人的情绪有时会随着季节的更迭而出现波动。
当气温下降，需要穿毛衣的季节全面来临时，有些人可能开始感觉情绪低落，不愿意与周围的世界互动，这在一定程度上是因为阳光照射时间变短和维生素D摄入量减少，这可能限制血清素的释放。而血清素是一种令人感到愉悦的激素。
这种现象被称为季节性情绪失调（SAD），据估计有1,000万美国人深受影响，而且受影响的女性比例高于男性，年轻人比例较高。这是一种在某些月份（通常从晚秋到初春）达到高峰的抑郁症，症状包括绝望感、疲劳、睡眠困难和退出正常活动。
季节性情绪失调在气温波动较大的地区更加普遍，而且有些国家可能对你的冬季心情有更大影响。Healthnews根据五个关键风险因素，即纬度、抑郁症患病率、双相情感障碍患病率、女性人口规模和18-30岁的人口规模等，分析了194个国家的“全球冬季SAD风险”。根据这种方法，对这些因素进行加权计算，赋予每个国家一个分数，满分100分，最高分代表患SAD的风险最高。
虽然《世界幸福报告》（World Happiness Report）对许多北欧国家的评价较高（芬兰连续七年被评为幸福感最高的国家，紧随其后的是丹麦、冰岛和瑞典），但这些国家所处的纬度，使其SAD患病率可能高于其他南方国家。需要进一步研究这种差异，以了解其背后的原因，以及各国提升幸福感的计划和倡议是如何在有意无意间减轻生活在冬季抑郁症高发地区居民的心理健康风险的。
以下是全球冬季抑郁症高发地区名单：
1.格陵兰：79.7
2.芬兰：69.3
3.瑞典：67.1
4.英国：64.6
5.挪威：63.1
6.冰岛：62.9
7.加拿大：62.0
8.立陶宛：60.7
9.丹麦：60.5
10.爱尔兰：59.3
11.拉脱维亚：58.9
12.爱沙尼亚：58.7
13.新西兰：58.2
14.荷兰：57.9
15.白俄罗斯：57.9
Healthnews的分析称：“根据谷歌趋势（Google Trends）的分析，在过去五年中，在冬季抑郁症指数得分最高的前10个国家中，有6个国家也位列‘季节性情绪失调’一词谷歌搜索排名的前15名。这种重叠表明我们的研究可能有效地反映了现实世界的问题，特别是在SAD患病率可能最高的地区。”
如何应对季节性情绪失调
与控制一般抑郁症一样，根据严重程度接受谈话治疗和药物治疗，可能是合适的方案。但针对SAD，其他专家特别推荐光照疗法，即每天在光疗箱中接受30至45分钟的光照。（财富中文网）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
As the seasons change, moods sometimes do too.
When temperatures drop and sweater weather is in full swing, some people may begin to notice they feel down and not as engaged with the world around them—in part because fewer sunlight hours and less vitamin D exposure can limit the release of the feel-good hormone serotonin.
The phenomenon is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which affects an estimated 10 million Americans—more women than men, and a higher percentage of young adults. It is a form of depression that peaks during certain months, typically from late fall to early spring, and includes symptoms like feelings of hopelessness, fatigue, trouble sleeping, and a withdrawal from normal activities.
SAD is more common in regions with significant temperature fluctuations—and some countries may have a greater impact on your winter mood. Healthnews analyzed 194 countries’ “global winter-pattern SAD risk” by assessing five key risk factors: latitude, depressive disorders prevalence, bipolar disorder prevalence, female population size, and 18- to-30-year-old population size. According to the methodology, these factors were weighted together to give each country a score out of 100, with the highest value indicating the most risk for SAD.
While the World Happiness Report celebrates many Nordic countries (Finland ranks No. 1 as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, followed in close range by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden), their latitudes also put them at risk for a higher prevalence of SAD cases compared to their southern counterparts. More research is needed to understand this discrepancy and how the countries’ well-being protocols and initiatives may, intentionally or not, mitigate the mental health risks of living in a winter depression hotspot.
Here is a list of the world’s winter depression hotspots:
1. Greenland: 79.7
2. Finland: 69.3
3. Sweden: 67.1
4. United Kingdom: 64.6
5. Norway: 63.1
6. Iceland: 62.9
7. Canada: 62.0
8. Lithuania: 60.7
9. Denmark: 60.5
10. Ireland: 59.3
11. Latvia: 58.9
12. Estonia: 58.7
13. New Zealand: 58.2
14. Netherlands: 57.9
15. Belarus: 57.9
“According to Google Trends analysis, six out of the top 10 countries with the highest index score of winter depression also rank in the top 15 Google searches for the term ‘seasonal affective disorder’ over the past five years,” according to Healthnews’ analysis. “This overlap suggests that our study may effectively reflect real-world concerns, especially in regions where SAD may be the most prevalent.”
How to cope with seasonal affective disorder
Depending on the severity, as with managing general depression, talk therapy and medication may be the right protocol. For SAD specifically, though, other experts recommend light therapy, by exposing yourself daily to a light box for 30 to 45 minutes.