Northwestern University professor studies treatments for seasonal affective disorder

CHICAGO (CBS) – As the holiday season comes to an end, the dark and cold days of winter can take a toll on your emotional and mental health.

Millions of Americans are suffering from seasonal affective disorder, a common depression that can be debilitating.

But, as CBS 2’s Bradley Blackburn explained, research at Chicago’s Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine is shedding new light on ways to manage the problem.

Every morning in the fall and winter, Megan Fellman starts the day with a cup of coffee and one very bright light.

“I just have it kind of at the side while I’m having my breakfast, reading the paper,” she said.

Fellman said she first experienced symptoms of depression more than 30 years ago, serious enough to require hospitalization. Her doctors later realized that some of her symptoms were connected to the changing seasons.

“It was a surprise,” Fellman said. “I’d never heard of seasonal affective disorder.”

Dr. Dorothy Sit, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, explained, “Our bodies, really depend upon light from the sun or sunlight to regulate our circadian rhythms.”

Sit studies how light therapy can help treat seasonal affective disorder and other forms of depression.

“More recent studies have shown that it can be very helpful for treating non-seasonal major depression,” Sit said. “It can be used on its own or in combination with some antidepressant medicine.”

According to recent American Psychiatric Association poll, nearly 40% of Americans said their mood declines in the winter and a quarter reported feeling depressed.

Patients with seasonal affective disorder can feel fatigued or less motivated, and they may not be able to enjoy their normal activities.

Blackburn: “That treatment makes a big different for you?”

Fellman: “It’s fair to say it’s almost life or death to me because I know where I have been without it in the winter.”

In addition to light therapy, Fellman takes antidepressants, with higher doses from October through May.

“Know that there are tools out there that can help people be happy, lead a normal life and not feel alone,” she said.

She wants others to know the winter blues are real, but help is out there.

Doctors said light therapy can help people feel improvements within two to three days of regular use and a full response can be seen within three weeks.