Dépression saisonnière: comment la contrer?

(Zeina Mohammed/ University of Virginia) — For roughly 5% of adults, seasonal change comes with more than discomfort or melancholy. Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression with symptoms like sadness, tearfulness, loss of interest, and issues with sleep or appetite.

“Feeling a bit down or sluggish during colder, darker months is common, but when symptoms become persistent and interfere with daily life or impair functioning, it may indicate seasonal affective disorder or depression,” said Kim Penberthy, the Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia.

Penberthy researched depression, including seasonal affective disorder, a pattern of depression symptoms typically occurring in fall and winter months when days are shorter, colder and darker. A smaller number of patients sees an increase in symptoms during the spring and summer months. (…)