Many people deal with the “winter blues.” The weather is dreary and cold, the days are short, and some people find it incredibly difficult to even get out of bed in the morning. They might think doing simple tasks such as maintaining basic hygiene or finishing homework is impossible, despite having no problem doing it in the spring and summer. All of these things are signs of SAD.
Relative to the acronym of which it’s been given, SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. In simpler terms, it’s seasonal depression, which 10 million people experience, on average.
“SAD often starts during adulthood, the risk of SAD increases with age,” HHS Nurse Shannon Williams said, “It’s rare in people younger than 20, [and] women are affected more often than men.”
SAD can also sometimes occur in teenagers, though it can easily be confused with regular depression.
“It’s usually related to less daylight and that disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm,” Williams said.
The circadian rhythm is the “physical, mental, and behavioral changes an organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle,” said the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
HHS Guidance Counselor, Jenny Cluts, has actually had some personal experiences with SAD.
“A lot of my friends and family have had it, especially when the time changes and it gets dark real early,” Cluts said.
It can be hard dealing with SAD, or watching a friend/family member deal with it. It’s important to be educated so you can help your friends, or even yourself.
“[Seasonal depression] is a subtype of depression or bipolar disorder that occurs and ends around the same time every year,” said Mental Health America in an article written about the disorder. “Symptoms of seasonal depression are typically consistent with those that occur with depression, and sometimes it can [be] difficult to tell if someone has seasonal depression or other types of depression.”
It may be difficult to tell the difference, especially with the symptoms of depression and the symptoms of SAD being so similar.
“Most people don’t know that there are actually two kinds of SAD, you can have winter or even summer Seasonal Affective Disorder,” said Williams.
Because of this, there may be some key symptoms that might stand out which will help determine what a person might be dealing with.
For winter SAD, or fall-onset SAD, some symptoms may include oversleeping, aggressive appetite changes, weight gain, and tiredness/low energy. Spring and summer-onset SAD has symptoms such as insomnia, poor appetite, weight loss, agitation and anxiety, and increased irritability.
It’s unknown what exactly causes SAD, but “less sunlight and shorter days may be part of the cause,” according to John Hopkins Medicine. “Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone, also may be linked to SAD,”
Nobody has to suffer alone, reaching out to friends or family is always a possibility. There are other ways to feel better when going through seasonal depression as well.
“The biggest thing for any depression is called opposite-action,” Cluts said, “It’s doing exactly the opposite of what you feel inclined to do. So like, if you want to sit on the couch and watch TV, force yourself to do something else. It could be just for ten minutes, it doesn’t have to be a 40 minute workout.”
This might seem difficult at first, but with time it will get easier. That’s how all depressive disorders are, it just takes time and determination to get better.
“Going outside during the day time, even though it’s cold, for just ten minutes could help you feel better,” Cluts said.
Although it’s less common, teenagers can have SAD too. Paige Degonia (9) experienced this last year.
“It was definitely worse in the winter and the fall, it hits you hard, but writing was a good way to release, I wrote a lot,” Degonia said.
It can be really difficult to deal with these kinds of things, even when you know you have support.
“Even though I had a lot of friends at the time, I felt really lonely,” Degonia said, “I struggled with talking about it, I would kind of isolate myself away from people on purpose.”
Cole Pursley (10) shared his experience with SAD, saying that even though his friend has it, it actually affects him too.
“He gets really depressed in the winter and never wants to hangout, so then I feel depressed because of that,” Pursley said.
Depression, SAD, and other mental disorders affect more than just you, they affect your relationships as well. It’s important to know that there are people who care about you and want to help you.
“Don’t suffer alone,” said Williams, “Friends and family are there for you to reach out to them, and don’t shy away from getting help, sometimes people just need a little push to help them through and there is no shame in that.”
