10 Tips to Dealing with Seasonal Depression
With Daylight Savings Time in full swing, many of us are starting to feel the physical and mental effects that come with less sunshine and colder weather. As the sunlight begins to decrease, many people begin to experience the “wintertime blues”. Suddenly people start going into their hibernation mode and shy away from outdoor and social activities. Does any of this sound familiar? As if managing emotions isn’t already hard enough, here comes the winter to compound those tough emotions. Clinically speaking, seasonal depression or SAD (seasonal affect disorder) is a condition triggered by weather and climate changes that causes people to feel seasonally depressed, meaning that the depression decreases with warmer weather. SAD symptoms, similar to depression, include fatigue, sleeping more than usual, changes in appetite and weight, loss of interest in activities, decrease in energy, increase in restless movements and difficulty focusing or making decisions. If you are feeling a little down, any of the following suggestions could help you. If you think you are experiencing severe symptoms that impede your daily functioning, please contact a licensed therapist. We all go through periods of negative emotions, just do the work not to stay there.
Speaking from experience, I know that during the colder months, my mood is dramatically affected. Along with some self care and consistent intentional practices, I find has gotten easier to manage. Most of the tips I share below I have tried and can vouch for. I hope at least 1 thing that I share resonates with you, and is able to be incorporated into your intentional practices.
Here are 10 tips to combat Seasonal Affect Disorder symptoms
Sun lights
Sun lights are bright lights that stimulate your body's circadian rhythms and suppress melatonin by “mimicking sunlight”. Last winter, I tried light therapy during my last year of grad school and really enjoyed my experiences. I would go to the room and spend my 30 minute session coloring and meditating. I noticed a difference after each session. Most people report feeling better after 1-2 weeks of this therapy. This therapy is typically started towards the end of fall and continued through the spring. It is recommended to use 20 mins daily, preferably first thing in the morning. Here’s a great study that compared light therapy to SSRI’s (commonly prescribed medication) as treatment for depression. If you are interested in trying this method, here’s a link to amazon to get you started shopping.
Decrease blue light exposure
Blue lights are all around us, it is emitted from the common things like, TV screens, smart phones, computers, fluorescent lights and LED lights. If you’ve updated your smart phone recently, you likely have a feature that tints your screen during the evening and nighttime, by making your screen “warmer” or decreasing the blue light from the screen. This is because studies have proven that blue light suppresses melatonin production at a rate that is 2x that of other light wavelengths thus altering the circadian rhythm with 2x the force. To explain, melatonin is the hormone responsible for regulating sleep cycles. Here’s a great article that studied the effects of blue vs white light on college students. If you have not started putting your phone on night mode, it’s really easy: here’s how on each phone. Galaxy, Apple & Google.
Increase grounding practices
First of all, if you missed my previous post on grounding, go read 10 Benefits of Grounding or Earthing! Grounding practices are great when you are experiencing low energy or depressive moods. This practice is a way to help you re-connect and strengthen your connection to the earth and thus with self. The easiest way to practice grounding is probably to just walk barefoot outside. However, that is not possible if you have winter weather, so I shared some specific ways you can ground during the colder months in my grounding post.
Chronotherapy
This is a pretty simple technique of gradually shifting your sleep schedule to adjust to sunlight hours. For example, knowing that the sun is somewhere between the hours of 8am-6pm, you could adjust your schedule so that you are most active while the sun is out, thus maximizing your sun exposure. The idea is that spending more time during the sunlight will help you get your vitamin D and happy endorphins up.
Talk therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy or CBT is a type of talk therapy that is especially popular today. Oftentimes when experiencing symptoms of SAD, people tend to self-isolate. Having a therapist, is having someone dedicated and committed to your betterment. They are able to help you process your emotions and find workable solutions for you! As a therapist, I encourage everyone to experience therapy. If you have insurance, find out what therapist are covered under your plan and reach out! If you do not have insurance, look for counseling practicum centers at universities or community based services. Also, many therapist have sliding scales and accept barter if you inquire…yes I am one of those therapist so feel free to reach out to me.
Aromatherapy using essential oils
Essential oils are literally one of my favorite and most used holistic remedies. Aside from my personal experience, here is a great study that found effects of essential oils comparable to prescribed antidepressants. Scientist are still trying to explain what makes auromatherapy so effective, I hypothesize it is likely due to the connection between the olfactory bulb and the amygdala, which you can read more about here. Some of my go to oils for when I’m feeling low include lavender, chamomile, patchouli and sage. However there are plenty more like jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, basil, petitgrain, bergamot, rose, geranium and neroli.
Increase exercise
I mean really, do I need to say more? Get up and move! Now I will be the first to admit, I am not the “gym type”. Ever. Period. However, moving your body is necessary for you to release those negative emotions. In yoga, hip opening moves are imperative as the hips is where you store emotions! If you’re feeling stagnant, moving your body is the quickest and easiest way to create new positive energy and release the negative energy. Here is a great article about the link between emotions being manifested in your hip area.
Get outside
The sun is usually brightest around noon, so if the clouds aren’t blocking, get outside for a few minutes and soak up some sunshine. If you are inside most of the day, be mindful to maximize the sunshine you allow in-keep your blinds open during the day or move to sit closer to any source of sunshine! I can speak from experience that there are days that I do not leave my house. However, that is not always a good thing! Sometimes just getting outside can significantly boost your mood. Feel the fresh air, try to catch some sun rays, it helps-I promise.
Journal
I think we all can agree that journaling is useful, although it might not be for everyone. Try to keep your journaling short and consistent. It is best to journal at night to reflect on your day, as well as set as intention or goals for the next day. This can serve as a daily motivator for you as well as a way to hold yourself accountable. There are plenty of apps available if the traditional route of paper and pencil is not for you. Check out the Day One App that I especially love to write short journal entries or a photo of the day, while on vacation.
Increase vitamin D
One of the main reasons people experience SAD is due to lack of sunshine resulting in shortages in Vitamin D. In 2014, it was established that low levels of Vitamin D are linked to symptoms of seasonal depression. It was also found that taking supplemental Vitamin D has been an effective treatment for SAD symptoms. In this case, I would advocate incorporating more foods into your diet that are high in Vitamin D such as mushrooms and oranges.