Dr. Pepper James blog: Winter Blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Greetings from the 4th month of grey skies, cold, snow and ice. Yes, I live in Minnesota, but northern states know exactly what it is to live under this blanket of daily doom. I am wondering if you are feeling the winter blues too? Can we do a checklist to discern what might be happening?
Here is a quick overview of winter blues:
1. You get up for the day and it is dark. You get home in the dark. The amount of daylight is short, and you aren’t spending much time outside braving the frigid temperatures. You long for sun and daylight.
2. You feel sad and tired more days than not.
3. It is hard to get up in the morning and you have trouble sleeping at night.
4. You are able to go to work, do your household chores, care for yourself and your dependents. It may take more effort, but you are able.
Contrast this to symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
1. A real mental health condition where a person feels distressing and overwhelming sadness that interferes with daily activities.
2. SAD requires intervention. Life does not have to be this difficult.
3. SAD is not limited to winter. It can begin in the Fall, peak during the winter, and resolve during the Spring to some extent or completely.
4. There is a percentage of people in which SAD can occur in the summer, when there is a sensitivity to summer’s long days.
5. Symptoms of SAD are:
Overeating
Craving foods that contain complex carbohydrates
Weight gain
Difficulty sleeping
Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day
Loss of interest in activities you typically enjoy
Withdrawal and isolation from loved ones
Inability to focus and concentrate on work performance and household tasks
Lethargy and fatigue
Hopelessness
Suicidal thoughts
You do not need to have each of these. The key is, are you being disabled by the symptoms? To what extent?
If the symptoms of SAD resonate with you, please contact your physician or mental health therapist. There are so many ways to treat SAD, that is definitely another blog, if not several books.
Please let me know if this blog impacted you, if you need resources, what I can do to be helpful to you.
Hang in there friends! We are closing on the finishing line and crossing to Spring soon!
Pepper James