The Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Do you lose energy every fall or winter and start feeling down or depressed?

Seasonal mood change or seasonal affective disorder affects millions of people. In this video, we’ll explain what it is, why it happens, and how to manage it so it’s easier to get through the winter. Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that typically begins in fall or early winter and lasts until spring or early summer.

The symptoms are the same as depression, with the most noticeable ones being low energy, oversleeping, overeating, weight gain, and cravings for carbohydrates.

Bright light therapy

Bright light therapy is often the best way to overcome seasonal depression. We’re exposed to less sunlight in the winter, which can affect our bodies in ways that contribute to depression. Bright light therapy involves spending 20 to 30 minutes each day right after we wake up in front of a light therapy box, which compensates for this lack of sunlight and can help alleviate symptoms of SAD and seasonal mood change.

CBT: Behavioral activation

Cognitive behavioral therapy can also help. With seasonal depression, it’s common to feel a sense of hibernation, low energy, lack of motivation, and a strong urge to lie around or sleep most of the day. When we give into these feelings, it creates a vicious cycle. The less we do, the more depressed we feel, which further reduces energy and motivation.

Behavioral activation helps break this cycle. As we become more active, we start to feel a bit better, which increases our energy and motivation. And as we continue to do more, our mood continues to improve and we feel less depressed.

Any type of activity that gives us a sense of pleasure or accomplishment can help. Going for a short walk, answering an email, calling or texting a friend if we have any, doing some small chores around the house, having a cup of coffee, or just getting off the couch or out of bed—which can feel like a big accomplishment when we’re depressed. Getting into a consistent routine really helps a lot.

CBT: Cognitive therapy

The challenge is that when we’re depressed, all of these activities—even using a light therapy box—can seem difficult or overwhelming. We might think, “It’s too hard. I don’t have the energy. I’ve tried this before and it doesn’t work. It won’t make a difference. Nothing helps when I feel like this.” Questioning these negative thoughts and trying to look at things from a different perspective is an important first step.

We can tell ourselves, “It’s hard, but I don’t have to do everything, just one small thing. If I start, maybe I’ll get a bit of energy back. Sometimes things help more than I expect, and I won’t know unless I try.”

The sooner we start doing these things—using a light box, becoming more active, and challenging our negative thoughts—the better, because these strategies can help prevent us from becoming so depressed, which is much more effective than trying to pull ourselves out of depression.

Self-compassion

And it’s important to practice some self-compassion and be kind to ourselves. If we’re not able to get ourselves to do these things, or we try them and still don’t feel any better, it’s frustrating, but it’s not our fault. That’s just how depression works sometimes.

So, we just do the best we can and remind ourselves that seasonal depression doesn’t last forever. Even if we’re not able to do much now, we’ll start feeling better once spring comes.