By: Kelsey Wooten, LPC
Do you or someone you know experience mood changes depending on the season?
Feel sad when summer comes when everyone else seems elated for warm weather?
Or when the days get shorter in the cold months and everyone else seems festive?
This could seasonal affect disorder or SAD.
Signs:
SAD is a depression triggered by the change of season, and has a pattern.
This can look like:
Increased sleep
feeling drowsy or low energy during the day
Decrease in social activity and engagement in the things you enjoy
Irritability
Anxiety
Increase or decrease in food intake
Weight gain or weight loss
Treatment:
Make sure you are getting enough sunlight (Real or store bought)
Getting enough vitamin D
Move your body in a way that feels good to you (ex: walking, stretching, dancing)
Go to counseling
Eat a well balanced diet
Drink enough water
Reach out to friends and family. (It’s easy to isolate when you don’t feel well but it can make things worse)
Try to engage with things you enjoy and use your coping skills!
Seeking treatment from a psychiatrist
Remember to be patient with yourself! It will lift eventually, once the season changes.
Doing things like moving or socializing can feel like a lot. Give it a solid effort for 15 minutes and see how you feel. Calling/texting a friend, taking a walk around the block. If that’s all the energy you have for that day, GREAT – you still did it!
If you or someone you know experiences SAD, get ahead of it, before the holiday season and the cold sets in. Sonder is currently accepting new clients, call or email today!