Feeling S.A.D.?

Maybe it happens when it’s time to go to breakfast but you can’t quite muster the will to bundle up and head outside. Or maybe it happens during your 5 pm walks to the dining hall, when the sky already dark and you can’t stand another minute in the cold.

Everyone in New England knows the feeling. The air is cold and the sky is gray and all you really want to do is go back to sleep. Most people attribute these feelings to a temporary wintertime funk, but the truth is that there is an actual scientific reason behind this phenomenon.

The condition is known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. SAD is characterized by “recurrent episodes of depression – usually in late fall and winter – alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of the year,” according to healthcentral.com.

The severity of this condition varies from scattered days of weariness during the winter months to full out, clinically diagnosed depression. According to Benjamin Thompson, director of Psychological Counseling Services at Williston,  “decreased mood and energy level, difficulty waking up in the morning, irritability, inability to concentrate, difficulty performing activities that are usually easy and enjoyable, and carbohydrate craving” are some common symptoms of SAD.

Suzanne Jul, who writes papers for the ACM Conference on Human-Factors in Computing Systems and suffers from SAD, said in her blog that she felt “cranky and irritable for no discernable reason” and “couldn’t work up any enthusiasm.” When she realized that she was suffering from SAD, she “decided that there was no reason” to continue living with it, so she took steps to combat it.

Though only 6% of the US population are diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, according to the Huffington Post, more than 14% of America suffers from a milder version called “winter blues.”

Mr. Thompson says “3-6% of teens experience symptoms  of seasonal affective disorder during the fall and winter months.” According to a recent poll conducted by The Willistonian, 83% of respondents say that the weather affects their mood.

Their explanations for their dislike of winter weather vary from “it makes walks to classes feel longer” to “it puts a damper on my joyous mood” to “it makes me more likely to…sigh in annoyance every time someone opens their mouth.” However, a common theme in responses links rain to depression and fatigue.

The specific cause of seasonal affective disorder is unknown. However, it is proven to be related to the reduced amount of sunlight in winter months. The Cleveland clinic “estimates that 1 percent of Florida residents, 4 percent of Washington, D.C. residents, and nearly 10 percent of Alaska residents suffer from SAD.”

This trend is especially apparent in Jul’s story. In her blog, she says that moving to California caused “tremendous personal growth,” but when she moved to Michigan she “started backsliding.”

Mr. Thompson notes the correlation between sunlight and SAD,  saying that “more students do appear to come to Health and Wellness Services with symptoms of depression during the darker months of the year.”

This lack of sunlight creates a host of other problems including a drop in the neurotransmitter serotonin and the hormone melatonin, which in turn results in the behavioral and psychological changes that characterize SAD. Experts at Mayo Clinic also link this shortened daylight to disruption of the circadian rhythm, which “lets you know when you should sleep or be awake.” This is believed to account for the behavioral changes in SAD patients.

Common medical treatments for SAD include medications and psychotherapy. Another treatment is phototherapy, a relatively new option that involves daily exposure to bright light that “mimics outdoor light and appears to cause a change in brain chemicals linked to mood,” according to mayoclinic.org, a site that shares patient care and health information with the general public.

At Williston, Health Services uses these same three treatments. Mr. Thompson says, “I actually have a bright light that I lend to students to try out.” He notes at the effectiveness of this approach, saying that patients “will generally know within a week or so if it is helpful.”

This light therapy is effective for patients with diagnosed SAD, but it seems excessive for the rest of us who, at the most, suffer from a mild case of the winter blues. The good news is that there are several simple ways to make this winter season more enjoyable.

The Mayo Clinic Staff recommends several easy lifestyle changes that can work against SAD. First, try to spend some time outside. Whether this means slowing down on your walk to the rink or visiting a friend in another dorm, any time spent outside in the sunlight will help. Mayoclinic.com also recommends daily exercise, which “helps relieve stress and anxiety, both of which can increase seasonal affective disorder symptoms.”

Lucky for you, these solutions are already incorporated into your life at Williston. So this winter, don’t let seasonal affective disorder get to you. Go work out, take a walk, or sit in the sun and get rid of that wintertime SADness for good.