This Week's Weather Got You Down?
It can be very hard to remain positive and happy when the world is so dark and cold. Colorado winters often involve staying inside far more than usual, being unable to drive anywhere, and going days without seeing the sun.
An interesting phenomenon to consider if the weather seems to really get you down is whether or not you could have a seasonal illness relating to the temperature. Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year, typically lasting all winter (although in rare cases it can occur in the summer instead). It causes a change in energy level and mood due to differences in light and temperature.
Most of us may experience these things to some degree simply due to the lifestyle changes we have to make in order to adapt to the winter elements. Hiking through the mountains on the weekend is usually impossible during the winters here, so unless you happen to enjoy winter sports such as skiing, you miss out on the outdoor exercise that gives you a mood boost the rest of the year. Icy roads means no traveling to see family or friends, causing isolation blues, which this year are already present due to COVID isolation. Finally, vitamins such as Vitamin D come from exposure to sunlight, which can be hard to find during these months, leading to a natural chemical change in our mental and physical health as less serotonin becomes produced in our brains. All of these are reasons that everyone might notice a change in their mood during the winter, but for some people these things can become more extreme.
Roughly three million people in the United States have been diagnosed with SAD. Symptoms of this can include increased agitation, loss of concentration, feeling hopeless, suicidal ideation, sleep problems, consistent depression, appetite changes, and severe fatigue. Similar to animals who hibernate during the winter, some people may feel the drive to overeat and oversleep during the colder months, causing these depression symptoms. Even other disorders such as bipolar can be affected by the temperature, with most people experiencing their mania symptoms during the warmer months and their depression during the colder ones.
What is typically done to help with SAD? Of course, first it must be specifically diagnosed by a professional. These symptoms can mean countless other mental or physical disorders, so it is important to be sure there is not another issue causing them. If someone is diagnosed with SAD, in some cases they undergo light therapy in addition to being prescribed medications and psychotherapy. Light therapy involves being strategically exposed to natural-looking bright lights when waking up using a light box.
What if the winter just happens to get you down just a little bit, without there being a disorder present? Most of the country would not meet requirements for SAD, but that isn’t to say they do not become depressed due to the colder weather. One way to help decrease the “winter blues” can be to continue to exercise indoors in order to create mood-boosting endorphins and ward off feelings of sleepiness. Other things to do include finding hobbies to look forward to that are only present in the winter, such as building snowmen, skiing, snowball fights, or even drinking the seasonal winter drinks at Starbucks to stay warm. I personally use Christmas as a way to get to look forward to the winter, as I get to enjoy the fun music, lights, and food that I don’t get to have the rest of the year. The best way to break out of the blues is to be aware that we may have them and that a lot of people do this time of year, and acknowledge that it is important to come up with strategies to avoid negative symptoms and keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy. It may be hard to believe right now, but the cold won’t last forever, and just a few short months away we will all be sweating and complaining about the heat- our winter blues forgotten.
Kyndal Sims
Birch Psychology
Resources
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder/index.shtml
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-beat-the-winter-blues-5087998
https://www.insider.com/why-winter-is-best-season-2017-12#winter-is-the-best-time-to-go-shopping-2