December is seasonal affective disorder awareness month. With the temperatures dropping moods tend to drop just as low, making it difficult for many to get on with their everyday life. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression occurring in the Fall and Winter months occuring more commonly in women than in men and in the Winter months rather than Summer.

If you experience SAD, don’t feel alone. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that millions struggle with this disorder and most don’t even realize it and refer to this feeling as “Winter Blues.” Although SAD affects millions of people researchers still can’t exactly pinpoint what causes it.  One possible cause is that because of the sunlight disappearing so early in the night, our brains trigger a chemical change leading to signs of deep depression. This chemical change is a decrease in serotonin which regulates your mood.

SAD is treated in many different ways ranging from light therapy and vitamin D to antidepressants which are usually used to treat general depression. 

Because the onset of SAD is so predictable, people who have this condition diagnosed can usually tell exactly when the depression will hit them and can start these different treatments early on and prevent the extreme side effects of SAD. 

If you experience the symptoms of SAD know you are not alone, talk to a trusted adult or see about going to talk to a therapist.