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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