Severe cases of SAD damage productivity — but help is available. It’s a question of raising awareness among employers.
While many of us grumble and complain as the days turn shorter and we bundle up to prepare for the cold dreariness of winter, more than half a million Canadians every year suffer from a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
These individuals experience a significant change in their behaviours and moods that begins annually between September and November and lifts with the approach of springtime in March and April.
The cluster of symptoms that define SAD include depressed mood accompanied by at least some of the following:
•carbohydrate cravings (especially for sweets or starches);
•weight gain;
•fatigue;
•oversleeping or difficulty awakening in the morning;
•reduced work productivity; and
•withdrawal from social contacts.
While SAD symptoms are similar to those of clinical depression, the important differentiation is the seasonal nature of the symptoms. For the SAD sufferer difficulties emerge in the fall and are largely absent in the late spring and summer. As well, SAD sufferers are often described as “light hungry” and instinctively light their homes well or seek out sunny places, and cheer up when there is a period of sunny weather.
As with depression, however, there are degrees of severity among SAD sufferers and the impact on one’s life can be severe, including seriously disrupting one’s ability to work and maintain healthy relationships.
What causes SAD?
The exact causes of SAD remain unclear. However, it appears that this condition is related to how bodies cope with the decreasing amount of daylight in the fall and winter seasons. It is suspected that SAD is inherited so a sufferer has a genetic vulnerability. The symptoms begin to show in people with this genetic makeup when they experience lack of light.
While for most people this occurs in the fall and winter seasons, the symptoms can also emerge in locations where there is prolonged cloudiness in the summer or when spending large amounts of time in a windowless or badly lit environment.
Apart from the amount of light, it appears that stress can be another major trigger for the disorder. Many sufferers have found that SAD first developed after a stressful life event such as a divorce, being fired, bereavement or even a birth in the winter months.
More women than men suffer from SAD. It typically appears between the ages of 20 and 40. However, children and adolescents can also suffer from it.
Is there an effective treatment for SAD?
Apart from moving to a country close to the equator, the main way of controlling this disorder is by using light treatment, sometimes called phototherapy. There are several devices on the market today that will give the user exposure to intense, artificial bright light. Studies have reported that 85 per cent of SAD sufferers respond to light treatment usually within three to five days, particularly if the treatment is begun at the early stages. Sometimes individuals benefit both from light therapy and more traditional forms of therapy that include the use of anti-depressants and counselling.
How HR managers can help
Given that about 30 per cent of the population experiences some mild form of SAD or the more regular winter blues, and five per cent suffer the full-blown disorder, it is important that information about this condition be shared with front-line managers.
While a manager’s natural response to observing dramatic seasonal changes in a person’s behaviour might be to think about the possibility of a serious psychiatric disorder, quite the reverse could be true, as SAD is a highly treatable physical condition. Employee assistance providers can provide lunch-and-learn seminars, or written information on this topic. This information suggests the importance of ensuring that homes and offices have high levels of lighting making use of natural strip lights.
At home, individuals should be encouraged to sit near a window whenever possible and decorate in light, reflective colours. Other tips include getting outside and benefiting from what natural daylight there is during Canada’s winter season by taking a walk at lunchtime, and watching diet to control the carbohydrate cravings. Overloading on carbohydrates makes people slow down. Also, a very readable resource book is Norman Rosenthal’s Winter Blues.
If you have an employee who might be suffering from SAD give them information about the disorder and encourage them to talk to their family doctor or call the employee assistance program. If indeed they do suffer from this disorder, they should be helped to find local community resources that specialize in this highly treatable condition.
Don’t let your staff suffer the winter blues alone, increase their knowledge about SAD so that they can get the appropriate help.
Louise Hartley is vice president, clinical services with Family Services Employee Assistance Programs. She may be contacted at (416) 585-9985, ext. 231.
These individuals experience a significant change in their behaviours and moods that begins annually between September and November and lifts with the approach of springtime in March and April.
The cluster of symptoms that define SAD include depressed mood accompanied by at least some of the following:
•carbohydrate cravings (especially for sweets or starches);
•weight gain;
•fatigue;
•oversleeping or difficulty awakening in the morning;
•reduced work productivity; and
•withdrawal from social contacts.
While SAD symptoms are similar to those of clinical depression, the important differentiation is the seasonal nature of the symptoms. For the SAD sufferer difficulties emerge in the fall and are largely absent in the late spring and summer. As well, SAD sufferers are often described as “light hungry” and instinctively light their homes well or seek out sunny places, and cheer up when there is a period of sunny weather.
As with depression, however, there are degrees of severity among SAD sufferers and the impact on one’s life can be severe, including seriously disrupting one’s ability to work and maintain healthy relationships.
What causes SAD?
The exact causes of SAD remain unclear. However, it appears that this condition is related to how bodies cope with the decreasing amount of daylight in the fall and winter seasons. It is suspected that SAD is inherited so a sufferer has a genetic vulnerability. The symptoms begin to show in people with this genetic makeup when they experience lack of light.
While for most people this occurs in the fall and winter seasons, the symptoms can also emerge in locations where there is prolonged cloudiness in the summer or when spending large amounts of time in a windowless or badly lit environment.
Apart from the amount of light, it appears that stress can be another major trigger for the disorder. Many sufferers have found that SAD first developed after a stressful life event such as a divorce, being fired, bereavement or even a birth in the winter months.
More women than men suffer from SAD. It typically appears between the ages of 20 and 40. However, children and adolescents can also suffer from it.
Is there an effective treatment for SAD?
Apart from moving to a country close to the equator, the main way of controlling this disorder is by using light treatment, sometimes called phototherapy. There are several devices on the market today that will give the user exposure to intense, artificial bright light. Studies have reported that 85 per cent of SAD sufferers respond to light treatment usually within three to five days, particularly if the treatment is begun at the early stages. Sometimes individuals benefit both from light therapy and more traditional forms of therapy that include the use of anti-depressants and counselling.
How HR managers can help
Given that about 30 per cent of the population experiences some mild form of SAD or the more regular winter blues, and five per cent suffer the full-blown disorder, it is important that information about this condition be shared with front-line managers.
While a manager’s natural response to observing dramatic seasonal changes in a person’s behaviour might be to think about the possibility of a serious psychiatric disorder, quite the reverse could be true, as SAD is a highly treatable physical condition. Employee assistance providers can provide lunch-and-learn seminars, or written information on this topic. This information suggests the importance of ensuring that homes and offices have high levels of lighting making use of natural strip lights.
At home, individuals should be encouraged to sit near a window whenever possible and decorate in light, reflective colours. Other tips include getting outside and benefiting from what natural daylight there is during Canada’s winter season by taking a walk at lunchtime, and watching diet to control the carbohydrate cravings. Overloading on carbohydrates makes people slow down. Also, a very readable resource book is Norman Rosenthal’s Winter Blues.
If you have an employee who might be suffering from SAD give them information about the disorder and encourage them to talk to their family doctor or call the employee assistance program. If indeed they do suffer from this disorder, they should be helped to find local community resources that specialize in this highly treatable condition.
Don’t let your staff suffer the winter blues alone, increase their knowledge about SAD so that they can get the appropriate help.
Louise Hartley is vice president, clinical services with Family Services Employee Assistance Programs. She may be contacted at (416) 585-9985, ext. 231.
