Spoken about this a lot over the years and lately with the unpredictable change in the weather along with the temperature fluctuations and I feel it’s important for you to notice the symptoms of Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) 🌞💦🌫🌧🌪
So what is it🤔
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the autumn and continue into the winter months, you feel tired, fatigued, lack of energy energy and your feeling the winter blues but can’t quite shake it off then SAD could be the issue.
Symptoms
In most cases, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during autumn and early winter and disappear during the spring and summer months when we have long days and more day sunnier days. But some people can have the opposite problem and have symptoms od SAD that begin in spring and summer months.
With SAD symptoms can start mild but start to become more troubling as the seasons progress.
So what are the signs Signs and symptoms of SAD 🤔:
The main symptom is low mood and feeling depressed, loosing interest in activities you once enjoyed.
low energy
Sleeping too much or too little.
Experiencing changes in your appetite or weight
Fatigue
Sluggish
Having
Difficulty concentrating
Feeling worthless or overwhelmed with guilt.
Have frequent unhappy thoughts that you can’t shake off.
Symptoms specific to winter-onset SAD, sometimes called winter depression, may include:
Oversleeping
Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
Weight gain
Tiredness or low energy
The reduced level of sunlight in the winter months may cause SAD. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body's internal clock and lead to feelings of depression and low mood.
A chemical called Serotonin which is our happy hormone can drop levels drop and trigger a chemical in our brain (neurotransmitter) that then affects our mood can trigger SAD.
Lack of sunlight in the winter months can cause a drop in serotonin and melatonin levels that may trigger the feelings of depression and can play a role in disturbed sleep patterns.
Did you know that Seasonal affective disorder is diagnosed more often in women than in men and the factors that may increase your risk of SAD could be having a family history of SAD or depression.
Take signs and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder seriously. As with other types of depression, SAD can get worse and lead to problems if it's not treated.
If you think you may be suffering from SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) then make an appointment with your GP or even speak with your local pharmacist for advice.
Complementary therapies can also help ease these symptoms.
photo credits https://www.atkinsonhrconsulting.co.uk/single-post/2018/11/15/Seasonal-Affective-Disorder-and-the-winter-blues
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