Download Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder
What is SAD?
Winter Depression—people struggle with
depression in the middle of winter
 Only lifts with the coming of spring
 Sleep and eat excessively
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SAD
Hormone melatonin may play a role
 Less light=increased levels of melatonin
being released by the brain’s pineal
gland
 Raised melatonin levels = SAD in some
people

Treatments

Light Therapy—
spend an average of
1 to 2 hours under a
bright light.
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Lightbulb=500 lux
Treatment = 2500
lux
Summer day =
100,000 lux
Treatments

Anti-depressants

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Trycyclics don’t often work—exacerbate the
sleepiness and lethargy
Non-sedative SSRI’s combined with light therapy
are proven to work (Prozac)
Therapy

Psychotherapy, counseling, or any complementary
therapy

Accept illness and the limitations that surround it
Dimensions of Mental
Functioning
Why classify?
Hard to classify people on the basis of
mental disorders
 Solve the problem by using 5 major
dimensions to classify
 AXIS I

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Classify current symptoms into defined
categories
AXIS

AXIS II
Developmental disorders and long standing
personality disorders or maladaptive traits
 Language disorders, reading or writing
difficulties, mental retardation, autism,
speech problems

AXIS
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AXIS III

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Physical disorders or general medical
conditions that are relevant to
understanding or caring for the person
AXIS IV

Measurement of the current stress level at
which the person is functioning
AXIS

AXIS V
Highest level of adaptive functioning present
 Adaptive functioning

Social relations: quality of a person’s relationship
with family and friends
 Occupational functioning: functioning as a
worker, student, or homemaker and the quality
of work accomplished
 Use of leisure time: recreational activities or
hobbies and the degree of involvement and
pleasure a person has in them

AXIS
Helpful to researchers trying to discover
connections among psychological
disorders and other factors
 Downfall of DSM-IV: labels can have a
negative affect
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