Seasonal Affective Disorder: Some Effective Treatment Options
Seasonal affective disorder is a particular type of mood
disorder, which only manifests based on particular seasonal changes.
Other names for it include winter/summer
blues/depressions; people who suffer from this have normal moods for most of
the year, but then experience depressive symptoms during whichever season
triggers their condition.
While people
initially did not believe that this condition existed, it now is recognized as
a fairly common disorder, affecting a few percent of the population.
So if you suffer from this condition, here
are three possible treatment options you can explore:
Light therapy – This is one of the most popular
therapeutic choices for treating this illness. Usually, this involves the patient sitting in
front of a light box, which emits different spectrums of light, which is meant
to reset your body’s internal circadian rhythms. You should be able to see results with this
course of treatment within 2 weeks or so.
Anti-depressant medication – Another option for SAD is traditional anti-depressant
medicines. The length of treatment is
about the same as the light box, with initial results presenting in about 2
weeks, although the full effect may take a bit longer to completely manifest (up
to 8 weeks). SSRI’s are a popular type
of medication to prescribe for this purpose.
Therapy – There have been reports that standard
psychotherapy has been successful in treating the incidence of this disorder as
well. This is likely due to the patient
being able to identify and address the root causes of their depression, or due
to them learning stress management techniques which can prevent their seasonal
affective disorder from affecting them too heavily.
If you suffer from this condition, don’t give up hope.
Most doctors recognize the symptoms of this
disease, and as we discussed above, there are a variety of different treatment
options you can pursue to try to cure yourself of this condition.
Speak with your doctor, or another qualified
mental health professional to discuss your situation if you believe you suffer
from this and want to explore some of your options to treat the symptoms.
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