Young Adults Are More Likely to Develop Seasonal Affective Disorder

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January. The excitement of the holidays is over. It’s time to return to your college classes after a nice, long break. For those in northern climates, there’s also less sunlight and painfully cold temperatures to contend with. It’s completely normal to feel a little bummed out about it all, right?

In most cases, yes, it is normal to feel a little “blah” during the winter months. But, if those feelings seem to be having a negative impact on your ability to complete your day-to-day responsibilities and your desire to get out of your house or dorm room and hang out with others, you may be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a type of clinical depression that strikes people in the fall and winter months. Like other types of depression, SAD often results in fatigue, loss of interest in daily activities, anxiety disorder, overeating, alcohol and/or substance misuse, sleep disruptions, and difficulty concentrating.

Who Is Most Likely to Develop SAD?

Some evidence indicates that SAD is most likely to occur in young adults in their late teens and early twenties. Though no one is exactly sure why it may be due in part to the fact that many young adults have a lifestyle that is not conducive to a regular sleep schedule.

They often have college class schedules and jobs that require them to study or work outside of the typical 9 to 5 schedule of older adults.Young adults also sometimes struggle with the additional stress that comes with uncertainty and instability. They are typically in a stage where they are sorting out what they want to do with their lives, striving to become financially stable, and trying to determine what they want and need from romantic relationships.

SAD is most prevalent among women, and among those who have a predisposition for depression. This would include those who have a family history of depression, or who have experienced other types of depression—like major, chronic, or manic depression.

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