NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — If you are feeling like you’re not quite yourself lately, you’re certainly not alone. You may be experiencing a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder, which is common in the late fall and early winter.

Depression is just one of the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Other symptoms include low energy, poor mood and fatigue.

Dr. Paul Desan, the director of the Winter Depression Research Clinic at Yale New Haven Hospital says for some people this can be a very serious change. Dr. Desan is also an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.

“We think it’s the light-dark cycle that controls the incidents of winter depression. Seasonal affective disorder. This is something that becomes common, more common the further north you go from these latitudes becomes less common. Seasonal affective disorder doesn’t happen in Florida for example,” Dr. Desan said.

There are solutions to help those experiencing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder.

“Fortunately, there’s a very interesting solution that’s well supported by research. Exposure to 10,000 lux of bright light, early in the morning before 8 a.m. for half an hour. That fixes the problem for the vast majority of people,” Desan said.

If you’d like to read more about seasonal affective disorder, you can check out the Winter Depression Research Clinic’s website. You can also find information on how to obtain a light box here.