As the days get shorter and temperatures dip, some people experience the winter blues. During the winter, some people are vulnerable to depression, fatigue, an increased need for sleep, and difficulty concentrating. These are a few symptoms of winter SAD.

SAD is a form of major depression that occurs during fall and winter, when people react adversely to the decrease in sunlight and colder temperatures. SAD can also hit people during the spring and summer.

It can be difficult to diagnose SAD in children and teens, says Dr. J. David Bragg, program director for Clinical Mental Health Counseling at South University — Virginia Beach. SAD symptoms range from mild to severe depending on the child.

“As with all mood disorders, SAD is more difficult to diagnose in children because the pattern of symptomatology is different than in adults,” he says. “Depressed mood in children may be exemplified by irritability and fatigue.”

The normal fluctuations in mood seen in children may mask the presence of depression, Bragg says.

“The vagaries of childhood and adolescence with the attendant emotional upheaval tend to make many diagnoses difficult,” he says. “Some symptoms are misinterpreted as the onset of puberty.”

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder in Children and Teens

Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, a SAD specialist and author, writes in his book “Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder,” that SAD affects about 3% of children ages 9 to 17. He says problems with concentration, schoolwork, energy, and mood are often signs of SAD in young people.

Children and adolescents might feel bad, but don’t know why, Bragg says.

“They seem to be aware that something is amiss, but they may blame their feelings on external factors, for example, peers are being mean,” he says. “Secondary effects of SAD include a decline in academic achievement, loss of desire to take part in social activities and sports, memory impairment, lack of organization, and difficulty in writing, all of which affect self-concept and self-esteem.”

Other symptoms of winter SAD can include:

• Irritable mood
• Changes in appetite, or craving junk foods more than usual
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Throwing temper tantrums
• Not wanting to do chores they didn’t have a problem doing before
• Experiencing physical aliments, such as headaches or stomach pain

Treatment

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, nearly 5% of children and adolescents in the general population suffer from depression at any given point in time. Early recognition and intervention by parents, teachers, and clinicians are essential in helping treat children and teens suffering from depression. For help, parents are advised to ask their physician to refer them to a qualified mental health professional who can diagnose and treat SAD in children and teenagers.

Light therapy is an effective method of treatment for SAD. A light therapy box mimics outdoor light and is believed to cause a chemical change in the brain that eases the symptoms of SAD. A light therapy box may be used on its own, or combined with other SAD treatments such as antidepressant medications or counseling.

“While light therapy is effective for SAD, other treatment options should be considered,” Bragg says. “The use of psychotropic medication and traditional psychotherapy should address the somatic and psychosocial issues prevalent in SAD.”

The KidsHealth website of children’s health organization Nemours is a source of information about the health, behavior, and development of children and teens. The site offers tips on how parents and caregivers can also help their children cope with SAD:

• Ask the doctor how to best help your child.
• Learn more about SAD and provide simple explanations to your child about the condition.
• Encourage your child to exercise and spend time outdoors. Parents should increase the amount of sunlight their children are exposed to whenever possible.
• Spend quality time with your child.
• Be patient and don’t expect symptoms to go away immediately.
• Help your child organize and complete their homework.
• Encourage your child to eat healthy and avoid junk food.
• Encourage your child to stick to a regular bedtime every day so they can get adequate rest.

All parents know that it is usually difficult to get your kids to get up in the morning. Some have to resort to turning lights on, slamming doors, pouring ice water on their heads.

The typical teenager needs to have nine hours of sleep per night. But with this day and age with TV and internet, they never get to sleep on time.

USA Today recently had an article about how to get your teenager up in the morning.  They suggest keeping a log of their sleep habits, not letting them sleep past 10 am on the weekends, using a light box with their alarm in the morning.

For the full article, click here.

Not quite as popular or known as your winter depressions, but there are others out there just like you.

Ian A. Cook, MD, the director of the Depression Research Program at UCLA names five causes of summer depression in an article published by our friends over at WebMD:

1. Summertime SAD.

You’ve probably heard about seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, which affects about 4% to 6% of the U.S. population. SAD typically causes depression as the days get shorter and colder. But about 10% of people with SAD get it in the reverse — the onset of summer triggers their depression symptoms. Cook notes that some studies have found that in countries near the equator – like India – summer SAD is more common than winter SAD.

2. Disrupted schedules in summer.

If you’ve had depression before, you probably know that having a reliable routine is often key to staving off symptoms. But during the summer, routine goes out the window — and that disruption can be stressful, Cook says. If you have children in grade school, you’re suddenly faced with the prospect of keeping them occupied all day, every day. If your kids are in college, you may suddenly find them — and all their boxes of stuff — back in the house after a nine-month absence. Vacations can disrupt your work, sleep, and eating habits — all of which can all contribute to summer depression.

3. Body image issues.

As the temperature climbs and the layers of clothing fall away, a lot of people feel terribly self-conscious about their bodies, says Cook. Feeling embarrassed in shorts or a bathing suit can make life awkward, not to mention hot. Since so many summertime gatherings revolve around beaches and pools, some people start avoiding social situations out of embarrassment.

4. Financial worries.

Summers can be expensive. There’s the vacation, of course. And if you’re a working parent, you may have to fork over a lot of money to summer camps or babysitters to keep your kids occupied while you’re on the job. The expenses can add to a feeling of summer depression

5. The heat.

Lots of people relish the sweltering heat. They love baking on a beach all day. But for the people who don’t, summer heat can become truly oppressive. You may start spending every weekend hiding out in your air-conditioned bedroom, watching pay-per-view until your eyes ache. You may begin to skip your usual before-dinner walks because of the humidity. You may rely on unhealthy takeout because it’s just too stifling to cook. Any of these things can contribute to summer depression.

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Alrighty, so now that we have a full list of what is contributing to our depression, what do we do about it?

1. Get on a schedule.

As Cook mentioned, I absolutely need a schedule to stay sane. Without one, I’m in trouble. So a month or so before school ends for the year, I get out my calendar and start marking it up. They will go to this camp during this week. I will be able to work from 8 to 3 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I will swim in the morning on these days. You get the point.

2. Plan something fun.

It doesn’t have to be expensive. Something as simple as taking a day off of work to have lunch with a friend or chill out with a novel at home can be incentive to get through a few weeks. One good piece of advice I received when I was trying to work through a severe depression was to plan something enjoyable every few weeks to keep me motivated to move forward. Not that I had to envision myself as having a jolly old time. But something that could give me an ounce of joy carried me through many hot summer afternoons.

3. Replace the triggers.

In their book, Extinguishing Anxiety, authors Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle explain that in order to retrain the brain from associating a negative event to a trigger that creates anxiety, we must generate new connections by exposure. So, for me, I need to replace memories of relapses in the summer (which trigger anxiety for me during the summer) with positive events during the summer. I mentioned in a recent piece, that one way I’m doing this is by getting involved in my kids’ swim team because that generates feelings of peace and happiness. And in so doing, being around the pool won’t remind me as much of the days when I sat slumped over in the baby pool section, unable to carry out a conversation with anyone.

4. Sleep.

It’s important to maintain good sleep hygiene in the summer. That is, even though the day’s events are changing from week to week, make sure to keep your sleep schedule the same: go to bed at the same time every night, wake up at the same time every morning, and don’t sleep much less than 7 hours and no more than 9 hours a night. When depressed, it’s common to want to sleep as much as you can, to kill the hours. However, extra sleep does increase depression.

5. Exercise.

During the summer months, it’s easy to abandon any exercise program that you’ve been disciplined enough to start since the oppressive heat can be dangerous, if not terribly unappealing. So before the heat sets in, design a plan you can stick with that won’t make you stick to everything else. I run early in the morning during the summer, before the humidity sets in, and I try to swim more often.

6. Be around people.

As tempting as it is to isolate during the summer, forcing yourself to be around people — even if you don’t join the discussion — is going to assist your mood and especially the ruminations that get your into trouble. If you don’t want to leave your air-conditioned home, at least make yourself call one person — a sibling, friend, or co-worker — to stay connected to the world.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2011/07/6-tips-to-help-summer-depression.html#ixzz1TtlRu9Po

Sleep disorders, are more common than many parents realize. They can range from difficulty falling asleep to trouble breathing .It affects about 2 percent of all children. Many parents assume that the symptoms are normal, especially when it comes to the snoring.

Snoring is the most obvious symptom of apnea, which is the most common sleep disorder. But other disorders include circadian rhythm disorders, which affect the internal clock that tells a child when it’s night and time to sleep, and periodic limb movement disorder, which is repetitive cramping or jerking of the legs.

The good news is that sleep disorders — once identified — are fairly easy to fix.
Obstructive sleep apnea in children is almost always corrected by removing tonsils and adenoids.

Light therapy, which exposes children to special lights, may be used to treat circadian rhythm disorders. Sleep medication is rarely prescribed to children, experts say.

Here is a link to the full article: Sleep Disorders

When symptoms of SAD first develop, it’s not uncommon for parents to attribute low motivation, energy, and interest to an intentional poor attitude. Learning about SAD can help them understand another possible reason for the changes, easing feelings of blame or impatience with their child or teen.

Parents sometimes are unsure about how to discuss their concerns and observations. The best approach is usually one that’s supportive and nonjudgmental. Try opening the discussion saying something like, “You haven’t seemed yourself lately ‚Äî you’ve been so sad and grouchy and tired, and you don’t seem to be having much fun. It seems like you’ve been feeling kind of worn out and exhausted ‚Äî like you just can’t get enough sleep. So, I’ve made an appointment for you to get a checkup. I want to help you to feel better and get back to doing your best and enjoying yourself again.”

Here are a few things you can do if your child or teen has been diagnosed with SAD:

• Participate in your child’s treatment. Ask the doctor how you can best help your child.
• Help your child understand SAD. Learn about the disorder and provide simple explanations. Remember, concentration might be difficult, so it’s unlikely your child will want to read or study much about SAD ‚Äî if so, just recap the main points.
• Encourage your child to get plenty of exercise and to spend time outdoors. Take a daily walk together.
• Find quality time. Spend a little extra time with your child ‚Äî nothing special, just something low-key that doesn’t require much energy. Bring home a movie you might enjoy or share a snack together. Your company and caring are important and provide personal contact and a sense of connection.
• Be patient. Don’t expect symptoms to go away immediately. Remember that low motivation, low energy, and low mood are part of SAD ‚Äî it’s unlikely that your child will respond cheerfully to your efforts to help.
• Help with homework. You may have to temporarily provide hands-on assistance to help your child organize assignments or complete work. Explain that concentration problems are part of SAD and that things will get better again. Kids and teens with SAD may not realize this and worry that they’re incapable of doing the schoolwork. You may also want to talk to the teachers and ask for extensions on assignments until things get better with treatment.
• Help your child to eat right. Encourage your child to avoid loading up on simple carbohydrates and sugary snacks. Provide plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
• Establish a sleep routine. Encourage your child to stick to a regular bedtime every day to reap the mental health benefits of daytime light.
• Take it seriously. Don’t put off evaluation if you suspect your child has SAD. If diagnosed, your child should learn about the seasonal pattern of the depression. Talk often about what’s happening, and offer reassurance that things will get better, even though that may seem impossible right now.

Winter Blues, Revised Edition: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder by Norman E. Rosenthal

Snooze… or Lose!: 10 “No-War” Ways to Improve Your Teen’s Sleep Habits by M.D. Dr. Helene A. Emsellem

Seasonal Affective Disorder and Beyond: Light Treatment for Sad and Non-Sad Conditions by Raymond W. Lam

A Clinician’s Guide to Using Light Therapy (Cambridge Clinical Guides) by¬†Raymond W. Lam and Edwin M. Tam

The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papolos M.D. and Janice Papolos

Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder: What It Is and How to Overcome It by Norman E. Rosenthal

Seasonal Affective Disorder For Dummies by Laura L. Smith and Charles H. Elliott

You can turn your light box on and sit in front of it everyday from 30 minutes to 2 hours. ¬†You do not have to stare directly at the light box while you are sitting in front of it. ¬†Actually, you shouldn’t, it can be harmful if you have macular degeneration. However, you should still sit directly in front of it.¬† Most doctors recommend using a light therapy box in the morning because that is when it is the most effective.¬† Therefore, it will be helpful if you use it while you are completely morning tasks.¬† Use your light therapy box while you are eating breakfast, reading the newspaper, working on your computer, playing an instrument, watching the television, putting on your makeup or reading a book.

Light therapy may sound expensive; however you can actually purchase a light box and perform regular light therapy treatments at home.  With the North Star 10,000 you only need to be within in 24 inches from it to be effective, it gives you plenty of room to multi task while you get your treatment.

Symptoms in children occur when they are in school, which can be a stressful time anyway.  Parents may mistake symptoms for just problems in school.  It can take years before a child is diagnosed because parents and children don’t recognize the seasonal patterns.  It’s important to keep an eye for warning symptoms that your child is suffering from seasonal affective disorder.

Symptoms include: tiredness or loss of energy, crankiness or irritability Рcrying in spells, problems in school – including difficulty concentrating and doing schoolwork, oversleeping – including difficulty waking up in the morning, and over eating – especially carbohydrate cravings.

Parents of children and teens with SAD should participate in their treatment.  Learn about the disorder and share it with your child.  They may need help with homework, so make time to help them.  Make sure the child’s teachers know of your child’s situation.  The important thing is to make sure your child is getting the help that they need to feel better.

Light therapy is drug-free treatment for SAD, so it is safe for older children.¬† Children can sit in front of a light therapy box while eating breakfast, doing homework, watching TV, reading a book or may other options. If you think that your child might be suffering from seasonal affective disorder, it’s important that you contact your child’s physician immediately to discuss diagnosis and treatment.