CICS in the Real World

Symptoms of seasonal depression are typically consistent with those that occur with depression, and sometimes it can difficult to tell if someone has seasonal or another type of depression.

Symptoms more common with seasonal depression are carbohydrate craving, increased appetite, excessive sleepiness and weight gain. A diagnosis of seasonal depression can be made after two consecutive occurrences of depression that occur and end at the same time every year, with the symptoms subsiding the rest of the year. 

Specific symptoms can include:

• Depression: misery, guilt, loss of self-esteem, hopelessness, diminished interest in activities, despair and apathy
   
• Anxiety: tension and inability to tolerate stress
   
• Mood changes: extremes of mood and, in some, periods of mania in spring and summer
   
• Sleep problems: desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake or, sometimes, disturbed sleep and early morning waking
   
• Lethargy: feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routine
   
• Overeating: craving for starchy and sweet foods resulting in weight gain
   
• Social problems: irritability and desire
  to avoid social contact
   
• Sexual problems: loss of libido and decreased interest in physical contact

Causes

• The reduced level of sunlight in the fall and winter months may affect an individual’s serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood. Lower levels of serotonin have been linked to depression. Brain scans have shown that people who have seasonal depression in the winter have higher levels of a serotonin transporter protein that removed serotonin than in individuals who did not have seasonal depression.
   
• Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, has been linked to seasonal depression. This hormone, which can affect sleep patterns and mood, is produced at increased levels in the dark. Therefore, when the days are shorter and darker, the production of this hormone increases. Melatonin can also affect an individual's circadian rhythm, resulting in “internal clocks” being out of sync with “external clocks,” or the usual sleep/wake rhythms. This can result in symptoms associated with seasonal depression.

Treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder

• Phototherapy, or bright light therapy, has been shown to suppress the brain’s secretion of melatonin. Although there have been no research findings to link this therapy with an antidepressant effect, light therapy has been shown to be effective in up to 85 percent of diagnosed cases. Patients remain in light up to ten times the intensity of normal domestic lighting up to four hours a day, but may carry on normal activities such as eating or reading while undergoing treatment.  The device most often used today is a bank of white fluorescent lights on a metal reflector and shield with a plastic screen.
   
• If phototherapy does not work, an antidepressant drug may prove effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms, but there may be unwanted side effects to consider. Discuss your symptoms with your family doctor and/or mental health professional.
   
• In some studies, cognitive behavioral therapy has also been shown to be effective; however, research is limited.

Prevention

Because seasonal depression has a predictable pattern of recurrence, preventive measures may help to reduce symptoms. Some forms of prevention that can help include beginning light therapy in the early fall before the onset of symptoms, exercising more, increasing the amount of light at home, meditation and other stress management techniques, spending more time outside and visiting climates that have more sun.

Information from Mental Health America

Provider Profile

Orchard Place Guidance Center

The Orchard Place Child Guidance Center in downtown Des Moines has provided child and adolescent mental health services in central Iowa for more than 75 years.

The Child Guidance Center is a federally accredited community mental health center for children and serves as a safety net service provider for children battling mental health disorders in central Iowa.

Services include:

• Direct clinical services offer a wide variety of mental health services in the Child Guidance Center clinical setting, including therapy, psychological assessments and testing, psychiatric assessments and medication management.
   
• School-based mental health services are provided in 56 schools across seven school districts, allowing children and families easier access to therapy and enabling therapists to closely collaborate with the child's educational team.
   
• Trauma-Informed Care Project promotes awareness of the impact of trauma on children and educates the community and community stakeholders in trauma-informed care practices.

Referral to the Child Guidance Center:
Call (515) 244-2267. A receptionist will refer you to appropriate services or an intake specialist.