Vocational School of Justice
SEASONAL DEPRESSION HAS ARRIVED!
Seasonal depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is not all that innocent. Seasonal depression, a mood disorder that happens every year at the same time, is triggered by less sunlight during fall and winter, and causes fatigue, exhaustion, bad-temper.
Clinical Psychologist Yasemin Meral Öğütcü, Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), reported that seasonal depression could last up to 4 -5 months, and that it wasn’t just a simple mood disorder, rather, an illness to be taken more seriously. Seasonal depression had also same symptoms of regular depression, said Öğütçü. “Fatigue increases as well as the need for sleep due to less sunlight. We crave for more carbohydrates. These symptoms may be normal for this season but we need to watch out their severity. It is no different than regular depression. It disappears at the end of the season; however, it may get worse. Therefore, it would be helpful to see your doctor for an assessment. Why would people spend their 4-5 months like this?” said Öğütcü.
Depression is more prevalent in females; 13% of females, as opposed to 8% males experience depression, stated Öğütçü and warned not to underestimate seasonal depression, and pointed that people should increase their daily activities little by little. Öğütçü said that treating depression with medication was preferred more in Turkey and that it did help in the short run, but psychotherapy helped people learn how to cope with problems. Ögütçü said, “People should seek help, they should not take the matter into their own hands. Among the symptoms is lack of concentration, weight loss/gain, loss of motivation, decrease in libido, being anti-social, etc. There are different treatments, depending on the severity of your symptoms.”
‘Daily activities should continue’
Öğütçü, who recommended people not to give up their daily activities, stated the following:
“Feelings of despair and hopelessness can cause people to give up their routine activities. They may give up their daily activities due to negative feelings such as ‘Why should I go out?’ ‘Why should I see my friends?’, ‘I don’t need to exercise’. Therefore, it is very important to participate in minor activities. They may keep a score sheet and rate their going out and seeing friends between 0 -10. They would see that the score would increase after their socialization. Such methods would help them get rid of the negativity.”