Post Labor Day blues and the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) by Julie Cohen/Marriage and Family Therapist: at DailyStrength Doctors and Experts

Julie Cohen is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist MFT and a Child Mental Health Specialist with a private practice in Los Angeles Her areas of focus include depression anxiety panic post-traumatic stress bipolar…

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Post Labor Day blues and the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Posted in Anxiety by Julie Cohen on Sep 09, 2009

With bbq's and swim parties fresh in many of our minds, this morning's sunrise came with a rude awakening as the daily grind makes its return. Labor Day represents the unofficial end of summer. For many of us this means; back to work, the start of a new school year and many months before the next vacation can be taken.

As the alarm clock went off before the sun was up I found myself quoting my 3 year old nephew. When asked if he washed his hands before dinner he made the saddest face I have ever seen and said, "I don't wanna have to." Well this morning I really got it, because I really didn't wanna have to get up and get back to work. I'm sure many of you can relate!

On a more serious note, the end of summer also brings the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Typically it appears as the sunlight decreases over the fall and winter. Although in rare instances it can appear over the summer typically depression is on the rise in the cooler and darker months. The symptoms of SAD include:

Depressed mood (or alternatively can be irritable mood in children and adolescents).

Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities.

Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain or decrease or increase in appetite.

Insomnia or hypersomnia.

Psychomotor agitation or retardation.

Fatigue or loss of energy.

Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.

Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.

Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

It takes five symptoms from the above list to qualify for a formal diagnosis. But, you do not need all five to seek treatment. If you are overwhelmed by any of the above symptoms you should seek an assessment from a mental health professional. Seeking treatment early can help to prevent a mild depression from getting worse. If your symptoms seem to be more pronounced during the fall and winter you could be suffering from SAD.

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CATEGORIES: News

CONDITIONS AND COMMUNITIES: Anxiety • Bipolar Disorder • Bisexuality • Codependency • College Stress • Coming Out • Depression • Lesbian Relationship Challenges • Loneliness • Seasonal Affective Disorder

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Displaying comments 12-1 of 12

i have it early this yr...i get it every year...a bad time..

By jimgreg Oct 15, 2009

I replaced two of my ordinary fluorescent lamps with Viva-Lite full spectrum lamps - It helped a bit, I felt a lot better, and calmer with those lights on.

By dougabbott01 Oct 08, 2009

Oops.. didn't link. Here it is again -- Is vitamin D deficiency casting a cloud over your health?

By jacquelinenh Sep 30, 2009

I am trying to be proactive this year with vitamin D -- still getting sunshine while I can and taking a supplement. Here's a good article about vitamin D and signs of deficiency from Marcelle Pick at Women to Women - -http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/vitamind.aspx

By jacquelinenh Sep 30, 2009

I have found that vitamin D really helps with SAD. It is getting dark quickly now in the evening and the sun is getting lower not to mention its cloudy all the time. I have started to take an extra 1,000 IU of vitamin D3. That with my multiple gives me 1,700 IU on the days I do take a multiple and the 1,000 IU on the days I don’t and it has been helping me a great deal.

I just read this article about more studies they have been doing with vitamin D3 and it is more important than first thought for the immune system and about everything else. This article: http://factoidz.com/the-health-ben...

By Craig09 Sep 24, 2009

I have this very very much so. It will usually hit me the third day of no sunshine. I am fortunate that I live in California in a very sunny area. High enough to often be above many clouds. Since moving here the longest I've gone without Sunshine was 4 days and boy did I feel it. But the sunshine came out just in time. I don't have the proper light bulbs but if there is no sun in the morning I will still sit under a lamp and let it shine in my face. Even my SO will turn it on for me. It helps but I do know there are certain bulbs you can get for this certain disorder that do help properly. By sitting under them for as little as 20 minutes in the mornings they wake the brain up.

By Amethyst22960 Sep 15, 2009

From the south. Worse month is January. I guess we are lucky. Even in December it can be sunny and just a bit cool, many times only a sweater is needed. By the end of February, the weather is getting nice.

By fayej Sep 14, 2009

thank you Julie: it's real nice to hear that I'm not alone in this LOW ~ I've been trying to figure it out and I should just get to exercize and stop taking melatonin, which interferes with the Wellbutrin and Zoloft, doesn't it? September is notoriously sticky for me. I went to school for 24 years! If I count Preschool - 25 years! I really feel the beauty in foilage but it's always accompanied by a melancholy - I found my bottom on September 25. I'll be 13 years sober on the 26th ~ It might be time to seek some outside help (again) Time is passing WAY TOO SLOWLY ~ ~ oddness - thanks for listening
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By Wontada Sep 11, 2009

Get out and enjoy the change of seasons! I personally do not like one season all the time. I don't really miss summer, it is ok but too hot to do much outside until later afternoon, autumn is beautiful with the changing leaves, winter with the beautiful snow draped trees and ice hanging off rooftops, and spring with all the fresh new flowers popping up. Hard to understand the change of season sickness, there is much to enjoy all year long if you live in the north central US. And by the way, you can apply for my job---I quit my executive position to enjoy life. Too much stress, the more efficient and organized I was the more work there was given to me. I was told by friends that I was too good at my job. At the end they were combining my job of 30-35 hrs a week with another job of 40 hrs. I told them, "Oh I get it, now I will get to do 75 hrs. of work in 40?" and I said good-bye. Hauled into HR for 2 hrs trying to talk me out of leaving. I was just getting sicker and sicker being stressed out, didn't want to leave in a body bag. =)

By Barbell Sep 11, 2009

I wish I had a job to go to. I was laid off end of Feb. Now that summer is over , I am more depressed , about having been laid off. The "change" of season has really gotten to me this week. As I am walking the dog in the morning , I see people that must be driving to work or school ... really really depresses me. There is like 15 milllion people out of work and 2 million jobs available..
When my mom was killed , my job was only thing that had kept me center.
Not have my mom, not have a job......

By deborahlynn50 Sep 10, 2009

Already noticed this issue - I am in northern Canada, and it is much worse here, because our days are so LONG in summer, and the contrast just kills me. I went out to water my garden at 8pm and it was too dark. I used to work in the garden till nearly midnight. I came in just feeling like life wasn't worth living. I thought Feb. was my bad month, but now I am realizing this starts much earlier. Such a small window of opportunity to be happy. I guess I need to move further south. Thanks for the article.

By Angela53510 Sep 10, 2009

Since most of us work full time,and we work even in summer (the biggest shock for university graduates is to discover that they do in fact have to work in the summer), I think much of this trauma that some people feel is nostalgic, a throwback to the time when we were in fact going back to school and the realization that we are no longer children. And of course, up here, the knowledge that our three week summer is over and no matter what Al Gore may shriek about Global Warming, we are about to be socked with another winter of deep cold, high heating bills, shoveling and plowing, and long underwear, and it will last until the middle of next June. (In fact, this year, it lasted until the beginning of August).

The people of Finland have the highest incidence of SAD which leads to murder by way of alcoholism and simmering cabin fever, or so I hear. But the people in cold climates generally suffer from depression because every decision, even that to go to the mailbox or to the corner for the newspaper, requires ten minutes to put on outdoor clothes and ten minutes to take them off, then a struggle through unshoveled paths or unplowed streets, sometimes on an Indian Trail broken by others who have walked before and frequently hearing addicted joggers behind you shouting EXCUSE ME! and expecting you to dive into the snowbanks on both sides of you and allow them to attempt to jog past in their fevered denial that the season has changed and they have to stop acting as if it is still summer.

By Appleby Sep 10, 2009

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