[Yoric]

I don't know about confirmation bias but I've realized as a kid that November and February has always been bad for me. I think that was way before I heard of SAD, although I could of course have internalized something I had heard and forgotten the details.

Anyway, given that placebos work very well on mood, I'm happy to read about possible solutions (as long as they're not harmful) even if they would have no observable effect in a double-blind :)

[psychphysic]

It might not be confirmation bias. Only that there is a natural variability in human behaviour linked to seasons.

Just like every other living organism from lichen to bears.

But humans do not like to admit they are not masters of their domain (genuinely not a Seinfeld reference).

The question, however, is the use of "disorder" and the evidence this far is lacking.

[solsane]

Psychologists, the least scientific form of scientists, use the term ‘disorder’ far too liberally if you ask me. The term has implications for how people view others with these diagnosis and how those people view themselves.

The term is borrows credibility from other parts of medicine. The term gives the impression of a ‘disease’, which a) we tend to think of as physiological and b) something foreign and unwanted in our body, and c) not normal. I have ADHD but none of the above describe my mental state when I’m off my medication.

I see the term ‘disorder’ in psychology often used to the effect of ‘basis for a prescription’. I’ll take the medication, improve my life, and leave the stigma of being ‘diseased’ behind.