S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder also known as the winter blues.

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                                                                                                               hinkelman1

Theresa Hinkelman                                                                                          

Flanders

ENC1101

11/14/02

                                                A Blue Season

          S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder also known as the winter blues.  Symptoms include- lack of energy, increase in intake of carbs, increase in eating sweets, increased weight gain, excessive increase in sleep, sluggish throughout day, socially withdrawn during fall and winter months, lost interest in sexual activity, feelings of sadness, emptiness, or anxiousness. So people with this disorder complete turn opposite manic in a sense in the spring or summer months. They get a massive burst of energy and are almost borderline obsessively productive, like a build up of energy just bursting out. these are the people whose episodes are sever and can be controlled with a mood stabilizer such as lithium, the individual might also be diagnosed with bipolar disorder (formerly called manic depressive illness). Six percent of patients are severe enough to require hospitalization. People with S.A.D. whose depression and lack of energy become debilitating to the point that it affects their work and relationships.

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The body produces the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland (hypothalamus) deep in the brain while we sleep. It has a slowing effect on the nervous system and induces sleep. People with seasonal affective disorder nightly production of melatonin secretion is prolonged, it fails to shut off on time.

Those that are most at risk would be women in their twenties, those who have family members with depression or those that are subject to depression.

         In the United States, seasonal affective disorder starts in October and peaks in January it subsides in April. It is rarer in those that ...

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Summary Seasonal Affective Disorder is a depression which is fairly easily explained, although more research is still being carried out into this condition. Information, for example, is very easy to access. The writer could improve this work by explaining in more detail the connection between the winter months, the lack of light, the hormones, the body's chemistry, the circadian cycles and SAD. Unfortunately, the essay lacks detail. It is far too basic with no references at all. The writer needs a good introduction to the subject of SAD with a good definition or two. Then the writer can go on to describe what SAD is and how it is diagnosed and treated. Finally, the writer could add a few sentences at the end to conclude the essay weighing up the research on SAD. Score 2*