Another version of depression is seasonal.
Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression that affects a person during the same season each year. If you get depressed in the winter but feel much better in spring and summer, you may have SAD. For most people with SAD, symptoms start in September or October and end in April or May.
What are the symptoms?
If you have SAD, you may:
* Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious.
* Lose interest in your usual activities.
* Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.
* Gain weight.
* Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.
Given the increased problem of obesity for clergy, one may want to explore the possibility of SAD.
Like with full depression, it is not helpful to dismiss these symptoms with an appeal to a person’s will power in conquering these symptoms.
In this case, Cognitive Reality Therapy and some forms of light therapy offer relief. Because we are part of a corporate faith with an emphasis on caring for each other, it helps to both know what some of the symptoms are and how to help out.
While being worn out and burned out are real issues in the ministry, it is important that we also recognize the role depression can play.
