A woman in Salford is raising awareness of Seasonal Affective Disorder, a form of depression which mainly affects people during the winter months.
Emily Cavell-Shaw, aged 21, uses her TikTok platform to talk about her day-to-day life with Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD.
@cavell.ry♬ original sound – Em
Emily found out about SAD during her A-level psychology course and realised what she was experiencing day-to-day during the darker months of the year fit the category for the disorder.
The disorder affects things like your motivation and energy levels and some days people like Emily might find it difficult to even leave the house.
She said: “Sometimes, I’ll get ready, put my jacket and have my keys in my hand, and I just can’t open the door.
“I can’t bring myself to leave the house when I am in that kind of state.”
The disorder is also referred to as ‘Winter Blues’ as many people suffering with it experience their symptoms in the darker and colder months of the year.
Emily said: “Winter itself isn’t as much of an issue with me, its mainly when it starts to get darker.
“Like if I wake up in the morning and it’s still very dark and it hasn’t got sunny yet, I notice it more that mood is really low.”
In the UK, there are 2 million people who suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder and psychiatrists are looking into different methods of treating the disorder.
Doctor Jon Van Niekerk of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: “If it (SAD) starts to affect your functioning I think it’s really important to go and see your GP and look at options.
“They tend to advise to look at things like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and sometimes if the depression is severe, they will look at anti-depressants.”
For more information about Seasonal Affective Disorder go to the NHS website.
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