Deconstructing the Skepticism That Surrounds Seasonal Affective Disorder

Owens was a part of a series of clinical trials on SAD that took place at the National Institutes of Health. Some skeptics may say that his story is merely anecdotal, and that anecdotal evidence is nothing to peer-reviewed research; they may even go so far as to say that everyone gets a bit down during the winter. It’s a kind of rhetoric often used by those who least understand mental health—rhetoric that we should challenge. It’s critical that we make sure that the anecdotal evidence of people living with mental health challenges isn’t swept under the rug. Instead, we should use these personal experiences to guide our research and determine which directions to take it in.

The purpose of research is to serve people who live with mental health challenges, not work against them. If the current study found no evidence of the existence of SAD, let’s ask ourselves how this finding can be used to deepen our understanding of the experience of SAD—which is certainly real—rather than call its validity into question. If SAD “doesn’t exist,” then we need to think critically about what people like Owens are actually experiencing, and learn how to be better at supporting them in overcoming it.

From what we know, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) experience it in a seasonal pattern. It’s likely linked to serotonin, the same chemical in the brain connected to a number of different mood disorders. So far, the most effective treatment for SAD has been light exposure therapy. It’s exactly what it sounds like: exposure to artificial light of specific wavelengths for a set amount of time per day. What’s important about the therapy is that it’s been proven that it works—regardless of exactly how. Maybe it restores something that the body lacks, and maybe it just helps people to know that they’re doing something to combat the intense sadness they feel whenever winter rolls around. Regardless of how it works, it helps people cope with their mental health challenges, and it validates that they’re struggling with something real and tangible in the first place.

So why, when there’s ample amounts of research—as well as anecdotal evidence—to support its existence, is there so much skepticism around Seasonal Affective Disorder? The answer is an easy one: stigma. Everyone experiences changing seasons, and most people do so without any changes or disturbances in mood. The idea that someone can’t function, can’t make it into work, and can’t manage their daily commitments because of the weather might seem unimaginable to someone who isn’t experiencing SAD. Add to that the fact that mental health challenges are largely invisible, and it makes sense why their existence is called into question so often. But the truth is that it doesn’t matter whether SAD is a “real” illness or not—it’s real to the people who experience it, whether it’s culturally constructed or based in some kind of physiology. The fact is that people get sad during seasonal changes, and they deserve support regardless of those factors.