Seasonal Affective Disorder: 5 Warning Signs To Identify It
seasonal affective disorder It is a psychopathological phenomenon that shows the union between mental processes and aspects that we usually attribute only to meteorology and astronomy.
It is a psychological disorder in which the person develops an emotional disturbance repeatedly at more or less the same time of year, and which generates depressive symptoms.
In this article we will see how it affects people’s mental health, as well as a few ways to know if it is affecting us.
Emotional affective disorder is a pattern of appearance of depressive symptoms (that is, linked to a very low mood) that occurs repeatedly over the years with the arrival of a certain seasonusually winter.
In some diagnostic manuals it is defined as an independent psychological disorder, while in the DSM-5 it is considered a variant of depression in which the symptoms disappear with the end of the season that affects the person emotionally.
Why does this mood change occur?
As with the vast majority of psychological disorders in general, the causes of seasonal affective disorder are complex and cannot be reduced to just one or two triggers; There are several factors that interact with each other and lead people to develop symptoms. However, in the case at hand, it seems that the most important causes (that is, those that have the most weight in the appearance or non-appearance of a psychological problem) are linked to the change from one season to another, which implies differences in temperature and exposure to sunlight.
At first glance, it might seem that these causes are somewhat arbitrary and “out of place.” What does the change of seasons have to do with psychological processes? However, if we look at how other forms of life work, this relationship does not seem so strange. Planet Earth is full of examples of animals that innately show a strong predisposition to behave in one way or another depending on the season. Elements such as the lack of food availability during the cold months, the reduction in the mass of vegetation that complicates camouflage, the lack of sunlight that complicates mobility… are aspects that have been reflected in the way in which many species have evolved to adjust to those phases and transitions that the ecosystems they inhabit go through.
Of course, some cases are clearer than others: the lifestyle of the wolverine, a mustelid that lives in the taiga and must spend the winter surviving on carrion, is not the same as that of Homo sapiens, a hominid that It evolved near the equator, where there is little difference between the months of January and June. However, Hormonal imbalances linked to the change of seasons can affect us to a certain extentand in the case of a small part of the population, these can become so significant that they cause emotional problems (or encourage their appearance).
Warning signs of seasonal affective disorder
As we have seen, there is no clear consensus on whether seasonal affective disorder is an independent clinical entity or if it is a version of depression.
Thus, the symptoms that characterize emotional affective disorder are those of depression. Knowing them will help us detect if it is affecting us, although the definitive diagnosis can only be made by mental health professionals. Let’s see the keys to identify it.
1. You notice a drop in your mood coinciding with the start of the season
Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder They usually appear in the first third of the entry into a season, always the same, which in most cases is winter.. That is to say, year after year, this emotional imbalance usually appears more or less on the same dates, without it being possible to attribute it to clear changes produced in the work, family or geographical context on these dates (for example, going to work in another country in certain weeks of the year).
2. You feel that your daily life has become unstructured due to changes in exposure to sunlight
Many people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder notice that the lack of light associated with winter makes their daily lives offer them much less incentives and they see more problems when it comes to enjoying their free time because of it.
3. The feeling of hopelessness is projected into the future
Although seasonal affective disorder is limited by the season that triggers it, the way people who suffer from it see the future goes beyond that. The feeling that life has no meaning in general appearsthat we can never be happy, etc.
4. Emotional fatigue always appears at the same time
The person who suffers from this alteration notices that they lack energy to carry out their day-to-day responsibilities, and spends his free time adopting a passive attitude.
You may be interested: “Emotional fatigue: strategies to confront and overcome it”
During this time of year, the person abandons his hobbies, because he does not feel motivated by them and, on the other hand, You notice that you lack the strength to get actively involved in anything that he does not see as an obligation.
Related article: “Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources”
What to do in the face of this alteration?
seasonal affective disorder can be treated in psychotherapy, where emotional management strategies and reactivation of habits capable of behaviorally and emotionally activating the person will be carried out. Forms of medical intervention such as psychotropic drugs or light therapy can also be used, always under health supervision.
You may be interested: “The 10 benefits of going to psychological therapy”
Are you looking for professional psychological support?
If you are interested in having psychological help to detect and identify mood problems that may be affecting you and start a psychotherapy process, contact me.
My name is Javier Ares and I specialize in psychological disorders related to anxiety and depression, as well as relationship problems; I serve adolescents and the adult population. You can count on my services in my office located in Madrid or through the online therapy modality by video call.
