LIGHT THERAPY AIDS THE BLUES?

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

When the days start getting shorter some people know they're going to start ``falling back'' into some sluggish and depressive patterns. These may include eating and sleeping more, lethargy and general feelings of gloominess.

Whether you call it winter blues, human hibernation or its medical term, seasonal affective disorder (or ``SAD''), you're dealing with a real phenomenon, say psychiatrists.

``We know that mood disorders have a seasonal pattern in a fairly large percentage of the people who suffer from depression,'' says Dr. Joseph Haraszti, a Pasadena psychiatrist.

``People who suffer from these winter depressions tend to gain weight and sleep more. They literally go into hibernation. In spring, they shed the weight, often their mood lifts and they're back to working again.''

The key, Haraszti says, is for a patient to recognize that the season can have an effect on moods so he or she can take protective steps when daylight saving time ends.

Medication and possibly light therapy treatment - increased indoor exposure to light - can help. Light therapy involves spending an hour or more in front of a fluorescent light bulb in what looks like a large desk lamp. Time spent with a ``light box'' can be as beneficial as cavorting in the sun - an option people in cold weather states with months of sun-free days don't always have, said Haraszti.

The light therapy regime sounded a bit ``new-age'' to Sandi Stroud, a patient of Haraszti's who has been diagnosed with clinical depression. But Stroud, a former teacher who recently moved to from Pacoima to Pasadena to be closer to her treatment, knows that January and February are typically her worst months. If a couple of hours spent under a light box might cut down on the mood swings and hospitalizations, Stroud says, bring on the light box.

``I've worked with Dr. Haraszti long enough that I trust whatever he says,'' said Stroud, 38, ``although you have to admit, going out to the park and playing with your dog would be more fun than sitting inside at a light.''

Haraszti doesn't expect light therapy to be a cure.

``I don't think it's going to totally replace the medication she's on, but it might be an adjunct treatment,'' he said, ``and who knows? We might even be able to cut down on some of the medication.''

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Sandi Stroud suffers from seasonal affective disorder and uses this specialized light box to treat her in the mornings. The device is prescrived to her by Dr. Joseph Haraszti, Pasadena.