Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you beat SAD, also known as the winter blues, according to a study reported in Medical News Today.
SAD or Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that has been affecting over 14 million Americans. Among those affected are 1.5% of the population from the southern states and more than 9% of the population from the northen regions. This disorder has known to be in existence for 150 years but it was only in the early 1980s that it was officially named.
According to science, SAD is caused by a hormonal imbalance brought about by the shorter days of winter. For people with SAD, the late winter sunrises hinder with their body clock and cause levels of the sleep hormone, melatonin, to stay elevated into the morning which results in fatigue and depression.
The symptoms of this condition involve weight and appetite changes, oversleeping, loss of interest in hobbies and social activities, difficulty concentrating and low mood. A person may also have feelings of anxiety and irritability, as well as difficulty concentrating, remembering details and making decisions.
Light therapy is believed to be the gold standard for treating SAD. It involves timed, daily exposure to bright artificial light of different wavelengths using a light box. But, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), nearly 50% of people do not respond to light therapy only, so it was recommended to be combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressant drugs.
A team led by Professor Kelly Rohan, of the University of Vermont, started by studying 177 people who uses light therapy for 30 minutes each morning at home for 6 weeks adjusting the duration over time to boost response and reduce side effects.
Some participants continued the daily light exposure at home until spring and were given access to a light box again the following winter. The others on the other hand received a special form of CBT twice a week for a 50-minute sessions for 6 weeks. The CBT sessions taught them to overcome negative thoughts about dark winter months and combat behaviors like social isolation that affect mood.
After these tests, they concluded that light therapy is more effective at managing acute episodes, while CBT is more likely to prevent relapse in future winters.
