Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder: What It Is and How to Overcome It (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When the dark days of winter approach, do you feel slowed down and have difficulty waking up in the morning?..." (more)
Key Phrases: overall seasonality score, seasonal person, starting light therapy, United States, Light Visor, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When days get shorter and colder, do you get gloomier? Do you have trouble waking up? Controlling your diet? Focusing on work and relationships? If so, you may be one of the millions of people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD): changes in mood and behavior due to seasonal changes, such as feeling depressed in winter. Rosenthal, senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health and clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University, led the team that first described SAD. Now in his revised and updated Winter Blues, he describes SAD and how to overcome it. The book includes a self-diagnosis to see how severely seasonal changes affect you (or your child).

Rosenthal, author of St. John's Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good, brings SAD to life with profiles of seasonal-slump sufferers. All of these people experienced dramatic improvement with light therapy--exposure to a special light box for 30 to 90 minutes a day. Winter Blues tells you everything you need to know about light boxes and other treatments, such as psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, herbs, vitamins, and the role of diet and exercise. Rosenthal includes many helpful extras, such as tips for dealing with the holidays and a sample letter requesting insurance reimbursement for a light box. --Joan Price

From Scientific American

Probably the best book on SAD available for the lay person....Very well written; the case histories read...like short stories....Little sections on the history of seasonal time and how to decide whether to take medication or how to choose a therapist show much down-to-earth wisdom. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; Revised edition (October 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572303956
• ISBN-13: 978-1572303959
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #193,232 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting, well-written book, December 8, 1998

By	Leo Sher, M.D. ([e-mail]) (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

"Winter Blues" is a well-crafted book by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, the creator of the contemporary concept of seasonal affective disorder and light therapy, one of the leaders in the field of mood disorders, and the author of numerous publications including "St. John's Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good." The first edition of "Winter Blues" was published in 1993. In the past 5 years this book has become a classic reference for the thousands of people who experience seasonal changes in mood and behavior. The second edition is not merely a cosmetic update but an extensive revision of the first edition. The revised edition of "Winter Blues" provides the readers with the most up-to-date information on the research in the field and reflects new perspectives in appreciating how much we can do to overcome the effects of seasons. The chapter on new research demonstrates the vast accumulation of new information we have gained on the subject of seasonal affective disorder, seasonality, and light treatment. The author describes interesting scientific findings related to the neurobiological mechanisms of seasonality. Other chapters of this book provides the readers with useful information on how to overcome "winter blues" and related topics. I am impressed with the deepness of the author's description of the "holiday blues" and "anniversary reactions." This is a simply written, interesting book. It is a book I certainly recommend to everybody who is interested in natural sciences.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of Seasonal Affective Disorder, October 22, 2002

By A Customer

This book gives a comprehensive overview of Seasonal Affective Disorder, as well as milder versions like the "winter blues" which affect many people, some of whom don't realize it. The book is written primarily for the layperson, either those who think or know they have SAD or those who know someone who does. If you fall into one of those catagories, this book would be worth reading.

The book explains the research behind the discovery of SAD (Dr. Rosenthal was one of the researchers who defined the disorder)and explains the various means of treating the problem. The author also puts SAD into a historical and literary context. After reading it, those affected by SAD will not feel that they are alone in their tribulations. They are part of a large group, and one that can live relatively normal lives with treatment and a little advance planning.

The book also offers information on distinguishing SAD from depression or bipolarity, and points out that SAD can co-occur with other problems.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A PATIENT'S PERSPECTIVE, January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This book was interesting to me as someone who has been diagnosed with seasonal affect disorder (SAD). However, I feel that the same information is restated and shown over and over again through different cases, making the book long if individual cases are not what you are looking for. I felt that the book was written in plain language, but was still geared towards psychologists and doctors. It did answer some of my questions about different types of light therapy and as someone who has lived in Scandinavia, I found his study of people who live in northern latitudes with regard to whether they are more immune to SAD particularly interesting. If you think you may have SAD, the book provides a test which doesn't tell you much, but would confirm the severity of your case by distiguishing it from "Winter Blues" and SAD. I think all psycologists/psychiatrists should have this book in their libraries and read about SAD so they can recognize it for what it is. If more people would acknowlege the disorder it would make it a lot easier on those of us who have it. And maybe the insurance company would get around to reimbursing me for my expensive light box instead of only wanting to pay for pills.