What You Need to Know About Seasonal Depression

What is Seasonal Depression? 

Seasonal depression is real. I am sure that we have all heard the term “seasonal depression” at least one time in our lives. Many may even refer to seasonal depression as “bed rotting season.” Now, people call it “bed rotting season” because, well honestly, all you feel like doing is lying in bed. You don’t have the energy to go out and do everyday activities and most likely you don’t even want to be around anybody at that moment. 

The technical term for seasonal depression is actually, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This disorder is primarily caused by the days getting shorter and less daylight being present throughout the winter season. Seasonal depression could be caused by other factors such as the colder weather, not seeing friends and family as often, and maybe you have something going on that may cause you a higher level of stress, such as the upcoming holidays or the end of the semester for those who are college students. 

Those who are affected more so by SAD may experience low energy, feeling down, and maybe trouble with their sleep schedule. From personal experience, I can tell you that I have been struggling with seasonal depression for the past couple of years. It is not as easy as it seems to just pull yourself out of it, so I understand if you’re thinking to yourself, “Well, it’s easier said than done”. The most important step in pulling yourself out of this depression is to ultimately recognize that you’re going through it. You may just make excuses for yourself or say “I’m just having a bad day” but then that 1 day turns into the next 5 weeks. Once you recognize this pattern that you’ve been falling in, it will make it easier for you to find ways to make things better for yourself. 

Possible Symptoms:  

• Loss of interest in everyday activities 
• Low self-esteem 
• Feeling irritable 
• Feeling stressed or anxious 
• Lacking energy

Things You Can Do to Help Improve Your Mood

Even though seasonal depression can suck, there are things you can do to help improve your mood, whether you realize it or not. The first thing you should consider is exposing yourself to more sunlight. Natural sunlight is a great source to take in Vitamin D and regain your energy. Now, I understand sunlight can be hard to find in the winter season, but luckily you can do other things to try and help out too! The second tip I would recommend is to spend more time with friends and family. Surrounding yourself with people who are positive and make you feel good about yourself might just take you out of that winter slump for a while. My last tip to you would be to focus on eating healthy foods and drinking a lot of water. It is necessary to fuel your body with foods that will make you feel better and keeping up on water intake is always important. When you are well fed and hydrated you are most likely to feel more energy and may feel a sense of relief. 

• mental health