Cloudy and cold, with a chance of freezing rain – this forecast is heard too often between December and February every year. Dark days may stifle moods. People often feel a touch of, what might be called, the winter blues. Then, if the blues become intense, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) develops.
SAD is a type of depression. It affects 1-10% of people in the US. The rates of SAD vary depending on how far north you live. Residents in Alaska are at greatest risk for SAD due to shorter periods of daylight in the winter.
In my practice, people start showing up with SAD in September and October each year. SAD comes with the same symptoms seen in more common forms of depressive illness. More days are spent feeling down on self and down on life. Few days are experienced with feeling good about themselves and good about life. Like a bear retreating to a cave, people with SAD tend to isolate themselves and wait for the sunnier days of spring.
Treatment of SAD may include counseling, stress management (e.g. limiting expectations during holiday period), and more focus on self-care (e.g. rest and recreate when you can). Many people benefit from increasing exposure to sunlight by taking a trip to a sunnier locale. ‘Light-box’ therapy has also become popular. Several companies now carry light therapy lamps. If these measures do not help, medication may offer relief. Wellbutrin is a popular medical treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder.
SAD is, by definition, a time-limited illness. Thankfully, moods begin to lighten with brighter days of March and April. But if depressive symptoms are robbing you of joy in relationships or productivity at work, the season to seek help is now.
Breaking Through Depression and Anxiety 
I have SAD and find that Wellbutrin does help a lot. Being around people also helps. However, I can’t always be around people,and when I’m not, feelings of unhappiness and discontent with my life seem to arise. How do you know when your unhappiness is from a chemical imbalance, the weather, or from real sadness? At what point do you draw the line between what should be treated with medicine, and what needs to be actively dealt with in someone’s every day life?
Hi Heather,
Nice to hear from you. Usually depressive moods are at least partly due to every-day life stress. For people with clinical depression, the chemical aspects of mood imbalance can make every-day stress a bit harder to manage.
Whether people struggle with chemically-based depression or stress-based depressive moods, we can all give ourselves a hand by making choices to take it easy by lowering expectations of ourselves and finding healthy ways to let things go. When sadness gets deep and last too long, it may be time a trip to visit your psychiatrist.