Chapter 1
Start writing here…Seasonal Depression
The mild summer takes its last weeks before it heads into the blanket wrapping Fall. People tend to have a rough time with this transition. The lack of warmth and sunlight changes when this season is in effect. They get stuck with wanting to spend all day in bed not wanting to get up, eventually it becomes a habit. They become sluggish, low energy, have no interest in the things they used to be passionate about, some even fall depressed. Some might say its a seasonal downer, but when should you know that it is much more serious than that?
Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD) is a type of mental illness that falls into the category of depression and bipolar disorder. SAD has the same symptoms as regular depression, the difference is that one is all the time and the other is only seasonal. Some might confuse SAD with just being lazy, sleeping more, and not talking to people anymore. Your moods shift dramatically with the calendar. Another confusion with SAD is knowing if you have a more serious form of depression or just knowing that you have it seasonally. There is no real trigger point to what causes SAD but one thing that is known is the reduced amount of sunlight plays a leading factor in this type of depression. The lack of sunlight has an important role on our brain chemicals and the way our hormones behave. Serotonin is the main chemical that has. Since it is weak, this triggers us to feel depressed. There is a cure to this however. Being in the SAD slump all season isn’t something you want to do. Speaking from personal experience, this was not what I wanted at all. My diagnosis was a little over 3 years ago, I was just a kid not knowing why I had started to lack in doing the things I love. I was constantly unhappy, I cried all the time because I didn’t know why I felt so empty, so emotionless. I realized how serious this was when I had even considered the thought of suicide.. I had done what anybody would do and googled why I was feeling this way. Being depressed was one reason but another was Seasonal Affective Disorder, and after having more background on SAD I decided I wanted to self treat this, and I did and it worked pretty well. I started a light treatment, the light gave off the same energy and the vitamins that I was lacking during this time. Other treatments are also seeing your doctor and getting medicated. When I had finally gone to see my doctor I had brought up the only in the fall season, my mood had changed. They then ran some tests and diagnosed me with depression and SAD. I hated the fact that now I’m just going to be another statistic , but I’m glad that I finally reached out for help and know what to do when this season change takes place. My final thought to this is knowing when your “slump” is more than just a seasonal slump, it does not make you any less of a person to reach out and ask for the help you know that you need
