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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

This condition is often called "winter blues." A reaction to lack of sunlight in winter, mild or major depression develops in late fall and clears up in early spring. As distance from the equator increases, this condition becomes more common. In the northern hemisphere, December, January, and February are the worst months.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) was described originally by Rosenthal and colleagues in 1984. SAD can be described as a mood disorder with
an established seasonal pattern. Seasonal variations in mood are well established and have been commented on by numerous sources ranging from Aretaeus and Hippocrates, to Shakespeare in The Winter’s Tale: “a sad tale’s best for winter”. Although the concept of ‘seasonal affective disorder’ has gained a degree of recognition, there is little epidemiologic support for its being considered a separate depressive disorder.

The current criteria for SAD states that there should be at least three episodes of mood disturbance in three separate years, of which two or more years are consecutive. As follow-up studies indicate that many patients with ‘SAD’ develop significant non-seasonal depressive episodes, the criteria stipulate that seasonal episodes should outnumber non-seasonal episodes by more than 3:1.

Depression Types

Normal Depressed Mood

Dysthymic Disorder (or Mild Depression)

Major Depression

Cyclothymic Disorder

Unipolar and Bipolar Depression

Bipolar Disorder (or Manic Depression)

• Hypomania
• Bipolar Disorder Treatment

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Psychotic Depression

Atypical Depression

Post Partum Depression

Endogenous Depression

Bone Marrow Depression

Winter Depression

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