Proto-FAQ, part one 
   Date: Mon, 4 Nov 1996
   Reply-To: lpuls@nyx.net
   Part 1 of 5
   ===========
   
   Q. What causes SAD?
   A. The group of symptoms which doctors and therapists use to diagnose
   depression ("depressive symptomns"), which includes the important
   proviso that the symptoms have manifested for more than a few weeks
   and that they are interfering with normal life, are the result of an
   alteration in brain chemistry.  This alteration is similar to
   temporary, normal variations in brain chemistry which can be triggered
   by illness, stress, frustration, or grief, but it differs in that it
   is self-sustaining and does not resolve itself upon removal of such
   triggering events (if any such trigger can be found at all, which is
   not always the case.)  SAD is characterised by the sufferer living a
   "normal," healthy life during the summer months, but crashing into a
   depressive episode during the autumnal and winter season. Frequently,
   the depressive phases sets in around September or October, and will
   recede in May or June.  A recurrent pattern of depression during winter
   and good health during summer is very suggestive of SAD.
   
   Q. What are some electronic resources on the internet related to
   depression?
   A. This list is a shortened version of one compiled and maintained by
   Sylvia Caras. It is posted periodically to ThisIsCrazy-L (see below
   for subscription information). If you would like to suggest additions
   for this list, contact :
   sylviac@netcom.com
   To suggest additions to this list for the
   alt.support.depression.seasonal FAQ, send them to:
   lpuls@nyx.net
   
   * Newsgroups:
   alt.support.depression
   soc.support.depression 
   alt.support.depression.manic
   soc.support.depression.manic
   alt.support.depression.seasonal
   soc.support.depression.seasonal
   alt.support.phobias
   sci.psychology
   sci.med
   sci.med.psychobiology
   
   * There is the WWW site Seasonal Light/SAD set up by Lou Puls,
   lpuls@nyx.net, dealing exclusively with SAD and seasonal light.
   The address is:
   http://www.nyx.net/~lpuls/sadhome.html
   This site covers book listings, articles, and information on
   membership organizations and light-box and other seasonal light device
   manufacturers.  From here are links to most of the seasonal sites.
   
   * Internet Health Resources is an extensive listing of medical
   resources available over the internet:
   ftp2.cc.ukans.edu
   cd pub/hmatrix
   get file medlst03.txt or medlst03.zip.
   
   * An FTP site at Temple University containing articles related to
   depression:
   ftp 129.32.32.98
   cd/pub/psych
   
   * ThisIsCrazy is an electronic action and information letter for
   people who experience moods swings, fright, voices, and visions
   (People Who). To subscribe, send a message to :
   majordomo@netcom.com
   with this command in the body of the message:
   subscribe ThisIsCrazy-L
   
   * Pendulum is a mailing list for people diagnosed with bipolar mood
   disorder (manic depression) and related disorders and their
   supporters, and some professionals. To subscribe to pendulum, send a
   message to:
   majordomo@ncar.ucar.edu
   containing the line:
   subscribe pendulum
   
   * Walkers-in-Darkness is a list for people diagnosed with various
   depressive disorders (unipolar, atypical, and bipolar depression,
   S.A.D., related disorders). The list also includes sufferers of panic
   attacks and Borderline Personality Disorder. Please, no researchers
   trying to study us, etc. (Postings are copyrighted by individual
   posters.)
   To subscribe to walkers or walkers-digest, send a message to:
   majordomo@world.std.com
   containing the line "subscribe walkers" or, for the digest, "subscribe
   walkers-digest". 

   * There is an anonymous FTP site at:
   ftp.std.com in ~/pub/walkers, that includes a technical FAQ.
   According to Liz Day  and Steven Lindblom 
   , the anonymous remailer at anon.penet.fi, 
   as currently referenced by the asdfaq.5 at ftp.std.com, is now closed 
   down.

   * To get information on an anonymous remailer which is intended only
   for the use of support groups, including all the depression ones,
   contact help@anon.twwells.com
   Source: Steven Lindblom 

   * To subscribe to the Mailbase list psychiatry send the command:
   SUBSCRIBE psychiatry to mailbase@uk.ac.mailbase

   * The Winter Blues Resource Service can be contacted by toll-free phone: 
   1-800-FIX BLUEs (1-800-349-2583).

   Sources
   =======
   alt.support.depression FAQ. Copyright (c) 1994 Cynthia Frazier.
   Lou Puls' WWW site. (See above).
   Pamphlet: Depression: What you need to know, National Institute of
   Mental Health, by Marilyn Sargent. Office of Scientific Information
   National Institute of Mental Health, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
   of Mental Disorders. The DSM stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical
   Manual of Mental Disorders. It is published by the American
   Psychiatric Association. The latest version is the DSM-IV (1995).
   For reference, the DSM-III was published in 1980. The first edition of
   this manual was published in 1952, and the second edition in 1968.
   It is used by the vast majority of psychologists and mental health 
   professionals in the United States of America as a diagnostic tool. 
   Psychiatrists and professionals outside of the U.S. will often use a 
   diagnostic system called ICD-9, which differs in many respects from 
   the DSM.
   
   Contributors
   ============
   Becky Elmont,NY
   Brian Gerred
   Cynthia Frazier (cf12@CORNELL.edu) Lansing, NY
   Dawn Sharon Friedman
   Dana Quinn
   John M. Grohol (grohol@alpha.acast.nova.edu), Nova S.E. University
   Joy Ikelman Boulder, CO
   kxr@netcom.com (Keith Rich)
   Mary-Anne Wolf
   Rachel Findley
   Robert Orenstein (rlo@netcom.com)
   Silja Muller
   Stephan Klaus Heilmayr Oakland, CA >BR> Sue W.
   Sylvia Caras Owner, ThisIsCrazy-L
   Todd Daniel Woodward Mountain View, CA
   Wes Melander
   
   Editor: Lou Puls
   All corrections, suggestions and additions gratefully received!
   Much of this FAQ has been copied directly from the
   alt.support.depression FAQ, edited by Cynthia Frazier
   (cf12@cornell.edu). Portions (c) 1994 Cynthia Frazier.
   Special thanks to Ivan Goldberg, MD, NY Psychopharmacologic Inst., ,
   who has provided many of the questions and answers as well as made
   corrections throughout the FAQ.
   
   Getting Help
   ============
   Q. Where should a person go for help?
   A. If you think you might need help, see your internist or general
   practitioner and explain your situation. Sometimes an actual physical
   illness can cause depression-like symptoms so that is why it is best
   to see your regular physician first to be checked out. Your doctor
   should be able to refer you to a psychiatrist if the severity of your
   depression warrants it.
   Other sources of help include the members of the clergy, local suicide
   hotline, local hospital emergency room, or your local mental health
   center, which can provide local and broader references.

   Following is a list of organisations in the USA:
   
1. NOSAD - National Organization for Seasonal Affective Disorder (USA)

NOSAD is a national group founded in 1988 to support the interests of patients
with SAD.  Its membership is open to patients, relatives, friends, interested
professionals, and any others who wish to further its goals.  These 
include:

(1) disseminating information about SAD by means of a regular 
newsletter;
(2) offering support groups to patients and their families in a manner 
that has been successful for many other medical and psychiatric 
illnesses; 
(3) working for things that are important to people with SAD - for 
example, insurance reimbursement for light fixtures.

The parent body has been established in the Washington DC metropolitan area,
but members are eager to develop satellite groups across the country.  If you
are interested in finding out more about NOSAD, or in starting your own local
chapter of the group, write to:

NOSAD 
P.O. Box 40190 
Washington DC 20016 

OLD, OBSOLETE Address:
P.O. Box 451 
Vienna, VA 22180
301-762-0768

********************************************
Note from BioBrite@aol.com
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995
Subject: NOSAD

NOSAD has been re-started. A new newsletter has been put together and 
will be mailed shortly to past members. 

Source: David Beningson, Marketing Manager, Bio-Brite 
******************************************** 

2. SADA - the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (UK) 
       
SADA is the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association. It is a UK
registered charity (No. 800917) which is there to help people with SAD
by providing information. It organises meetings for sufferers and
professionals, it has a nationwide network of support groups, it
provides SAD information packs to sufferers, to health professionals
and to the media. It keeps an eye on scientific developments in the
field. SADA was founded by Jennifer Eastwood in 1985. SADA has now
grown into a professional organisation. . The annual membership fee is
very resonable, and well worth it. To obtain information send a
Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope to: 

                            The Secretary, SADA
                                 PO Box 989
                               London SW7 2PZ
                                      
     _________________________________________________________________
     Source: Mike Ferenczi, mike@sunbox.demon.co.uk

   
3. Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms
Updated address: 
   SLTBR
   10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304
   Wheat Ridge, Colorado, 80033-2840, USA 
   Tel: (303) 424-3697
   Fax: (303) 422-8894
   email: sltbr@resourcenter.com       

They also have a new (3 Apr 96) Website at:

    http://www.websciences.org/sltbr/ 

Source, dated 3 April 1996:
  Raymond W. Lam, M.D.
  Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia
  Director, Mood Disorders Clinic
  Vancouver Hospital & Health Sciences Centre
  2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 2A1
  Tel:  604-822-7325     Fax:  604-822-7922
  E-mail:  rlam@unixg.ubc.ca    
  Web:  http://www.psychiatry.ubc.ca/ray/ray.html

4. Sun Net 
P. O. Box 10606 
Rockville, MD 20850 

5. Seasonal Studies 
National Institute of Mental Health 
Building 10/4S-239 
9000 Rockville Pike 
Bethesda, MD 20892 

***Please email me additions, updates, corrections, etc.*** 
Lou Puls, lpuls@nyx.net
Q. Where can I find help in the United Kingdom? A. The following are places one might find help in Great Britain: Depressives Associated PO Box 1022 London SE1 7QB Depressives Anonymous 36 Chestnut Avenue Beverley Humberside HU17 9QU MIND (National association for mental health) 22 Harley Street London W1N 2ED The Samaritans (Telephone counselling service & hotline) Tel: 0345 909090 Local call. To find a psychiatrist/ psychologist near you, call or write: Royal College of Psychiatrists 17 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PG ---***Under Construction***---