Feeling the Effects of Daylight Saving Time?

According to recent data from Cleveland Clinic , approximately 5% of adults in the US experience symptoms of depression in the winter after daylight saving time, while an additional 10% to 20% of American adults experience a milder form of the “winter blues” during this time.  

Don’t dismiss this yearly struggle with depression as normal or a seasonal funk that should powered through. At Serenity Mental Health Centers , advanced mental health treatment options such as TMS and ketamine can help patients diagnosed with seasonal depression manage and treat their symptoms.   

How Does Daylight Saving Time Affect Mental Health? 

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depress ion that’s related to changes in seasons affecting the body’s internal clock. Individuals who struggle with this form of depression will only experience their symptoms at the same time each year, most often beginning in fall or winter and lasting until spring though a rarer form known as “summer depression” can begin in spring or early summer and end in fall. Symptoms range in severity and entail many of the same symptoms related to major depressive disorder, including: 

• Feelings of sadness or hopelessness 
• Lack of energy or motivation 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Sudden weight gain 
• And, in extreme cases, thoughts of suicide 

While daylight saving time is not the root cause of SAD, it can exacerbate the symptoms. As daylight shortens with the winter months, serotonin and melatonin levels drop which can lead to feelings of apathy and depression. 

Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder with an Advanced Approach 

While treatment for SAD often includes an antidepressant prescription or a form of talk or light therapy, many patients experience little to no change in the severity of their symptoms. For individuals who have tried other treatment options without success, state-of-the-art mental health treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS treatment) offered at Serenity may be the answer for long-term results. 

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a painless, non-invasive treatment  option for patients with depression. With the use of painless magnetic fields (similar to those of an MRI) TMS stimulates mid-brain activity and creates new neural pathways within the brain to help patients overcome depression symptoms of the course of their treatment. Patients who undergo TMS report a 75% success rate in significant alleviation of symptoms and a 51% success rate in full remission of symptoms, giving hope to patients who have given up on finding an effective solution for their depression. 

Take Back Your Life from Seasonal Affective Disorder

Don’t accept a life controlled by seasonal affective disorder. If you have struggled to find relief from symptoms in the past, TMS may be an effective solution to help you take back your life from depression. 

For more information on TMS therapy  and other interventional psychiatry treatments offered by Serenity Mental Health Centers or call 844-692-4100 today.