Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that changes how a person perceives reality and interacts with others. It is characterized by hallucinations (false experiences), delusions (false beliefs), and paranoia (the feeling that others are conspiring against you). People with schizophrenia may have disorganized speaking patterns or exhibit little to no emotion when interacting with others.
The exact causes of schizophrenia aren’t known, but researchers believe that it develops partly because of chemical imbalances in the brain and genetic predisposition (if someone else in your family has schizophrenia). There are also environmental risk factors for schizophrenia, like poor nutrition or pre-birth exposure to illness. Treatment for schizophrenia includes talk therapy, anti-psychotic medication, and support groups.
Seasonal Depressive Disorder
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression, is a mood disorder caused by the changing of seasons from summer to autumn. It has similar symptoms to major depressive disorder, with milder symptoms occurring at the start of fall that get worse during the winter. There is a much rarer form of seasonal depression called “summer depression” that takes place when the days get warmer and longer. This does not change the expression of symptoms at all; just the time period in which they begin and end.
Many people report feeling a mild form of seasonal affective disorder known as “winter blues”. The winter blues are relatively common, with around 10-20% of the U.S. population getting them every year. In contrast, only around 5% of people in the U.S. are diagnosed with seasonal depression. The winter blues are not an official diagnosis, so a lot of statistics regarding the condition are based on personal accounts. However, it is reasonable to assume the change in weather, decreased sunlight exposure, and shorter days would lead to low mood and energy for a sizable chunk of the population.
Sex assigned at birth
Assigned sex at birth (ASAB) refers to a person’s sex, derived shortly after birth using physical sex characteristics like genitalia. The majority of people’s assigned sex at birth matches their gender identity; this is referred to as being cisgender. People who are not cisgender (i.e. transgender and nonbinary people) have an assigned sex at birth that does not match with their gender identity. In the case of people with sex characteristics that don’t represent the gender binary (i.e. intersex people), the designation is made at the discretion of the present medical staff.
The purpose of referring to someone’s sex at birth as “assigned” is to acknowledge the lack of choice in the sex listed on their birth certificate. Someone else, most likely a doctor, assigned each person’s sex at birth made solely off of physical characteristics. While this statistically aligns with the majority of people’s gender identities, it is important to prioritize recognizing someone’s preferred gender identity over their assigned sex at birth, as they have agency in deciding the former for themselves.
Sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one’s sex or gender, mostly against women. Like most forms of bigotry, it can be interpersonal or institutional. Regardless of the form it takes, it is rooted in the belief that one sex is inherently superior to another. The purpose of sexism against women and girls is to maintain patriarchy, or a society dominated by males. Since most modern societies are patriarchal, sexism generally refers to the social, economical, and political oppression of women and girls.
The extreme version of sexism is called misogyny, or the hatred of women. While sexism usually refers to the socioeconomic disadvantages women have when interacting with others or institutions, misogyny carries a violent connotation. A misogynistic society is one that not only holds women back from participating in its systems, but implicitly (or explicitly) perpetuates and encourages violence and abuse against women.