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Are you already dreading the winter blues, or worse? Do you struggle every winter with depression, low energy, poor diet, excessive sleep habits, and feelings of isolation. You may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). What are the symptoms of SAD?
According to the Mayo Clinic website, seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same times every year.
Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer. But some people have the opposite pattern, developing seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer. In either case, problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.
Fall and winter SAD (winter depression)
Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:
- Depression
- Hopelessness
- Anxiety
- Loss of energy
- Social withdrawal
- Oversleeping
- Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
- Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
- Weight gain
- Difficulty concentrating and processing information
Spring and summer SAD (summer depression)
Symptoms of summer-onset seasonal affective disorder include:
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Agitation
- Weight loss
- Poor appetite
- Increased sex drive
Reverse SAD
In rare cases, people with seasonal affective disorder don't have depression-like symptoms. Instead, they have symptoms of mania or hypomania, a less intense form of mania, during the summer. This is sometimes called reverse SAD.
Symptoms of reverse SAD include:
- Persistently elevated mood
- Increased social activity
- Hyperactivity
- Unbridled enthusiasm out of proportion to the situation
Click for more information on SAD from the Mayo Clinic. |
