Decreased attendance and performance at work. Your primary care physician, a psychiatrist or a therapist who is knowledgeable about depression and its seasonal variations, can provide medical assistance. Phototherapy This is the treatment of choice. It is provided by a specially designed light box with fluorescent bulbs that do not have harmful ultraviolet rays. The bulbs are much brighter than typical indoor illumination.
Phototherapy is comparable to the light received on a clear day a half-hour after sunrise.
Optimal phototherapy provides 10,000 lux for up to 30 minutes per day. Older light boxes of 2,500 lux require longer treatments of up to two hours. Phototherapy, which must be prescribed by a psychiatrist, is most successful if started at the onset of symptoms. Treatment is usually conducted in the morning and may be initiated by a device that simulates the day's first light, known as a dawn simulator. Phototherapy works via the eyes.