hope for “winter SAD”
Those of you living in the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere may know the winter “blahs” these days, but there is a group of people who have much more severe symptoms during winter, and they have their own diagnosis—SAD, “seasonal affective disorder”. The more north you are, the higher the risk. It’s estimated about 9% of Alaskans suffer from SAD each winter. It’s believed to result from an increase in melatonin and/or a decrease in serotonin (a neurotransmitter commonly adjusted UP by antidepressants).
Triggered by a lack of sunshine and shortened days, SAD people suffer a depression often marked by a combination of fatigue, weight change (typically weight gain), social withdrawal, increased sleep time, loss of concentration and libido, and feelings of hopelessness. It can be so severe that some consider suicide. It’s a serious disorder that demands care, and if you or someone you know might be affected, therapy is usually highly effective.
To help prevent SAD and to treat mild cases, push yourself to get outside each day (in the midday sun if possible), and increase aerobic exercise in the winter months…it may be enough just to take a brisk 30 minute walk outside each day. Avoid areas of your house that are dark. Try to sit and work by the window, keep the blinds up, and the lights on more than usual (bright white fluorescent light bulbs are best). Socializing more each day seems to help. 
If your case is more severe or not helped by simple measures, talk to your physician. First line therapy includes (no shock) “light therapy”, but there is a special light that’s recommended, used in a particular way each day for at least 30 minutes, usually in the morning. Tanning bed lights are a bad idea, and you can’t depend on regular fluorescent lights if you have significant SAD; you need the right light. A SAD therapy light may emit from 2500 to 10,000 lux, whereas a typical home light fixture might give off only 100 to 200 lux. Adequate ones costs over $100, but it’s a good investment, and cheaper than other treatments such as antidepressants (ask your doctor about ones that won’t have a sedative side-effect) and psychotherapy. Some people need a combination of these treatments to shake them out of SAD. Many need to start their therapy each fall and continue to late spring.
I admit that right now I’m in Brazil, and it’s about 30 degrees (centigrade, about 86 F.) It’s the middle of summer, and I don’t think anyone here suffers from SAD (unless they have “reverse SAD”, a subject for a later blog.)
So, to my friends and readers up north, I’d recommend—if you can swing it—a trip down here or somewhere south to avoid SAD next year. You might ask your accountant: if you get a doctor’s prescription, could such a trip be tax-deductible? But if you’re ever planning to run for political office, don’t even think about it…
