Seasonal Affective Disorder

For some people, Fall represents football games, crunching of leaves, hot cider and family get togethers.  In other people, as the days become shorter and darker, there is an increase in sadness and depression; a desire to hibernate and retreat from the world. Sometimes the feeling of hibernation becomes so unbearable that it affects every day life. In these cases, a person may have Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Here are the criteria:

• You've experienced depression and other symptoms for at least two consecutive years, during the same season every year.
• The periods of depression have been followed by periods without depression.
• There are no other explanations for the changes in your mood or behavior.

If you find you are dealing with these issues and it goes beyond being down a few days in a row go to your Doctor and/or talk to a counselor. It may be more than the winter blues but Seasonal Affective Disorder. 


After doing a little reading, I learned that light therapy is effective for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Some studies have also found that cognitive behavioral therapy is also helpful.  The focus of treatment is to improve coping with the winter season. The thought "restructuring" focuses on challenging the negative thoughts related to the winter season, the weather conditions, and lack of light (Rohan et al, 2004). More specifically the cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on:

• Thinking positively
• Increasing activity levels
• Socializing with other people
• Being aware of SAD symptoms
• Exercise
• Going outside
• Making home brighter
• Going South on a trip/vacation
• Keeping a regular sleep schedule

If you find that you dread the end of the spring and summer months, try reframing your thoughts into Fall as a fresh start i.e. new school year, new clothes (think of all the sales going on) etc. In the Fall, I like to buy new hazelnut candles and listen to jazz music.  My house smells like hazelnut coffee and the sounds of jazz waft through the air. This ritual helps me to get excited for Fall instead of dread the end of the lazy days of summer. I, also, love to invite friends over for a meal and enjoy their company.  Make this winter a joyful season with lasting memories. What can you do this Fall/Winter to help you enjoy the season?

Rohan, K. J., Lindsey, K. T., Roecklein, K. A. & Lacy, T. J. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy, light therapy, and their combination in treating seasonal affective disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 80, 273-283.

Winter Blues, Revised Edition: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder

Checking into your sadness...

I was reading an article this morning on the Real Age website about feeling sad but not knowing why. Real Age (2010) explain "Feel sad sometimes but don't know exactly why? Tempted to just brush past it? Well, don't. Understanding the source of your sadness can be key to moving on." The article recommended doing some journaling to help sort out the feelings.  Below is a good visual journal exercise to help process what's going on.  To read the rest of the article from Real Age click here. 

When life is hard, sometimes finding words is hard. This visual journal idea provides an outlet when words are hard to find.

1. You will need a pile of old magazines.
2. You may find it helpful to use an art notebook for its sturdy paper and for keeping your journal in order, but any blank page will serve well as your background.
3. Choose one of the following prompts for your page: "I feel . . .," "I need . . .,"  "I desire . . .," or "I wish I could say . . ."
4. Look through magazines for pictures (or parts of pictures), colors, and words that express your emotions or desires.
5. Feel free to cut or tear the images, etc. as feels right for your state of being. This is about your need to express your internal state, no one will see it.
6. You may glue images, words down as you go or collect all the pieces that feel right for this session and then start gluing.
7. Again this is not about artistic skill, organize the pieces in a way that works for you and your journey.
8. Place the date on the back or some place on the page.
9. You may find it helpful to do this exercise on some kind of regular basis. If it is something you find that you can do quickly, a daily page may be very helpful. If you are someone who takes more time, processing images, words and their organization, you may find a weekly schedule helpful.
10. Store your pages together. Someday you will want to look back over your pages. If you keep them in order or have them dated, you will notice differences in your pages as you progress through your journey.