Plus, the medical community is continuing to learn that certain conditions operate on a spectrum. A mild case of wintry funk is perfectly natural. Fairbanks, Alaska, stands at 30%.Įven if you don’t suffer from seasonal affective disorder, you’ve likely struggled with your mood and relationships during the winter. New York, for instance, is closer to 17%. While only 5% of the total American population is dealing with SAD, that varies by latitude.
Check out this map for where the disorder is most common. It affects our decision-making, appetite and motivation - three pretty important things to have compromised for 40% of the year. The sudden, dramatic decrease in sunlight exposure disrupts sleep-wake cycles and suppresses mood-regulating hormones like melatonin and serotonin. Why does it happen at all? Well, darker days can really mess with our heads. Seasonal affective disorder generally starts between the ages of 18 and 30 while it catch 20-somethings off guard at first, two straight years of seasonal symptoms mean you’ve got it. But it really helps to have those necessities in place.” That’s the one benefit (if you can call it that) of seasonal depression: you know it’s coming. Marcuetta Sims, “Far too often people wait until they’re in the thick of it to start doing something about it. Beyond talk therapy and and medication - either of which might be prescribed after an accurate SAD diagnosis - there are lifestyle changes that you can incorporate into your day to get ahead of the disorder.Īccording to licensed psychologist Dr. But those who suffer from SAD should also be aware that the hopelessness it causes isn’t inevitable. It’s important that people are aware of the prevalence of the disorder and the harm it can cause (from insomnia to weight fluctuations to feelings of intense isolation).
In recent years, the disorder has become a zeitgeist-y term, likely because of its on-point acronym (SAD), and the frequency and casualness with which Twitter and TV shows tend to allude to it.
In fact, an estimated 10 million Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder, a season-specific modulation of major depressive disorder, which generally starts in late fall and doesn’t ease up until the sun returns for good in mid-spring. You know: cozy shit.īut “lane-shifting” seasonal habits don’t come easily to everyone. These months represent an opportunity chance to cook more, light candles and fall asleep next to a fireplace with a book on one’s lap. Shorter days are a time to hunker down and hamper expectations. For some - like one of my colleagues, who waits all year to put on a fisherman’s sweater and sit in the darkest booth of a pub - this is cause for celebration. A month from today, throughout much of the country, the sun’s going to be setting at around 4:30 in the afternoon.
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