It is mid-November, the temperatures are slowly falling, and the days are steadily growing shorter, with dusk now falling around dinner time. Around this time of year many of us feel a bit melancholy, realizing that another sun-soaked season has receded to a place far away, not to return for several months. We are literally left out in the cold until it revisits us again. But this feeling of sadness that is ushered in for many by the onset of the winter months could be something much more serious, and there may be a way to treat its effects.
With winter well on its way, Health Services recently announced that it is offering light therapy for students, faculty and staff afflicted by seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. The therapy is administered via special lamps intended to increase an individual's light exposure. Research has shown it to be an effective treatment method. According to Dawn Zitney of the Health Services Office of Health Education and Promotion, there is no cost to receive the therapy.
"Light therapy at Health Services is free of charge to the entire UNH community, including students, faculty, and staff," Zitney said.
SAD is a mood disorder, also known as winter depression or winter blues. It is defined as a pattern of seasonal depression beginning around the same time every year, generally in the late fall or early winter months and lasting until the beginning of the spring. In general, the symptoms of SAD include increased sadness, higher irritability, increased anxiety, lack of energy, problems concentrating, and increased sleep. According to a document on the Health Services website, those at higher latitudes, women and younger people, are at a higher risk for SAD.
The latter of these three trends can be seen here on the UNH campus, with many young people feeling the disorder's effects. Although the majority of students interviewed have not been diagnosed with the disorder, many experience its symptoms in the wintertime nonetheless. Zack LaForet, 18, a freshman at UNH from Amherst, N.H., is one of these students.
"I feel like sleeping all day," said LaForet. "It makes me feel as if I just want to curl up in a ball and disappear from the world…just disappear from existence. My grades drop usually, because I don't even do papers or lab reports."
Tory Smith, 19, a sophomore at UNH from Merrimack, N.H., described feeling many of the same symptoms.
"I get really sad in the winter," said Smith. "I'm usually a really upbeat person, but at this point I tend to be more susceptible to being upset, or letting things bother me…and I get into moods where I'm just really sad and don't want to do anything."
Jeff Furbush, 17, a freshman at UNH from Pelham, N.H., also shared his difficult experience with the disorder.
"It is very debilitating in regards to having no energy at all to do anything," said Furbush. "I had no motivation to get anything done. I isolated myself a lot and didn't feel like talking much. Waking up in the morning had to be the worst. It felt like the world was coming down around me."
These are all very common symptoms of SAD, and ones that are often overlooked. Many who experience these symptoms do not realize that they may have a disorder, and that this problem may be more serious than they think. For this reason, many who have the symptoms of SAD do not see a physician and therefore are not diagnosed.
LaForet, Smith and Furbush all say that they have not been diagnosed or received any kind of treatment for their symptoms.
"I don't plan on seeing a doctor since it means medications that control your life or constant hours talking to a stranger," LaForet said.
"My mom has it, and she says it sounds like I do as well, so that's good enough for me," said Smith. "It's really not something that massively alters my life or anything, so I probably won't go to a doctor for it."
"My reasons for not [seeing a physician] are that I am the type of person that will not usually seek help if I am having problems with anything," Furbush said.
Luckily, for those who do not wish to see a physician or go on medication, there is still a treatment option available in the form of light therapy. This treatment involves the use of lamps that produce between 2,500, and 10,000 lux, which is the measure of the amount of light an individual receives at a specific distance from a light source.
Light therapy usually involves daily sessions ranging from 15 minutes to two hours, with most sessions lasting between 20 and 30 minutes. The individual sits in front of a light box with their eyes open and can read, write, or just relax during the therapy.
Light boxes are made of fluorescent bulbs that are covered with a UV-ray-blocking screen, so the light is completely safe. Side effects of light therapy are generally rare and mild, but can include irritability, headaches, skin irritation, and insomnia. Reducing the length of the treatment or sitting further away from the light source usually reduces the likelihood of such effects. Most studies show that about 75 percent of individuals feel improvement within a couple days to a few weeks of using light therapy.
UNH students, faculty and staff afflicted by SAD are encouraged by Health Services to call the Office of Health Education and Promotion to make an appointment for a light therapy session, shed some light on their seasonal depression, and hopefully have their winter blues chased away.
Sidebar: More information on Seasonal Affective Disorder can be found at http://www.unh.edu/health-servics and Health Services can be reached at (603) 862-2856.
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