PSY-35 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Seasonal Affective Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Hypomania
Document Summary
Bipolar and unipolar disorders can be sub diagnosed as seasonal if there is a regular relationship between an episode and a particular time of the year. Most commonly occurs in winter and is linked to the decreased number of daylight hours. De nition: the winter depressions that stem from reduced exposure to daylight. People"s symptoms varied in response to changes in climate and latitude in a manner that suggested that reduced exposure to sunlight was causing their depressions. Reduced sunlight causes decreases in serotonin activity, however some groups have adapted to this (iceland) Biological factors contribute to vulnerability to seasonal affective disorder. Chronic swings between elation and depression not severe enough to warrant the diagnosisof bipolar disorder. Frequent periods of depressed mood and hypomania. May be mixed with normal moods lasting as long as 2 months. Paired sets of symptoms that are opposites during depression and hypomania. Ex. feel inadequate during depression but have in ated self esteem during hypomania.
