Can Sad be Treated With Drugs?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is also known as “winter depression” or the “winter blues”. This is a mood disorder that effects otherwise mentally healthy people in the autumn and winter months, year after year. People affected by this may start sleeping a lot more than normal, show signs of depression, be lethargic without reason and crave sweets and starchy foods, which will ultimately also lead to weight gain. These symptoms will last throughout winter, but will start clearing up around spring, when the sufferer will experience an increase in energy levels. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder shows no discrimination, affecting without regard to class, or occupation. It occurs in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and gets worse in countries that are further away from the equator and have a marked difference in the length of the day from summer to winter. While it affects both sexes, it is more common amongst women, and starts appearing between the ages of 24 and 40. It is, however, also found to affect some children and older people.

Treatment for SAD includes light therapy, antidepressants and psychotherapy. Light therapy includes increasing the amount of natural light a person is exposed to so as to reduce the production of melatonin, which is the cause of SAD. Antidepressants and psychotherapy help patients deal with the effects of the disorder, which include depression, lethargy, anxiety and overeating.

By taking antidepressants, patients can start to feel better within one to three weeks of the start of treatment; however it will take up to two months for the treatment to fully take effect. The antidepressants most commonly used to treat SAD include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac or Paxil. Others, like Norpramin or Wellbutrin, are also used, although the chemical reactions they create are different from those of Prozac. Unlike Prozac and Paxil, these will also cause more side effects, which is why SSRIs are the first type of drugs given to patients diagnosed with SAD. Antidepressant medications are usually started at lower dosages and slowly increased, and when stopped a similar process is followed to avoid side effects.

General side effects of antidepressants can be loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, anxiety, drowsiness, headaches, or difficulty sleeping. This treatment is the same treatment that patients with normal depression would get, leading one to believe that the doctors are actually treating only one aspect of SAD instead of a holistic approach. While antidepressants can be useful for some people, they can also increase suicidal thoughts in others, leading them to take their lives. One such medicine is Paxil, which has been known to increase suicidal thoughts amongst children, adolescents and young adults.

Since antidepressants can be such a double edged sword, it is advisable to only take these in the case that alternative medicine has failed. While light therapy is not FDA approved, it has helped many people treat SAD and make their depression easier to handle during the winter months. Only when alternative medicines fail should antidepressants be taken.