Experts have devised a formula which can tell whether you have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or Winter Blues. About 30% of people who live in Northern Europe suffer from SAD during the winter months - it is due to the reduction in the amount of light.

The formula was devised by Dr David Wheatley, a Psychiatrist in the UK.

The formula is X = a x ((24-b) x (c d e) f x (g h i)).

What do these symbols stand for?

-- X refers to your risk rating, X can be any number from 0 to 828.

-- ’a’ refers to your inherent vulnerability - if there is no history of SAD/Depression/Winter Blues in your family, your ’a’ score will be 1. If there is a history your ’a’ score will be 2, a history plus your having had depression before gives you an ’a’ score of 3.

-- ’b’ refers to the number of hours of winter daylight in your area - the minimum is 6.

-- ’c’ refers to the psychological effect of leaving home or the office in darkness each day. If you go out each morning and come home each afternoon during daylight hours your ’c’ score will be 0. If it is dark on both occasions your ’c’ score will be 4.

-- ’d’ refers to your working conditions - conditions in relation to how much light contact you have during your work. The score is from 1 to four. A traffic policeman will experience more sunlight during his/her working hours than an office worker or a miner.

-- ’e’ refers to how much sunlight you experience while at home. You can score from 1 to 4.

-- ’f’ refers to your general levels of stress. You can score from 1 to 5.

-- ’g’ refers to how much contact you have with other people, social contact. You can score from 0 to 4.

-- ’h’ refers to how often you exercise. You can score from 1 to 4.

-- ’i’ looks at what you eat and drink - your diet. You can score from 0 to 4, zero meaning your diet is excellent.

If your total X score is 100 or less, your will ’probably never’ suffer from SAD or Winter Blues. You are at risk of moderate SAD if you score from 100 to 300. Anything over 300 and under 600 means you are at risk of suffering from SAD, to such a level that your quality of life will be affected. A score over 600 means you probably need medical help.

What is SAD?

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects millions of people every Winter between September and April, in particular during December, January and February.

It is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter.

For many people SAD is a seriously disabling illness, preventing them from functioning normally without continuous medical treatment.

For others, it is a mild but debilitating condition causing discomfort but not severe suffering. We call this subsyndromal SAD or ’winter blues.’

Symptoms of SAD

The symptoms of SAD usually recur regularly each Winter, starting between September and November and continuing until March or April, and a diagnosis can be made after three or more consecutive Winters of symptoms, which include a number of the following:

Sleep problems:
Usually desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake but, in some cases, disturbed sleep and early morning wakening

Lethargy:
Feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routine

Overeating:
Craving for carbohydrates and sweet foods, usually resulting in weight gain

Depression:
Feelings of misery, guilt and loss of self-esteem, sometimes hopelessness and despair, sometimes apathy and loss of feelings

Social problems:
Irritability and desire to avoid social contact

Anxiety:
Tension and inability to tolerate stress

Loss of libido:
Decreased interest in sex and physical contact

Mood changes:
In some sufferers, extremes of mood and short periods of hypomania (overactivity) in spring and autumn.

Most sufferers show signs of a weakened immune, system during the Winter, and are more vulnerable to infections and other illnesses.

SAD symptoms disappear in Spring, either suddenly with a short period (e.g., four weeks) of hypomania or hyperactivity, or gradually, depending on the intensity of sunlight in the Spring and early Summer.

In sub-syndromal SAD, symptoms such as tiredness, lethargy, sleep and eating problems occur, but depression and anxiety are absent or mild.

SAD may begin at any age but the main age of onset is between 18 and 30 years.

It occurs throughout the northern and southern hemispheres but is extremely rare in those living within 30 degrees of the Equator, where daylight hours are long, constant and extremely bright.