Seasonal Affective Disorder Season Begins in Minnesota

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – This is the time of year when about ten percent of Minnesotans start to deal with seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Less sunlight in the fall can lead to symptoms that include social withdrawal and a sense of hopelessness according to University of Minnesota Assistant Professor Jeannie Larson, “There’s craving carbohydrate-rich comfort foods, weight gain, a sense of irritability, kind of a short fuse, anxious. There’s also kind of a sexual lethargy or loss of libido that comes from it as well.”

Larson says a light box, or a dawn simulator can help lessen the severity of seasonal depression symptoms. She also recommends opening window shades, getting outside 30 minutes a day and eating fruits and vegetables.