Many doctors believe that there is a genetic predisposition to depression.  SAD is a form of depression that links people’s moods to the seasons, and as many as 18 million Americans suffer from SAD. 

The good news about SAD sufferers is that there is help.  There are many non-drug therapies that are very effective at relieving symptoms.  It is also good that if someone suffers from SAD, they can begin to understand when a bout of depression is coming on and seek help before symptoms become debilitating.  If you typically get depressed in the winter, you can begin light therapy before you even suffer one day of depression if you are aware of your cycle.

Light therapy is a very effective and easy treatment.  Your doctor will help develop a plan for you to increase doses according to your seasonal needs, allowing you to manage your depression without the use of drugs.  If you are newly diagnosed with SAD and not yet aware of your cycle, your doctor can help you by asking questions and helping you pay attention to your body’s needs.

Other non-drug ways of defeating SAD include eating a healthy diet, sticking to a regular exercise program, and getting a good nights rest.  It is important to know that treating depression early makes treatments more effective, and the same is true for SAD.  If your symptoms last more than 2 weeks, seek help right away.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, was once thought to be depression caused by the shorter days associated with the onset of fall and winter.  Recently, psychologists are beginning to understand that some people also get depressed in the summer.

Depression is more than just the blues.  If symptoms like poor sleep, change in appetite, and depressed mood last for more than two weeks, it is time to seek help.  While most people feel sad sometimes, it is usually in relation to some event and goes away.  If the symptoms persist and interfere with normal daily activities, then help should be sought.  There is no need to suffer when help is available.

What is interesting is that SAD has always been associated with wintertime depression, but it is now understood that many people suffer depression seasonally when there is plenty of sunlight.  Body image is believed to be a factor, but not in all cases.  If you frequently feel depressed during a particular season and then get relief when the seasons change, you may suffer from SAD.  It is important to understand that there are non-drug therapies that can help if you see your doctor.  If left untreated, depression can interfere with your family, your job, and your health.  Eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and a good nights sleep all help battle depression.  If this is not enough, then you should talk to your doctor.

Light therapy is very versatile; there are many kinds of light therapy used in order to treat the different kinds of affliction. What affliction you are combating will have an effect on which light therapy system you use, and also on the schedule in which you use it. If you are treating such things as skin conditions, then the timing isn’t as much of an issue. If you are treating allergies, then the treatment would happen when the allergy symptoms appear.

People that are considered sleep phase delayed, meaning they tend to gain energy later in the evening, waking later in the morning and feeling sluggish, need a totally different treatment schedule than those considered to be sleep phase advanced, meaning these individuals become tired much earlier and are at their most awake state in the morning. Therapies to treat these two conditions use the same light therapy system but the session times are different in order to normalize the internal body clock that controls the sleep cycle. The main thing that both types of individuals need to do is to subject themselves to the light therapy sessions on a regular schedule that is designed for their condition. If light therapy is not applied in a scheduled manner, the individual may end up with a much more confused body clock, resulting in worse sleeping habits and emotional side effects such as anger, impatience, and general feelings of agitation. Misuse of the light therapy may also result in eye strain.

PMS is responsible for such things as depression, anger, feelings of low self value. It can produce episodes of unexplained crying and even emotional outbursts. All of these things have been treated before with light therapy under the name of depression not before connected with PMS. People that were suffering from unrelated depression also began to notice a change in their PMS reactions to their menstrual cycle. This avenue of study became a focal point to some clinical trials and from that it has been derived that light therapy can have a strong positive effect on individuals that are suffering from severe PMS or PMDD syndrome relating to the menstrual cycle.

With light therapy, the PMDD or PMS did not grasp firm hold of the patients, dragging them down to the depths of despair, self devaluation and explosive anger. They were not experiencing periods of unexplained crying, nor were they feeling the heart dragging effects of depression. The light therapy has been succeeding brilliantly in reducing negative feelings and emotions. It is believed that this has in part to do with the increased levels of Serotonin which is known to be a hormone that generates energy and activity. It is also known to suppress the levels of Melatonin which is known as the ‘hibernation hormone’ as it slows the body down and reduces energy levels.