Is seasonal depression real?
Yes, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is real and can cause real suffering for people who may begin to truly dread the change of seasons and their accompanying feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anxiety. This is not just ‘cabin fever’ or elevated crankiness, but is seen as real depression that simply seems to follow seasonal patterns. Q: What causes SAD, and how do you treat it? A: It could be tied to several possible origins: Melatonin deficiencies, perhaps, as the production of melatonin is tied to depression, or low clinical levels of vitamin D, which is actually a hormone delivered to us naturally via sunlight. Many cases of depression can be linked to vitamin D deficiency and actually there has been a lot of hubbub lately about vitamin D, which was pretty much ignored until recently. A 2000 IU supplementation would be a good idea for a person who appears to be suffering from SAD (to start with); Another link to sunlight is to use full-spectrum light boxes to treat SAD ‘natura