As winter comes into full force, many people are feeling the emotional effects. Lethargy, anxiety, and apathy are just a few of the symptoms someone might experience during the dark winter days. However, once abundant daylight returns in the spring, their distress almost seems to melt away with the snow.
Although it might be easy to brush these uncomfortable feelings aside as simply “winter blues,” they can be indicative of a real mental health concern: seasonal affective disorder.
The disorder, also known as SAD or seasonal depression, affects 5% of Americans, according to Mental Health America.
SAD resembles regular depression, but usually only occurs during the fall and winter months, with symptoms subsiding during sunnier times. That often ends up meaning SAD affects people for about 40 percent of the year, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Sophomore Nijah Johnson notices the shifts in her own and other people’s emotions throughout the seasons and agrees that the small amount of winter daylight seems to bring along a wave of negativity.
“Winter is dark, and so it tends to change the whole mood up,” Johnson said.
Freshman Iris Luther-Suhr also notices a decreased mood in the air around wintertime but doesn’t believe it can be completely attributed to the lack of sunlight.
“I do notice people’s moods changing,” she said. “But it might not just be because it’s getting darker. It might be [because] winter [happens] once you’re deep into the school year … it gets stressful,” she said.
Even though SAD may not be constant throughout the year, it’s still a serious problem for those who experience it. However, there’s often a temptation to suffer through the winter without external support because people count on their symptoms eventually going away.
US Counselor Josie Zuniga sees this phenomenon often. “I’ve had students literally say ‘I just wait until summertime, and then I feel better,’ and it doesn’t have to be like that,” she said.
Zuniga emphasized that trying to deal with SAD or low mood by waiting it out doesn’t help in the long run. She explained that taking preemptive measures, such as talking with a counselor before the fall sets in, can help people build a good foundation of mental health skills to fall back upon when SAD returns. Having that foundation helps to make each subsequent cycle of depression easier to deal with.
Though it might seem like spending the winter in the tropics is the only complete cure for SAD, there are ways to alleviate symptoms while staying in the Midwest.
Talk therapy and antidepressants are two common treatments, just as with regular depression. One option specific to SAD is light therapy. Usually, it requires sitting in front of a strong therapeutic light for about 20 minutes a day, typically first thing in the morning.
If that sounds a little over-the-top, Zuniga also recommends trying to get more regular sunlight. When the weather allows, sunny walks can be an effective mood-booster.
“Even when you are stuck indoors, something as simple as sitting next to a window while you’re doing work, while you’re on your phone, watching TV … that can also make an impact,” Zuniga said.
