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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffTo help diagnose seasonal affective disorder, your doctor or mental health provider will do a thorough evaluation, which generally includes:
- Detailed questions. Your doctor or mental health provider may ask about your mood, seasonal changes in your thoughts and behavior, your lifestyle and social situation, and sleeping and eating patterns, for example. You may also fill out psychological questionnaires.
- Physical exam. Your doctor or mental health provider may do a physical examination to check for any underlying physical issues that could be linked to your depression.
- Medical tests. There's no medical test for seasonal affective disorder, but if your doctor suspects a physical condition may be causing or worsening your depression, you may need blood tests or other tests to rule out an underlying problem.
Seasonal affective disorder is considered a subtype of depression or bipolar disorder. Even with a thorough evaluation, it can sometimes be difficult for your doctor or mental health provider to diagnose seasonal affective disorder because other types of depression or mental health conditions may mimic seasonal affective disorder.
To be diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, you must meet criteria spelled out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual is published by the American Psychiatric Association and is used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental conditions and by insurance companies to reimburse for treatment.
The following criteria must be met for a diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder:
- You've experienced depression and other symptoms for at least two consecutive years, during the same season every year.
- The periods of depression have been followed by periods without depression.
- There are no other explanations for the changes in your mood or behavior.
- Saeed SA, et al. Seasonal affective disorder. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 28, 2009.
- Seasonal pattern specifier. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Oct. 31, 2009.
- Ravindran AV, et al. Complementary and alternative medicine treatments. Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) clinical guidelines for the management of major depressive disorder in adults. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2009;117:S54.
- Sarris J, et al. Kava and St. John's wort: Current evidence for use in mood and anxiety disorders. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2009;15:827.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minn. Oct. 31, 2009.
