Seasonal Affective Disorder
By: Elena Agosto
What is seasonal affective disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder is depression that happens at the same time of each year.
Signs or Symptoms.
Seasonal affective disorder does not have any signs, but it does have symptoms.
Symptoms-
- Changes in mood
- lack of happiness
- low energy
- changes in sleep
- changes in eating
- difficulty concentrating
- less time socializing
How does it affect someone?
As winter comes symptoms of seasonal affective disorder start to show. Its basically changes the persons whole day. For example if the someone with the disorder had to go to school they would have a hard time concentrating, and they would socialize less. When spring returns the symptoms of this disorder start to go away, and the person would go back to how they normally acted.
Other names or forms?
There is only one other name for seasonal affective disorder, SAD.
How is it diagnosed?
A doctor diagnoses someone after they do a careful evaluation.
How is it treated?
There are four way the disorder can be treated.
- Increased light exposure- person would spend more time outside in the daylight.
- Light therapy- special lights that help stimulate daylight
- Talk therapy- talks with a therapist to help
- medication- antidepressants would be given