What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?
If you feel that the gloomy weather is bringing you down and you lack your usual energy and motivation you are not alone. As the days get shorter and we have little sunshine during the winter months, some people are affected by a clinical depression called “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD.
People suffering from SAD experience the same symptoms as the traditional depression, triggered by the winter weather, when there is less natural sunlight. SAD affects people mostly in northern latitude climates such as Canada, where the winters are usually long and dark, with a greater percentage of those affected being women (80% of women and 20% of men). Those who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder find themselves feeling sad, lethargic, and unmotivated to do things they usually do.
Some factors that contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder include stress, biological factors like hormonal changes, early experiences of trauma, and light deprivation.
Tips to Relieve These Symptoms
- Light Therapy: there are “daylight lamps or boxes” that you can buy at drug stores or online. These lamps need to provide at least 10.000 LUX in order to be therapeutic. You just need to be in front of the lamp for only 20 minutes a day, in the morning. Many people find significant improvements within 2 weeks of starting light therapy.
- Expose yourself to natural light: Go for a walk whenever it is sunny, open the curtains and sit next to the windows. Natural sunlight causes the brain to establish a normal day/night cycle; the lack of natural sunlight in the winter months causes a shift in this cycle that is thought to cause SAD.
- Eat well: instead of having more carbohydrates (pasta, pastries, and desserts), try eating more protein and foods with Omega 3 such as eggs, salmon. You can also get vitamin D in tables, drops or capsules.
- Physical activity: research shows that exercise helps to regulate mood, increases energy as well as physical and mental health and well-being. Try walking, jogging, swimming, or another form of exercise.
- Meditate: meditation has proven to be helpful in balancing and improving mood, as it regulates emotions and calms our nerves.
If all the above is not enough, seek help from a mental health professional. There are effective psychological treatments for all types of depression. Research shows that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment for depression and SAD, as well as anxiety which often accompanies depression. In CBT therapy, clients learn strategies to identify and challenge negative thought patterns and replace them with healthy strategies and behaviours to fight the symptoms of SAD.
