Seasonal depression winter symptoms

How to deal with winter depression? Why does winter make you depressed? What are the symptoms of seasonal depression?

Do the bleak winter months drop you into a depression ? Maybe you have seasonal depression , also known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. Find out more from the experts at WebMD.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a category of depression that emerges in particular seasons of the year. It’s a natural mood lifter. Mental health experts say symptoms of depression can show during the winter months.

January and February are usually the peak of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Research shows SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. Winter depression is still a mystery to scientists who study it.

But researchers agree that people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder are particularly sensitive to light, or the lack of it. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, typically starting in the late fall and early winter and going away during the spring and summer.

Depressive episodes linked to the summer can occur, but are much less common than winter episodes of SAD. SAD is sometimes known as winter depression because the symptoms are usually more apparent and more severe during the winter. The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD ) are similar to those of normal depression , but they occur repetitively at a particular time of year. They usually start in the autumn or winter and improve in the spring. The nature and severity of SAD varies from person to person.

We asked experts what symptoms of seasonal affective disorder you should know about. Common symptoms include sleeping too much, having little to no energy, and overeating. There are some usual symptoms of seasonal affective disorder that occur no matter what time of year, like low energy, feeling sluggish or agitated.

Major depressive disorder with seasonal pattern, also referred to as winter or seasonal depression , is a syndrome with depression that starts and ends at the same time each year. There are two types of this disorder - fall-onset and summer-onset. The fall-onset type, often called winter depression , is more recognized. Depression is dominating on the northern part of Europe and USA and whole Canada, in the winter. Seasonal depression is not about fleeting moods or temporary gloominess that arrives out of coincidence.

In fact, the driving force behind seasonal depression is well-documented and researched. According to the National Institutes of Health, the weather itself is responsible for the bulk of the symptoms. Discover how your depression may be tied to the seasons.

The stress of anticipating the onset of SAD often in the sufferer having anxiety months before SAD symptoms begin each year. Here are expert-approved ways of coping.

In that way, it is different than the milder winter blues. Most commonly, seasonal depression is in the winter in North America, as that is when there are fewer hours of sunlight. Even with a thorough evaluation, it can sometimes be difficult for your doctor or mental health professional to diagnose seasonal affective disorder because other types of depression or other mental health conditions can cause similar symptoms.