Winter blues

Seasonal Affective Disorder can cause mood swings, depression during coldest months

By: Jeffrey Moses

Posted: 2/22/08

Rebecca Fleischer, a Syracuse University sophomore from Las Vegas, said she heard rumors about the bad weather in Syracuse when she first applied - but she didn't know it could affect her mood.

"It was a big transition coming to SU," Fleischer, an advertising major, said. "Everyday at home is sunny. Then I come here, and it is the total opposite everyday. Especially in the winter, sunny days are rare.

She said the dark days make her feel tired, and she just wants to stay inside.

"When the sun is not out I lose my energy," she said. "I am more inclined to stay indoors and not do anything. It is something I have had to become accustomed to."

With Syracuse so close to the Great Lakes, there is added moisture in the air, resulting in more cloud coverage. Because of the clouds covering the sun, seasonal affective disorder or SAD is a type of depression that affects people in the winter, especially in the Syracuse region.

SAD can be a result of sunlight deprivation. People who do not get a lot of sunlight tend to get depressed according to Kelly Schwartz, a graduate student studying experimental psychology at Syracuse University.

One treatment for seasonal affective disorder is therapy.

"There are couple different types of therapy," Schwartz said. "There are medications available, typically anti-depressants."

Schwartz said the most common drug is wellbutrin extended release. Another option is light treatment. This is typically for people who don't want to immediately go to the doctor and want to fix it themselves, Schwartz said.

Some doctors may recommend it even though it is not FDA approved, she said.

People say it works, Schwartz added, but she also said that the FDA has not approved it as an official treatment because of the lack of definitive evidence.

"The cheaper lights are $150, and they can range to $400," Schwartz said. "The light is supposed to mimic the sun's rays. Your body needs light; if you go without your body will react, and you will get depressed, which is what SAD is."

Michelle Henderson, a junior Spanish language, literature and culture and African- American studies major who has lived in Central New York all her life, said some people are more tired in the winter months because of the lack of sunshine.

"Everything is harder in the winter," she said. "It is just depressing. It gets dark early. It makes you feel like your day is so short. In the morning when there is no sun, there is no motivation to get out of bed."

Henderson used to work at a tanning salon, and she said many people go to a salon in the winter months - not to only to get a tan, but also to get their sun in.

"Tanning in Central New York is for the light and the warmth, not for the tan," Henderson. "People come in a lot more in the winter. It is an escape from the gray skies."

People who live in the North are more affected by it because of the shorter days, Schwartz said.

SAD is a recently coined disorder and was first proposed in 1984, she said. "Because it is so new we do not know that much about it."

Kristine Casciari, a sophomore mathematics major, said because students get used to the gray sky after seeing it every day, they always notice when the sun comes out.

"I never noticed the gray skies, but when my parents come up here, they do," Casciari said. "When they drive from the outskirts of New York City to come here, they say that the difference is huge."

Ayla Crumpton, a resident of Central New York and a sophomore biochemistry and psychology major, said there are light treatment centers in her hometown to treat seasonal affective disorder.

"In my hometown of Watertown, N.Y., there is a light treatment center for seasonal affective disorder at the local hospital," Crumpton said. "My county has one of the highest rates of depression."

Crumpton said this is partially because of the lack of sunlight.

"Living here for my entire life I am used to it," Crumpton said. "But after I graduate, I plan to move some place sunnier, like Florida."

jmoses@syr.edu