Seasonal affective disorder, the depression of winter: a literature review and description from a nursing perspective.

This article presents a literature review and description of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a newly recognized disorder, differentiated from other affective illnesses by its seasonality (with midwinter dysthymia and spring/summer remission), and its atypical symptoms of hypersomnia and hyperphagia. SAD symptoms remit with travel towards the equator or with bright light treatments, possibly indicating a chronobiological circadian etiology. This article introduces aspects of SAD that are amenable to the nursing process, including assessment of the seasonality of dysthymic symptoms; diagnoses of patient responses; referral, education, and psychotherapeutic interventions; and evaluation of patient responses to interventions. Since SAD is found predominantly in young women, and because symptoms may be exacerbated by rotating shifts, it is possible that nurses may have a higher incidence of SAD, compared with other professions.