80 | www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com Even when he was a teenager growing up in Greenville, in the 1970s, Henry L. Clark recalls feeling down, listless and borderline sad at certain times every year. “We called it being ‘down in the dumps,’” Clark said. “And it always seemed to happen for no reason, usually on cold, dismal drizzly days.” By the mid-1980s, after being studied and researched by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health, the worst form of “down in the dumps” became known as seasonal affective disorder. And whether it’s a mild case of winter blues like Henry Clark’s or a really bad situation leading to depression or suicide, SAD affects more than 10 million people in the United States, and its numbers are expected to increase this winter because of inflation, the lingering influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and an expected recession in 2023. “Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression, and there has absolutely been a rise in depression since 2020,” said Casey Lee, nurse practitioner with LifeStance Health Charleston. “And in addition to the winter season, with shorter days and less sunlight, a lot of other factors are now contributing to SAD.” SEASONAL DEPRESSION: MORE THAN JUST WINTERTIME… THIS TIME By L. C. Leach III
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