personalities who suffered from SAD

Allegedly, Barbara Hambly, a famous fiction novelist from America suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder. She has written a string of novels based on the famous movies Star Trek and Star Wars. Another celebrity who suffered from SAD is Jillian Barberie, a Canadian actor and television host who was extremely talented. Famous Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, who is famous for her song “Torn” also suffered from the disorder.

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