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Many people deal with seasonal mood changes. Whether it’s the winter blues, feeling fatigued on a rainy day, or getting more active in the summer. It’s normal for people’s mood and energy levels to ebb and flow with the weather especially since factors like sunlight, humidity, and other natural forces influence our body’s biochemical processes. However, for some people, their seasonal mood changes become so intense that they start to impact their ability to function and they develop seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
Seasonal affective disorder are major depressive episodes that usually begin in the fall and continue through the winter, with the most difficult months being January and February. SAD is more than just the winter blues as symptoms are distressing and overwhelming for the person experiencing them. Seasonal affective fluctuations are linked to biochemical changes resulting from shorter daylight hours, less sunlight and are more common the further away you get from the equator.
How can you tell if you are experiencing SAD? Here’s a checklist of symptoms:
Fatigue: This is the type of fatigue that sleep doesn’t touch. You wake up, even after eight plus hours of sleep and you’re still exhausted. It’s like no matter what you do, you’re tired. You feel like you’re moving through jello all day because the fatigue is pulling you down.
Significant appetite changes: Suddenly you are eating way more or way less than you used to. Some people have no appetite and feel nauseous at the thought of food while others can’t get enough.
Significant weight gain or weight loss: Weight changes go along with the appetite changes we just discussed. Depending on whether you are eating more or less will depend on which way your weight goes.
Feeling sad or down: This is a classic depression symptom. You feel sad or down a lot. You might cry more than usual or burst into tears without warning. You might also just feel a low level blah feeling.
Anhedonia or not enjoying the things that you used to: This is another classic depression symptom and one that can really stagnate progress. You simply don’t get pleasure out of things like you used to. Maybe you used to love music and would listen to it for hours but now its just ok. Or maybe you loved to cook or run or paint and now you can barely muster the energy to do it. Or maybe even the joy of a delicious meal or the relaxation from a hot shower no longer even affect you. Anyway you cut it it’s a joyless existence and it feels like no matter what you do, you just can’t shake it.
Sleep difficulties: This is another symptom, like appetite and weight change, that can go one of two ways. You either sleep all the time and never feel like you got enough or you have insomnia which might be difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or restless sleep without feeling rested. Either way these sleep difficulties can exacerbate other symptoms like fatigue and brain fog.
Feeling bad, worthless, or guilty: You just feel bad about yourself. Your self-esteem is in the pits. You might wonder why anyone even likes you or if you’re just a defective person.
Difficulties thinking, concentrating, or making decisions: This is an under-recognized symptom of depression. Executive functioning is impaired and includes things like planning, focusing, or using your judgment. It just feels harder lately to do the things that you used to do relatively easy. You might even experience the notorious “brain fog” where your brain feels slower or fuzzier than it used to.
Increased worry, fear, rumination, or other negative thought patterns: It is hard to be positive when you’re experiencing depression symptoms and it is common to feel hopeless about the future and sad about anything and everything. Your mind seems to focus on all the bad that happened, is currently happening, or might happen in the future.
Thoughts of death or suicide: You might think it’d be easier if you didn’t wake up or if some accident happened. You might briefly consider crashing your car into the overpass. Or you might even be making a plan for how to end your life. If you are experiencing this symptom, its time to get professional support. You CAN feel better and deserve a chance at a life worth living. Don’t let the hopelessness of depression win! Reach out for immediate support here.
In order to qualify for a diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder, you must have at least five of the symptoms listed and one of them must be depressed mood or anhedonia. However, even if you don’t meet criteria BUT the symptoms you do have are negatively affecting your ability to function, you should still consider seeking professional support.
Seasonal affective changes are a spectrum from the more milder “winter blues” to the more severe seasonal affective disorder. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, there are steps you can take to feel better. Lets look at a few of your options.
1. Build a healthy foundation of self-care
This is my go-to suggestion to anyone wanting to improve their emotional health. A foundation of self-love and self-care will make your mental health better and will make anything else easier.
A solid foundation of self-care includes relationships, movement, mindfulness, reflection, social activities, nutrition, and personal development. It should also include any of the things that you love to do because they bring you joy or feed your soul. A written list of activities that you’d like to incorporate regularly is a great start as well as starting to put those activities into your schedule.
Boundaries are an often overlooked part of self-care and should be considered and practiced. This is especially true if our mental health is suffering - its important to carve out a safe space for ourselves so we can heal. This probably means distancing ourselves from toxic or stressful situations or people and protecting ourselves from future harm.
2. Go outside
No one likes this advice when talking about seasonal affective disorder. In fact, a lot of us are struggling with SAD symptoms simply because we’re indoors so much avoiding the nasty weather outside. A luxury our ancient ancestors didn’t have which is probably why seasonal affective disorder is a modern ailment.
Seasonal affective disorder is linked to a lack of sunlight so getting as much light as you can will help. Even standing outside for a few minutes or standing by a window if it’s just too cold to tolerate. I’ve also been recommended a Vitamin D supplement by my primary care physician but this is something you’ll want to discuss with your doctor first.
3. Move your body
Movement is one of the best antidepressants we have so its important to incorporate this into your day-to-day. It doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym or lifting heavy weights either. Almost any kind of movement will be beneficial if you do it for at least 15-20 minutes, 3 or 4 times per week. Movement helps to release myokines, neurotransmitters, and other chemicals that naturally improve our mood and energy levels. It also helps our bodily processes to operate at their optimal levels. So, find some ways to move your body that you enjoy and do it regularly.
4. Hygge
Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word meaning comfiness or coziness that gives one a sense of contentment and well-being. Hygge is practiced in the winter months and is, essentially, making the most of what you’ve got, and enjoying winter through fostering this sense of coziness.
Some practices that you can try to bring some more hygge in your life are things like comfy blankets and pajamas, hot drinks, candles or fireplaces, time with friends or family, keeping things simple, baking bread, or making soups. Really anything that will help you to be comfy and cozy and increase your sense of contentment counts as hygge. There’s been quite a few books that have been published about it recently if you’d like to learn more.
5. Talk therapy
If you try the first 4 steps and don’t see any benefit or if your symptoms are severe enough that you need improvement ASAP, its probably time to invest in some more intense levels of treatment for your seasonal affective symptoms. The first step I would try is talk therapy. A talk therapist (usually licensed as a psychologist, counselor, social worker, or marriage and family therapist) is a great resource anytime your emotions or stressors feel overwhelming.
Not only is talk therapy great for gaining insight into yourself and supercharging your personal growth, but your therapist also has a ton of information and resources for improving your mood and yourself including psychiatrist referrals and suggestions for the steps you can take to improve your symptoms. Many people will say, “I can get better on my own.” To that I say, you’re right, you can. You can also roof your own house or fix your own car but you pay a professional to do that because it’ll take you a lot longer and be a waste of your time. Talk therapy is like that. Good talk therapy makes the process of improving your symptoms easier and faster.
6. Light therapy
Light therapy probably isn’t going to be a panacea that cures your seasonal affective disorder but it can help to ease symptoms and, like antidepressants, works best in conjunction with talk therapy. Light therapy can help to ease your symptoms relatively fast (some people even report seeing benefit within a few days) and you can purchase a relatively inexpensive light to use at home.
7. Antidepressants
Antidepressants are another option for those of us struggling with seasonal depression and can help reduce our symptoms enough that we are better able to engage in the activities that more naturally optimize our mental health like self-care, hobbies, and socializing. A talk therapist is a great resource to use while taking antidepressants as they can help you develop a routine and lifestyle that support positive mental wellbeing.
Seasonal affective disorder is a pervasive issue, affecting upwards of 3% of the general population, 20% of those already struggling with depression, and 25% of people struggling with Bipolar disorder. Many, many more people struggle with seasonal mood changes that make it harder to get through the day. The good news is, you don’t have to continue to suffer. There are steps you can take, today, to feel better.
If you or someone you know wants professional support you can learn more about depression here, fill our our new client inquiry to start the intake process, or contact us with any questions or for resources. If we can’t see you, we will work with you to find someone who can.