Season for seasonal disorder approaches

BATH — For David Keith, the approaching darkness of September and October was more than just an inconvenience. The real estate lawyer found his mood darkening with the diminishing light.

Although the Bath resident was being treated for depression by a psychiatrist and a therapist, he realized that when winter came his depression worsened.

“Even though I was taking medication, anti-depressants,” he recalls, “I could tell my depression got worse as the days got shorter.”

Peter Arnold, whose company, The 2nd Story, sells special lights to combat seasonal affective disorder, said there are two reasons more people are suffering from the malady.

“Our modern times have two characteristics directly related to seasonal affective disorder: Stress and the amount of time spent indoors. Most of us spend the majority of time indoors, and we’re subjected to stress. Both of these have increased in the past 25 years.”

Keith recalls that when he bought his first light fixture five years ago, his psychiatrist was skeptical.

“The medical profession wasn’t sure there was a thing like seasonal affective disorder at that time,” Keith says. “But my therapist, who wasn’t a doctor, was much more open to the idea. Now they both are convinced that the lights help.”

Keith said that when he first started using the lights, even though he couldn’t notice much of a difference, his friends noticed.

“They commented that I seemed more cheerful,” he said.

In Maine it is estimated that about 10 percent of the population suffers from seasonal affective disorder and 20 percent from its milder form, called “winter blues.”

Seasonal affective disorder is more intense, with symptoms of a moderate or serious depression.

To counteract the effects of stress and indoor time, more and more people are using special lamps with full spectrum bulbs. By sitting under the lights for 45 minutes to an hour, the body reaps the benefit of the light, which fools the body into thinking it is outdoors.

“Before we were such an indoor people,” Arnold said, “there wasn’t seasonal affective disorder. Even in winter, we were outside, working or hunting or whatever. Being outside exposes you to the light.”

Arnold said that it’s best to use the lights in the morning, so as not to disturb the body’s natural circadian rhythms.

David Keith regularly sits before his unit at his desk. He keeps it on for at least 45 minutes a day when the seasons start to change.

He notices that when there is a string of cloudy days, and the dark mood sneaks up on him, if he sits in front of the lights every morning, the dark mood eases off.

“It doesn’t go away completely,” Keith says. “But it becomes more tolerable.”