Seasonal affective disorder (ATS) is usually classified as depressive disorder. Despite the fact that this painful condition is considered endogenous, there are a number of prerequisites for its development. What can cause ATS? And who is at immediate risk?
Seasonal affective disorder is a controversial diagnosis. Discussions have been going on around this violation for more than a year, experts conduct various studies. In some cases, the results indicate that an exacerbation of the depressive state does occur in certain seasons of the year (hence the corresponding name for the disorder), in other cases, there is no pattern between depression and, for example, the winter season. However, ATS are in no hurry to exclude from the category of borderline mental pathologies.
The unequivocal and only reason why seasonal affective disorder develops does not exist. Doctors are of the opinion that there are four key reasons that can trigger the occurrence of this violation.
Why ATS develops: causes of depression
There is a theory in medical circles that seasonal depressive disorder can be inherited. Genetic predisposition in the context of depression is, in principle, a very relevant topic today. Experts insist that if among the close relatives of a person there were patients with any type of depressive disorder or with a diagnosed ATS, then the person’s risk of developing the disease significantly increases. In addition, after a number of studies, it was found that the cause of the development of ATS is capable of hiding in disorders and mutations affecting genes on the 11th chromosome.
The second reason why there is a seasonal affective disorder, doctors call violations affecting circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are understood to mean internal - biological - watches that every person has. Failures occur due to lack of sunlight, because ATS most often manifests itself in the fall, winter and early spring. The less a person receives sunlight, the stronger the signs of depression can be expressed. This reason in scientific circles is called chronobiological theory based on molecular biochemical disturbance.
There are also two other causes of ATS:
- a direct predisposition to this disorder, provoked by negative external influences or internal pathologies; sometimes seasonal affective disorder is formed on the basis of someone somatic disease, for example, affecting the endocrine system;
- a violation occurs due to a decrease in the amount of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the human body.