Is Seasonal Affective Disorder Common

Seasonal affective disorder or SAD as it is normally called is a type of depression which is trigged by the seasons of the year. Winder onset depression is one of the most common types of SAD. The seasonal affective disorder symptoms usually start appearing during late fall or during early winter and normally go away by summer months. A much less common type of this disorder is called as the summer onset depression and according to seasonal affective disorder information it starts during late spring or early summer and go away by winter. Seasonal affective disorder might also be related to the changes in the amount of daylight during different times of the year. Fortunately, there is proper seasonal affective disorder medication available but you can even take a natural antidepressant if you are experiencing minor depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Information

It has been found according to the seasonal affective disorder information that SAD is quite common and people suffer from this disorder throughout the world. Between 4 percent to 6 percent of the people in the United States suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Moreover another 10 percent to 20 percent of the people might experience seasonal affective disorder symptoms during mild form of winter onset. Based on seasonal affective disorder information, the disorder is more common in women than in men. Although some of the children might also experience symptoms of SAD it usually does not start in people younger than 20 years of age. When it comes to the adults, the risk of developing seasonal affective disorder usually decreases as they get older. It has been found that winter onset SAD is quite common in the northern regions where the winter season is naturally longer and even harsh.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Symptoms

Almost most of the symptoms of this disorder are clues to diagnosis, not everyone who experiences seasonal affective disorder might have the same symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms for this disorder include, change in appetite with craving for starchy foods and sweets, drop in energy level, weight gain, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, tendency to oversleep, irritability and anxiety, avoidance of social situations and increased sensitivity to social rejections. Moreover the symptoms might also include guilty, physical problems and feelings of hopelessness.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Medication

A proper seasonal affective disorder medication and treatment is available for this disorder. Winter onset SAD is usually caused by the reaction of your body to lack of sunlight. Therefore light therapy is one of the most common options in the treatment of this disorder as the sunlight can help improve the symptoms. Your doctor might also suggest you using this therapy while you can even use a specially made light box or light vision that can be worn over your cap. This can greatly help in reducing the symptoms of SAD. In case you are experiencing a minor depression then a natural antidepressant can prove to be quite helpful. However you need to get yourself properly diagnosed if you face the above symptoms because it could possibly be SAD so that you can avail the right seasonal affective disorder medication.