Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in Fibromyalgia

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a type of depression that surfaces during specific times of the year. The most common type of SAD occurs during the onset of fall or winter, lasting till the spring season, and is caused by the lack of daylight. Hence, SAD is sometimes referred to as Winter Depression. The core symptoms of SAD includes recurrent episodes of depression, excessive sleeping, sugar cravings and excessive eating and gain in weight. SAD differs in severity like all kinds of illness related to depression.

In the more severe cases, a patient exhibits perfect health and shows no symptoms at all through the year, however, symptoms manifest quickly during the affective season. It has been observed that seasonal affective disorder usually relapse during the winter months. However, a small percentage of patients suffer SAD during spring/summer season till the onset of the fall. This form of SAD is a less common SAD and sometimes referred to as Summer depression.

Symptoms of SAD

The symptoms of SAD includes:

• Fatigue

• Lack of energy

• Weight gain

• Troubled sleep

• Depression

• Increase in appetite, especially for carbohydrates

• Libido loss

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