TREATMENT
Knowing how to treat each of these disorders is useful to categorize them and become
one step close to answering the research question at hand. However, it is also essential to
developing an understanding of the knowledge that can be used to treat affected patients of both
disorders. It is important to note that treatment is a means of reducing symptoms, but is not
synonymous with a cure for the condition.
The most effective and commonly used treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder is light
therapy, or phototherapy, since light exposure is one of the leading factors as to why the disorder
arises in the first place. A lighting device, often a light box, is used where a patient sits a few feet
from the light. Although this light is artificial, …show more content…
However, despite all of the evidence
categorizing these two conditions as variations of each other, Seasonal Affective Disorder is
not a variation of Bipolar disorder.
It is also important to be made clear the difference between SAD and Bipolar with
Seasonal Patterns. SAD is a mood disorder caused by the changing seasons interfering with the
body’s circadian rhythms. In contrast, BDSP occurs when patients with Bipolar Disorder
experience episodes brought on by, but not solely caused by, seasonal cues.
The strongest reason as to why this is true is the failure of the manic phase to consistently
present itself in cases of seasonal mood irregularities. Many cases of SAD are milder forms of
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), regardless of the season it occurs in.
The conclusion, however, does not entail that the two are completely irrelevant. In fact,
knowing the similarities and differences between SAD and Bipolar is essential to crafting
treatments for each. As previously stated, treatments for MDD and BP can be used to further aid
SAD patients because they are all different disorders comprised of almost identical
Knowing how to treat each of these disorders is useful to categorize them and become
one step close to answering the research question at hand. However, it is also essential to
developing an understanding of the knowledge that can be used to treat affected patients of both
disorders. It is important to note that treatment is a means of reducing symptoms, but is not
synonymous with a cure for the condition.
The most effective and commonly used treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder is light
therapy, or phototherapy, since light exposure is one of the leading factors as to why the disorder
arises in the first place. A lighting device, often a light box, is used where a patient sits a few feet
from the light. Although this light is artificial, …show more content…
However, despite all of the evidence
categorizing these two conditions as variations of each other, Seasonal Affective Disorder is
not a variation of Bipolar disorder.
It is also important to be made clear the difference between SAD and Bipolar with
Seasonal Patterns. SAD is a mood disorder caused by the changing seasons interfering with the
body’s circadian rhythms. In contrast, BDSP occurs when patients with Bipolar Disorder
experience episodes brought on by, but not solely caused by, seasonal cues.
The strongest reason as to why this is true is the failure of the manic phase to consistently
present itself in cases of seasonal mood irregularities. Many cases of SAD are milder forms of
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), regardless of the season it occurs in.
The conclusion, however, does not entail that the two are completely irrelevant. In fact,
knowing the similarities and differences between SAD and Bipolar is essential to crafting
treatments for each. As previously stated, treatments for MDD and BP can be used to further aid
SAD patients because they are all different disorders comprised of almost identical