World Health Organization data reveal that about five percent of adults in the world suffer from “depression”, which may lead to suicide in some cases.
People with depression may suffer from an exacerbation of symptoms of the disease during certain times of the year, which may be associated with the change of seasons, which has been called “seasonal depression”, which is considered part of “seasonal affective disorder”, according to the website of “Seasonal Affective Disorder”.Mayo Clinic“.
site indicatesJohns Hopkins Medicine“Feeling depressed is different from sadness or unhappiness, and it is not a sign of a weak personality,” he said. “Seasonal affective disorder usually begins during adulthood, and the risk of developing it increases with age.”
So what is seasonal depression? And how can it be treated?
“seasonal depression”
Dr. Maher Dabaa, a professor of psychology at the American University, explains that “seasonal depression is often a case of a person who has some type of depression, regardless of the cause, but with the change of seasons, his feeling of depression may increase and his inability to bear the pressures that the weather may sometimes impose.”
He added in an interview with “Al-Hurra” website that “changing the weather between seasons may sometimes increase a person’s organic disease conditions, such as being affected by joint pain with the advent of winter, which increases his pain and reduces his ability to coexist with the state of depression he suffers from.”
He pointed out that “seasonal depression is not only related to the change between seasons or the weather, as it may be associated with certain circumstances in a person’s life, such as an increased workload or study at certain times of the year,” stressing that it is not “a disease that appears suddenly, but it is a disease.” An increase in feelings of depression in someone who is already depressed.
The cause of this seasonal affective disorder is still unknown, but there may be some factors that stimulate it, such as: changes in the “biological clock”, especially with a decrease in the rate of exposure to sunlight in some seasons, which is also associated with a decrease in the substance “serotonin” in the brain that It affects mood, and changes in melatonin levels, which affect sleep patterns, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that “less sunlight and shorter days are associated with a chemical change in the brain that may lead to such a disorder.”
Dr. Nagham Al-Enezi, a psychotherapist, explains that this type of depression “may occur in late fall or early winter, and rarely occurs in the summer and spring seasons, which is why it is sometimes called winter depression.”
In response to Al-Hurra’s inquiries, she indicated that “the symptoms of this depression usually go away with the end of the season, mostly in simple cases, but in severe cases, it needs follow-up with a specialist doctor.”
Al-Enezi explains that during this period, you may find that the person has “a sharp change in mood and may move from happiness to extreme sadness for no reason, which is usually accompanied by insomnia, irregular sleep, and a constant feeling of fatigue, not to mention a loss or excessive appetite.”
Depression at the beginning of the year.. How can you deal with it?
While many people celebrate the advent of the New Year, some are going through a difficult time during this period, as they suffer from “beginning of the year depression.”
In general, depression generally affects women more than men, its causes are due to a complex interaction between “social, psychological and biological factors”, and the worsening of the infection may lead to suicide, which is the fourth cause of death for those between the ages of 15 to 29 years, as more than 700,000 people commit suicide. person per year, according to data Global Health Organization.
Treating “seasonal depression”
Dr. Dabaa reveals that “there is no specific treatment for this depression, as the doctor searches for the main cause of this patient’s feeling of depression, and the treatment is determined accordingly. The treating doctor may need to increase the doses of medications or adjust them in a way that reduces the effect of the person’s feeling of seasonal depression.”
And the “Mayo Clinic” website indicates that a person who feels symptoms of seasonal depression should not “bear it without help,” as treatment may include “psychological treatment using medications.”
If this disease is left untreated, it may lead a person to “social isolation, problems with study or work, exacerbation of thoughts that encourage suicide, and eating disorders that may be associated with drug or alcohol abuse at times.”
Dr. Al-Enezi says, “Choosing the appropriate treatment requires knowing the cause of this depression, which may have organic causes such as a lack of vitamins in the body, or an imbalance in the thyroid gland, or psychological causes such as stressors and traumatic accidents.”
And she warns against continuing “a feeling of depression, which may become severe at times, as it may push a person to commit suicide.”
How do you know if you are depressed or just plain sad? Experts answer
Mojo, a successful executive in his mid-40s, has lost his self-confidence and is suffering from anxiety.
And Johns Hopkins Medicine identified four methods of treatment for this depression: exposure to sunlight, light therapy with exposure to special light during the day, behavioral psychotherapy, or treatment with medication.
The World Health Organization states that although there are “effective treatments for depression and mental disorders, more than 75 percent of people in low- and middle-income countries do not receive any treatment.”
