Feeling SAD?

If you slip into hibernation mode in the dark winter months – sleeping more, craving carbs and being in a generally low mood – you could be suffering from seasonal affective disorder. Here’s how to beat the blues…

We all feel better when the sun shines, but symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, are much more than just feeling a bit grumpy when the skies turn grey. For some people, the condition is severe and debilitating and interferes with their everyday life – and they come to dread the onset of winter. In the most extreme cases, sufferers can’t get out of bed in the morning and think that life is not worth living.

Many of the symptoms of SAD are similar to clinical depression – including low mood, loss of interest
in day-to-day activities and low sex drive, but the key symptoms that distinguish SAD are sleeping and eating more, with a craving for carbohydrates in particular. Also, crucially, your symptoms start in the autumn months – around the time that the clocks go back at the end of October, persisting over the winter months and lifting in the spring. Other symptoms include waking up in the night or early morning, feeling tense and/or irritable, heavy aching limbs and stomach problems, sweating, cramps and needing to urinate frequently.

Compiled by: Jo Waters

Expert: Deenesh Khoosal, a consultant psychiatrist at Leicester General Hospital and spokesperson for The Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has 25 years experience, both in the NHS and in private practice.

*For more information on SAD and other wellbeing features, check out the new issue of Healthy in H&B stores near you and selected retailers from November 5th.