Combatting Seasonal Depression

Seasons Change, Moods Change, Teachers Continue To Inspire

It’s reported that about 5% of Americans have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — a kind of depression that occurs in the winter months, also known as seasonal depression. Somehow, I feel like, with a potential second wave of coronavirus, might increase that percentage just a little. How can people with seasonal affective disorder prep for changes in the season in this already depressing historical moment? 

First off, it’s important to establish the difference between SAD, depression in general, and pandemic-induced melancholy. Seasonal depression does have many of the same symptoms as clinical depression — like low energy and mood and sleep troubles — but its isolated phase makes it unique. You can tell it’s SAD, then, and not another issue when someone experiences depressive symptoms at the same time each year in the fall and winter. Seasonal depression (hence the term) is not based on constant chemical imbalance or on difficult life circumstances; it’s more about how some people’s bodies respond to a reduction in sunlight. SAD is often downplayed as the “winter blues,” — which can be a type of downplaying or gaslighting of the condition. 

 People struggling with SAD have a hard time physiologically adjusting to what happens to the body when it is exposed to less light — they can’t just make more vitamin D or force themselves to become nocturnal — and the result can be severe depression. SAD is hard to deal with because the weather is the very definition of a thing we can’t control and most people don’t have the resources to just move to a tropical locale if they’re depressed. But there are things that people with SAD can do, starting now, to get their bodies, minds, and resources ready for the winter to come. Below are five things you can do to begin combatting seasonal depression.

1. Consider starting your day earlier so that you spend more wake time during hours of sunlight.

2. Consider taking vitamin D supplements because their is a direct correlation between vitamin D deficiency and SAD.

3. Figure out how to get more natural light or consider light therapy.

4. Exercise and eat healthy to boost positive mental health. Also, research shows that exercising in well lit areas elevates mood.

5. Consider starting or altering medication if you feel like you need professional support.