Is Seasonal Depression Common?



Littleton counseling seasonal depression treatment


Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, is a mood disorder and a set of annually recurring symptoms that affects people who enjoy otherwise normal health during the rest of the year. The symptoms come mostly during the winter and they are most common in geographic regions that get long, cold winters.
The causes of seasonal depression can be linked to the shortness of winter days and to the scarcity of natural light during the cold months. Sunshine triggers the production of certain mood-enhancing chemicals, especially serotonin and melatonin, in the human body – when we see very little of the sun, our bodies cannot produce the hormones in sufficient quantities. The shortage generates symptoms that range from sleeping too much, fatigue, the lack of energy and motivation to do anything and, in most severe cases, depression.
Some patients experience seasonal depression in spring and in summer. While winter depression usually takes the form of lost interest and feelings of sluggishness, spring and summer depression usually takes the form of insomnia, agitation and anxiety, the exact opposite of the symptoms associated with winter depression.
The Littleton counseling treatment for seasonal depression usually includes psychotherapy and medication, in the case of winter depression accompanied with phototherapy, that is, with the exposure to light in order to induce the production of more melatonin and serotonin.

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