Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

SAD-এর সঠিক কারণ কেউ জানে না। তবে বিষণ্ণতার লক্ষণগুলো কম সূর্যের আলো পাওয়ার সাথে সম্পর্কিত বলে মনে করা হয়।

একটি তত্ত্ব হলো, শীতের মাসগুলোতে আলোর অভাব আপনার মেজাজ, ঘুম ও ক্ষুধাকে প্রভাবিত করে, আর তাতে আপনার অনুভূতিতেও পরিবর্তন আসে।

SAD can be hard to pin down, because many other kinds of depression cause very similar symptoms. It may take a few years before you and your doctor notice that your low moods are following a regular seasonal pattern.

Your doctor may do a mental health assessment. As part of this, you may be asked about:

• your mood
• your lifestyle
• your eating habits
• your sleeping habits
• whether your thoughts and behaviour change with the seasons
• your own medical history
• your family's medical history

Your doctor may also do a short physical check-up to rule out other reasons for your symptoms.

To diagnose SAD, your doctor will consider whether:

• you have had symptoms during the same season for 2 or more years in a row
• your spells of depression are followed by periods when you feel well
• there is any other explanation for your seasonal mood changes

Treatment for SAD

Your GP will recommend the most suitable treatment option for you. This may involve using a combination of treatments to get the best results.

Self help for SAD

Work through our self help guide for depression that uses cognitive behavioural therapy.

Change Mental Health has some tips for managing SAD

Talking therapy

You might be offered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which is a type of talking therapy. It helps you change how you think and react to situations that are making you unhappy.

Counselling is another type of talking therapy where you talk to a trained counsellor about your worries and problems.

Light therapy for SAD

Light therapy simulates the sunlight that’s missing during the darker winter months.

However, there’s mixed evidence about the effectiveness of light therapy.

Light therapy may be more effective if used first thing in the morning. Some people find looking at a very bright light uncomfortable.

Light therapy produces short-term results. It may help to relieve your current symptoms, but you may still be affected by SAD next winter.

When buying a light box, make sure that you choose one that is:

• made by a fully certified manufacturer
• medically proven to treat SAD

The SAD Association can provide a list of recommended manufacturers.

Very bright light may not be suitable if you:

• have an eye problem or your eyes are particularly sensitive to light
• are taking certain types of medication, such as antidepressants
• have epilepsy

Speak to your GP if you’re unsure about a particular product or if you experience any side effects while using light therapy.

Antidepressants for SAD

Antidepressants are often only prescribed for SAD when the symptoms are severe. This is because there’s limited evidence that they’re effective.

It’s thought that they are most effective if they’re taken at the start of winter (before the symptoms appear) and continued until spring.

It can take between 4 and 6 weeks for antidepressants to take full effect. It’s also important to continue to take the medication as prescribed, even if you start to feel better.

Read more about antidepressants

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