In a previous blog post we’ve talked about major depression with a seasonal pattern, better known as SAD. That post was specifically meant to bring awareness to the summer pattern, as it’s less well known. However, this post is for the more common pattern of SAD, which is typically experienced in the fall and winter. This post will also touch on the winter blues, which while similar, is not the same as seasonal depression!

Depression or the Winter Blues?

A lot of people use these terms interchangeably, but technically there is a difference. For most people, the coming of winter signals the end of a lot of things. We don’t spend as much time out of the house doing things, we find ourselves sleeping more, and often we find ourselves eating more. It doesn’t help that winter is packed with a lot of stressful holidays that can be very difficult for some people. All of this can contribute to just generally feeling a bit more down during the winter than usual. Generally, this doesn’t really get in the way of functioning or enjoyment of life.

Seasonal depression, however, is different. A depression diagnosis implies, to some extent, an impact on functioning and enjoyment of life. It goes beyond just a little extra down to feeling quite sad, maybe hopeless, and having a more difficult time enjoying usual activities. That difficulty finding enjoyment with usual activities can also come across as having difficulty concentrating on things like reading, watching TV, or other activities that were not difficult for the person to do before.

Often with winter pattern depression, we see people eat much more than usual, especially high carbohydrates foods. They often sleep much more than normal which gets in the way of doing other activities.

People will also socially isolate. Poor weather and a lack of outdoor activities makes social isolation much easier in the winter than other times of year. It’s not unusual to not want to go out when it’s cold and uncomfortable out. However, for people with SAD, this is often hiding the bigger issue in that the isolation is being fueled by depression.

What can we do? Winter blues.

The general idea of trying to stay on top of the winter blues is pretty similar to SAD. Self-care is one of the biggest things that can contribute to feeling better during the winter months. Now, depending on if you’re experiencing the winter blues or seasonal depression, some aspects of this self-care could look quite different. But the general idea is very similar.

For the winter blues, especially, it’s important to keep as normal a routine as possible. A lot of the general down feeling we get from winter comes from the disruption in our routines and activities we love. If you like being active, try finding a way to make outdoor activities more comfortable for you in the winter or find a new indoor activity to try instead. Try continuing with your regular socializing and keep yourself to a consistent sleep schedule. It can be hard to want to stay awake until your normal sleep time of 10pm if it gets dark at 4pm. For many of us, our brains are partially wired to associate sunset with getting ready for bed!

General mindfulness can also be very helpful. The self-awareness and insight that comes from practicing mindfulness can help us stay ahead of these kinds of feelings. Often we can stop a cycle from progressing further if we notice it in the beginning stages. Mindfulness can help with that!

Of course enjoy all those holiday specialities you love. There’s no reason not to eat your favorite dessert but also make sure to keep eating balanced, nutritious meals. When we feel better physically, it can help boost how we feel mentally, too!

Get out and enjoy some vitamin D! We get it from the sun and while there’s less of it available in the winter, we can still get it by having short periods of time outside. Don’t just take a supplement without doctor’s guidance, though. Not everyone needs to supplement vitamin D!

What about for SAD?

For seasonal depression, all of those tips above are great. They may be difficult to keep up with, as major depressive disorder can be pretty disruptive to people’s lives sometimes, but it’s important to try. Something that could help is to also coordinate with your care team to start an antidepressant (or increase the dose) temporarily a few weeks before your symptoms usually begin. With SAD, it can help to have that little bit of extra help, chemically, to get through the worst of the symptoms. This has been found to be a pretty effective treatment for SAD. Towards the end of when your usual symptoms are present, you can discontinue the medication or go back down to your normal dose (again, all with your care team’s guidance).

Something else that can help is therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most well known forms of therapy these days. Most importantly, there is a form of it that has been specially designed for seasonal depression. CBT-SAD has been shown to be an effective treatment for SAD, both winter and summer, and can make a big difference for how people experience these seasons.

What else should we know?

We know a lot more about how the winter tends to affect people than the summer. And to an extent, it is socially normal and expected that winter will bring with it some form of feeling down. However, if you’re struggling with keeping up with your daily routines and you feel you need help, reach out to a doctor or a therapist. Even if you just need to talk to someone during the winter, it can really help.

Winter can be dark and dreary, but we don’t have to feel that way all the time ourselves.