This article discusses an interesting study, but I'm not entirely sure it says what people think it says. Most significantly, the article mentions that depression is not broadly correlated with changes in weather, but doesn't seem to address whether changes in individuals' moods might be affected by weather. It also seems to ignore that people with SAD do feel depressed and attribute it to the weather. Whether or not that's true, we have to acknowledge that something is at work here.
I agree with you. That study didn't really give the evidence that led to the conclusion that SAD doesn't exist. The study showed that people aren't uniformly affected by the weather and that people who are depressed with the worst weather aren't the most depressed. That doesn't mean that depressed people in areas with relatively good weather aren't depressed by the change in weather during the winter. The authors of the article also concluded that light boxes aren't helpful. But for people who have gotten relief, there's at least something happening there. The last part was really interesting as well. I would be really interested to see if there is some good evidence for this. The study the author references is behind a pay wall. Tiger_the_Lion, I'm just finding and going through your older posts. I'm finding them really interesting. Thank you for posting them.SAD and its treatment with light boxes is not the only “mental illness” where hard evidence and conventional practice are no longer in tune. Critical review of data accumulated in the course of antidepressant drug trials is beginning to suggest that even these, very widely-prescribed medicines might be associated with more harm than good.