Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Information, Resources and Guidance

This site seeks to provide a rich source of informations, ideas and guidance for sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder ("SAD"), or people who think that they maybe sufferers. It seeks to help them gain an understanding of the condition and its causes. Following on from that, to take a balanced holistic approach to addressing the symptoms through a variety of potential therapies and remedies, many of which relate to lifestyle and personal issues. Some are fun and others may surprise you.

These include homeopathic remedies, exercise, holidays, moving home, light therapy, music, pet therapy, self management and social activities. In the event that symptoms are severe, then I recommend that qualified medical advice is sought. This site is not a source of medical advice. If you are subject to medical guidance, then 'How to avoid Supplements' may help.

Please check our Disclaimer Page before acting on any information or opinions given on this site. If you would like to sign up for our newsletter, then the sign up form is on the left hand side below the menu - the newletter is an occasional mailing which contains latest news of relevance to SAD sufferers.

What is SAD?

Generally agreed to be a defined set of symptoms which are related to sunlight levels and the seasonal variation of that light. These symptoms may be present to a greater or lesser degree in people who have the condition. There are various theories as to how these variations affect the body. See Causes of Sad for more information.

Onset

This tends to be between the ages of 18 and 30 years, though many people may suffer for some time before they realise it is a problem. The author was 45 years of age before realising that it was a problem.

Are you a Sufferer?

Symptoms include

depression,
sleep problems,
lethargy,
overeating,
loss of concentration,
social problems,
anxiety,
loss of libido,
mood problems.

Usually, a diagnosis is based on 3 consecutive winters of the same symptoms.

Significance of Geography

People who live within the tropics - say between 30 degrees north and south of the equator - rarely experience it. In that region, the days are of a relatively fixed length close to 12 hours or so. Also, the intensity of light is high due to the sun’s high average altitude in the sky and relatively lower levels of heavy cloud cover. If you live outside that region, then you may be susceptible. This is an obvious clue to one of the potential remedies - go and live near the Equator. Outside the tropics, it is estimated that 4-6% of the general population are sufferers, though many more - maybe 20% - present symptoms but fall outside a strict diagnosis.

Of course, people in the Southern Hemisphere experience the symptoms coming on in the Southern Hemisphere autumn - that is during the Northern Hemisphere spring.

Women v Men

Indications are that female sufferers outnumber males by 4 to 1.

Your Views and Comments

We would love to hear what you think of this site and any suggestions you may have for its improvement; what could we do better? Is there something else you would like to see here? We are especially interested in comments from the Southern Hemisphere.

Your comments are welcome - please post them on the Comments Page.

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