A PSYCHIATRIST who pioneered therapy for people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder is coming to Colchester.

Dr Norman Rosenthal has been invited to give talks at Colchester General Hospital and Essex University.

He has also agreed to give one to the public at Firstsite.

Barry Spivack, of Colchester’s Transcendental Meditation, which encourages people to practice meditation to relieve tiredness and stress, invited Dr Rosenthal.

He said: “I wondered what we could do to liven things up.

“So I organised a medical conference.

“I knew Dr Rosenthal had a new book out and wondered if he was coming to Essex so I invited him to Colchester.

“Everyone has heard of SAD but not everyone has heard of the man behind it.”

Dr Rosenthal was the first person to describe SAD, which is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern.

and also engineered light therapy as treatment.

The condition is often linked to reduced exposure to sunlight during the shorter autumn and winter days.

The lack of sunlight affects part of the brain and is believed to affect the production of hormones which make you feel sleepy and can affect mood.

It can also affect the body’s internal clock which uses sunlight for functions such as when you wake up.

Lower light levels during the winter may disrupt the body clock and lead to symptoms of SAD.

The public event, which is free, will be held at Firstsite on October 19 at 1pm.

As well as the talk he will be answering questions and signing his new book.

To book a free place go to uk.tm.org/web/essex/introductory-talks or email barry.spivack@tm.org