如果您注意到随着季节的变化，孩子的心情或行为发生了变化，您可能会想知道是否可能涉及季节性情感障碍（有时缩写的悲伤）。但是，季节性情感障碍到底是什么，您如何知道您的孩子是否正在经历它？继续阅读以帮助理解这一有时会引起的diagnosis,再加上帮助您的孩子在整个冬季蓬勃发展的技巧，无论他们是否感到悲伤。
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What is seasonal affective disorder?
尽管它的名字,悲伤不是一个明显的障碍,一个ccording to the DSM-5 (which classifies psychiatric disorders). Rather, it’s a specific form of严重抑郁症这是根据季节变化而来的。
“就症状而言，季节性情感障碍和抑郁症是相同的。”Heather Bernstein，psyd，临床心理学家在儿童思维学院。“季节性情感障碍本质上是严重抑郁症that occurs during specific months of the year.”
在秋天和冬季，大多数受到悲伤经历抑郁症的经历影响的人，因为世界许多地方的日子变得越来越短。当季节再次变化时，抑郁症会消失到第二年。但是，少数人在春季和夏季经历抑郁症。女性比男性更有可能受到影响，尽管年幼的孩子也会经历悲伤，但症状通常开始出现在年龄较大的青少年或年轻人中。
Experts aren’t certain what causes SAD, but one theory is that decreased sunlight in the winter months may affect the levels of melatonin and serotonin in our brains, which can in turn affect our mood and energy level.
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季节性情感障碍的迹象是什么？
悲伤的症状匹配其他抑郁症，，，，including:
- 即使没有明显的原因，也会感到异常悲伤或烦躁
- 失去对曾经愉快的事物的兴趣
- 低能水平
- 体重的变化或饮食习惯
- 睡太多或太少
- 非常自我批评
- Engaging in自我伤害行为，就像切割一样
- Feeling hopeless, worthless or numb
- 关于或尝试的想法自杀
就像其他类型的抑郁症一样diagnosis仅当这些症状中的几个至少存在两个星期时才能做出。此外，必须将抑郁症的模式与季节发生至少两年，以免被认为是可悲的。
排除其他压力来源也很重要。“这个特殊的标准之一diagnosisis that it’s not associated with a seasonal pattern where there’s always a压力源，伯恩斯坦博士说。例如，一个参加压力很大的冬季运动并在开始时总是会感到沮丧的孩子不会被诊断出悲伤，因为他们的情绪变化不是由季节本身的变化造成的。
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How is seasonal affective disorder treated?
在许多情况下，建议对季节性情感障碍的治疗是认知行为疗法（CBT）。
因为当个人沮丧时能量水平和动机会下降，所以CBT为此diagnosis通常专注于所谓的behavioral activation.“There’s going to be a lot of behavioral intervention to engage in the opposite action of what your body is pulling you to do,” says Dr. Bernstein. “Treatment can focus on questions like: How are we setting a schedule? How are we doing things even though we don’t necessarily want to be doing things?” This can include support developing and sticking to routines for sleep schedules, eating habits, screen time and social connection.
Especially in regions that get much colder and darker in the winter,behavioral activationcan also target staying active and getting outside in the daylight, even when doing so isn’t appealing. “The more we can pull our access to sunlight into balance, the more beneficial that’s going to be,” Dr. Bernstein says. “Regular physical activity and a balanced diet have also been found to be beneficial,” she adds.
在某些情况下，SAD也会使用抗抑郁药药物，包括SSRI。光治疗涉及观察模仿阳光的专用灯，也是某些SAD的人发现有助于减轻症状的一种选择。
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When should parents worry about seasonal affective disorder?
有时候，所有孩子都会变得情绪低落，尤其是如果他们要处理一些具有挑战性的事情，例如与朋友打架或在学校的粗糙补丁。很难说出孩子的情绪和烦躁是否令人担忧。
Dr. Bernstein recommends thinking in terms of changes from your child’s normal behavior, whatever “normal” means for them. Maybe your child used to love making silly TikTok videos, but now they say that it’s not fun anymore. Or maybe they’ve been frustrated with school for a while, but only now are they refusing to do homework. If your child seems to be losing motivation or having a harder time enjoying things, those might be signs of depression, whether or not it technically qualifies as seasonal affective disorder.
Looking for patterns of change is key, says Dr. Bernstein. “We’re not talking about a kid who’s active all week and then has a hard time getting out of bed on Friday,” she says. “We’re talking about at least two weeks of not responding to friends, of not coming to the dinner table, of not doing schoolwork. When you see a persistent pattern is the time to reach out for help.”
It’s also important to remember that you can alwaysconsult a professional，即使您不确定存在问题。伯恩斯坦博士说：“听那个父母的话说，‘这感觉不正确。’“接触儿科医生，治疗师或全科医生。最好问一旦您开始想知道某事是否正常，而不是等到很明显这是一个问题。”
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使冬季更容易的技巧
不管是否诊断，很多人在冬季保持开朗的时间很难。在寒冷的天气，少的光和假期压力之间，保持整个家庭的精神健康可能需要额外的努力。
“我们必须更加意识到，我们如何照顾自己？”注意伯恩斯坦博士。“我们如何照顾孩子？即使越来越困难，我们如何保持健康的习惯？”
为此，她建议通过现在制定一些策略来应对本赛季的挑战，无论您是否正在处理季节性情感障碍。
- 坚持例程。您已经听到了一千次，但这仍然是真的：例行程序可以帮助孩子和成人。有一致的睡眠时间表，餐点，工作和家庭活动可以提供稳定，并保持每个人的精神。
- 优先考虑健康的习惯。Ask kids for their own ideas for healthy activities that they’d be excited to do on a regular basis. Maybe that’s an after-school trip to the park (even in the cold!) or a weekly look through cooking blogs for fun new recipes.
- Set realistic expectations.“It’s really challenging when we come up with solutions that are not within our grasp,” says Dr. Bernstein. For instance, you might think that exercising every day is the only way for your family to stay healthy, but work and school schedules get in the way. Try getting together as a family and looking for doable alternatives: What about a game of basketball in the driveway twice a week, or taking turns choosing music for a weekend family dance party?
Whatever you choose to do, a team effort can make it easier to stay on track. “It’s not going to be just the individual who’s dealing with depression or a pattern of challenges,” Dr. Bernstein says. If your child is having a hard time, think about what would be helpful for them and use that to create some practices that the whole family can follow together.