Fall colours could trigger an onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder

With the hot and extremely dry summer that Kingstonians just experienced, Mother Nature is showing her fall colours a little earlier than usual, and the early appearance of orange, red and yellow leaves could trigger Seasonal Affective Disorder for some people.

According to Molly Smith from Resolve Counselling Services Canada, the mood disorder was first discovered in the 1980s by a researcher who moved from South Africa to the United States.

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“Through that move he noticed that in the winter he felt sleepy and less productive,” Smith said. “The feeling of being less productive caused depressive symptoms. Seasonal Affective disorder is a type of major depressive disorder, but it’s characterized by a seasonal pattern.”

For the most part Smith said SAD typically occurs d