If you find yourself feeling unusually down as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter, you might be experiencing more than just the winter blues.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that occurs at a specific time of year, usually in the winter.
Let’s talk about what SAD is, why it happens, and how you can manage or even overcome it.
What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons.
For most people with SAD, symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.
Less commonly, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.
Symptoms of SAD
Symptoms of SAD are similar to those of general depression and include:
- Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day
- Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
- Experiencing changes in appetite or weight
- Having problems with sleep
- Feeling sluggish or agitated
- Having difficulty concentrating
- Feeling hopeless, worthless, or guilty
- Having frequent thoughts of death or suicide
Causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder
While the exact causes of SAD are unclear, several factors may come into play:
- Your biological clock (circadian rhythm): The reduced level of sunlight in fall and winter may cause winter-onset SAD. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body’s internal clock and lead to feelings of depression.
- Serotonin levels: A drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, might play a role in SAD. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.
- Melatonin levels: The change in season can disrupt the balance of the body’s level of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.
Strategies to Manage SAD
If you’re struggling with SAD, there are several strategies you can employ to help manage your symptoms:
- Light Therapy: For many people with SAD, light therapy (phototherapy) can be very effective. You sit a few feet from a special light box so that you’re exposed to bright light within the first hour of waking up each day. Light therapy mimics natural outdoor light and appears to cause a change in brain chemicals linked to mood.
- Psychotherapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be effective in treating SAD. CBT for SAD typically includes learning how to avoid negative thoughts associated with winter and developing a more balanced and positive way of thinking.
- Medications: If your symptoms are severe, antidepressant treatment may be recommended. Some people with SAD benefit from antidepressant treatment, especially if symptoms are severe.
- Make Your Environment Sunnier and Brighter: Open blinds, trim tree branches that block sunlight, and sit closer to windows to help alleviate symptoms.
- Get Outside: Take a long walk, eat lunch at a park, or simply sit on a bench and soak up the sun. Even on cold or cloudy days, outdoor light can help — especially if you spend some time outside within two hours of getting up in the morning.
- Exercise Regularly: Physical exercise helps relieve stress and anxiety, both of which can increase SAD symptoms. Being more fit can make you feel better about yourself, which can lift your mood.
Support and Understanding
It’s important to take any form of depression seriously.
SAD is not a sign of weakness or a character flaw.
It’s a real medical condition that can be treated.
If you think you might have SAD, talk to a healthcare provider about the symptoms you’re experiencing.
You’re not alone, and you don’t have to face this alone.