Q: Our mom goes into major depressions every year in early December.
If we don’t get our mom off to see her doctor in early December and get him to prescribe an antidepressant for her, we are in for a long and depressing winter.
Even with the medication, life can get testy. My only reprieve was moving out.
In fact, I lived away for years but eventually returned as Dad got older and wanted more help around the farm.
For the most part, it has been good. I love the farm and I love my family. It has been great.
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The only problem is what our mom goes through every winter. I would like to understand it better so that I can help Mom get through it without so much stress.
A: Seasonal affective disorder has been around for a long time but it is only since 1984 that it has been recognized as a psychiatric disorder. It is most frequently found in colder climates, such as we have in the Prairies, tends to be a challenge more for women than men, and is associated with changes in the seasons.
It is most frequent in winter although it can, for some people, hit during either spring or fall.
To qualify as SAD, the depression must be limited to the season. If it goes beyond winter, it is most likely symptomatic of something other than SAD.
This is where it gets confusing. Several psychiatrists believe that SAD is part of a more significant psychiatric disorder, perhaps a bipolar disorder or even a major depression. If indeed that is the case, then SAD would be but a symptom of something else and not a disorder on its own.
Either way, what is important for people such as your mom is that we understand their affiliation to the seasons of the year for their disorder.
My hope is that you will work not only with your family doctor but with his consulting psychiatrist just to make sure that something significant is not being missed.
I suspect that you are looking for some direction from me that would help you and your mom stop this thing from happening, some preventive medicine. My guess is that some people stumble upon a magical formula for themselves and do what they will to successfully prevent the recurrence of SAD. That is great.
However, on a larger scale our research scientists have not yet uncovered significant preventive medicine for SAD. We cannot prevent it but we can treat it.
There are four treatment regimes. The first is medication, largely through your family doctor in consultation with his psychiatrist.
The second is light therapy, which is just what it sounds like. It is the saturation, or an overexposure, of light for your mom. The light seems to alleviate some of the depressant symptoms. Check with your mental health program for this one. Usually, a registered psychiatric nurse can manage it.
The third is vitamin D therapy, something again managed by your family doctor.
Finally, your mom would probably benefit from counseling to help her problem solve when those depressant moods feel overwhelming. Perhaps you could encourage her to check with some of the counsellors in your mental health clinic.
As difficult as SAD can be, with the proper treatment or treatment regimes, life around your home can be more tolerable, and what is even better, your mother may not suffer so badly.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
