When winter enters, people experience bouts of distress and depression, due to which production and demand for work are reduced as before, because the darkness of winter, cold weather and other things, may afflict some people with what is called (winter depression). Dr. explained. Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Sharqi, a consultant psychiatrist, said that winter turmoil is more frequent in Scandinavia and less in Arab countries due to the nature of the climate, indicating in his speech to (Riyadh) that women are more vulnerable to this disease than men, and the following is the text of the dialogue:
What is the scientific and psychological definition of this disorder? Is it concerned with the psychological or the mood?
Winter depression is one of the types of depression that affects some patients in certain seasons of the year, as the symptoms of the disease usually begin to appear in the late fall and early winter season, after that the symptoms improve with the onset of spring and it is believed that this type of depression is related to the lack of light. And the lack of sunlight in the winter season, so it is more prevalent in areas where the day is short, the night is long, and where the clouds are abundant, which makes the exposure of the inhabitants of these areas to the sunlight very limited for long periods and from the areas in which (winter depression) is widely spread in Scandinavian countries and its spread is less In the Arab region by virtue of the nature of the climate.
What are the symptoms of the disease? What are its complications?
The symptoms of (winter depression) differ from one person to another, as some patients suffer from mild and limited symptoms that may not be noticed by others, or the patient himself and those around him may notice this change and denounce it without attributing it to a psychological disorder, while others suffer severe and noticeable symptoms that have a great negative impact. On the person’s performance, and among the symptoms that afflict patients with winter depression is a feeling of a bad mood, lack of enjoyment of various activities, a tendency to isolation, a lack of desire to participate in social activities, frustration, a strong sense of laziness, fatigue, lack of activity, permanent sleepiness, sleep more than usual, a weak ability to focus and a tendency to eat carbohydrates and sweets in abundance Thus an increase in weight.
Complications of the disease include reduced productivity, absence from work, increased likelihood of losing it, social isolation, lack of communication with others, failure to perform family and social obligations, and an increase in the incidence of suicide and the use of narcotic substances.
Who are the groups most vulnerable to this disorder?
No person has immunity to winter depression, and as I mentioned that the disease spreads more among the inhabitants of the areas in which the day is shortened and the time of the night is longer, and the disease spreads among all age groups, but it is rare among those under the age of twenty and this does not mean It does not affect young people, but many cases have been observed among children and those in puberty, and the occurrence of the disease in general has a direct relationship with advancing age, and women are almost three times more likely to have this disease than men, and people who have relatives who suffer from depression are more likely To catch disease
The proportion of this disorder increases in the winter, precisely why?
Winter depression is attributed to an imbalance in the secretion of some substances in the brain due to lack of sunlight and lack of light. As a result, there is a deficiency of serotonin, which is one of the substances responsible for the mood of a person, as well as an increase in the secretion of melatonin during long winter nights and this deficiency leads To the incidence of fatigue, excessive laziness, drowsiness, frequent sleep and irritable mood
Are there international ratios and figures for this case?
The prevalence of winter depression varies according to the region and its climatic conditions. It reaches, for example, in Canada and America, to 1-4%, and it occurs in higher rates in northern Europe and Scandinavia, and suffers from about 10% to 20% of the symptoms of the mitigating disease and some specialists believe that this disease There is more than what is diagnosed because the condition goes on for some people without a diagnosis because it does not exceed the feeling of sadness and laziness only, and the statistics of the World Health Organization indicate that one in ten of those infected with this disease suicides in the winter season when the severity of depression increases, according to the information available to me. There are no accurate studies to determine the extent of the disease in the Kingdom and it is believed that it is less than it is in Western countries
Have you ever seen cases with this condition? Can some of them be shown?
Yes .. there are cases that suffer from (winter depression) disease. We have retreat in psychiatric clinics, but they are limited. This may be due to the climatic conditions of the Kingdom and the absence of sunlight for long periods even in the winter season. Also, although the night goes on in the winter season, the increase It is not considered large compared to the Scandinavian countries, for example, which reduces the possibility of increasing the secretion of melatonin associated with the winter depression in those countries. The other thing is that many of these cases are diagnosed as a depressive disease without paying attention to the relationship of this with the winter season. There are no laboratory analyzes nor specific rays that help in Diagnosis of this condition depends on the diagnosis made by specialists in the psychological field
Do some behaviors, customs and traditions among peoples increase their width?
Climatic factors have the biggest role as a reason for the increase in the prevalence of (winter depression), but there are other factors that increase the extent of its spread. Infection (winter depression) in peoples who drink a lot of alcohol
What is the preventive way to protect from the effects of this disorder?
There are several factors that reduce the chances of getting sick or returning symptoms during the winter period, including increased exposure to sunlight, such as going out at times when the sun rises, or increasing sunlight entry into the house by opening curtains and windows, for example. Also, increasing electrical lighting in the home helps reduce the chances of getting Illness or the return of symptoms during the winter period, and there are special lighting devices that are used for this purpose. A good sleep and awakening regime also helps reduce the incidence of disease, and to treat winter depression when it occurs, phototherapy is used, which is the main treatment for the majority of patients, by exposing them to light from a special lamp for a period of time. Certain drugs are estimated for each case separately, and antidepressants can be used in addition to phototherapy. These drugs can be used in the absence of light therapy, as these drugs have a positive effect in modifying the imbalance in the secretion of some brain materials resulting from the lack of sunlight and lack of light during the winter season, which leads to To get depressive.
