7. Family history - If you have a blood relative who has depression or has been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, then you are more likely to have it.
8. Location - If you live far from the equator, you may be more subject to getting seasonal affective disorder because of decreased sunlight. It is particularly common among Nordic people who live in the far North.

As with any depression, symptoms of seasonal affective disorder have to be taken seriously and not shrugged off as mere moodiness. Suicidal thoughts may escalate bad behaviors and lead to social withdrawal, problems at work or school, and substance abuse in an effort to self-medicate. Treatments can include talk therapy, antidepressant medications, a physical exam to rule out other underlying conditions, lab tests for medical causes like thyroid function, and a psychological evaluation. Antidepressant medication may be recommended.

Seasonal affective disorder is considered a subtype of bipolar disorder or major depression. While it is difficult to pinpoint because the condition mirrors so many others, mental health professionals and insurance companies use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (known in the profession as the DSM-5), which is published by the American Psychiatric Association.

That manual will diagnose seasonal affective disorder if the patient has had the following symptoms for at least two years:

1. Depression beginning during a specific season
2. Depression that seems to end at a specific time each year
3. No other episodes at other times of the year
4. More seasons of depression than those without depression over the lifetime.

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