Are you feeling lonely, anxious or depressed this holiday season? Are you losing interest in your usual activities? Do you feel fatigued most every day? Before casting these feelings aside as Evaluation Week jitters, consider this: ten million Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or seasonal depression, and it most often takes shape as you approach your twenties. Between the stress of the approaching finals and the shortened hours of sunlight that come with winter, college is the perfect breeding ground for SAD. This disorder results from a deficiency of Vitamin D in your system, caused by the reduced sunlight. Fortunately, this disorder is not as constant as clinical depression, but can do some serious damage to your academic and social life just the same.
If you think you might be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, you are not alone. As many as 20% of Americans are affected by this disorder. To help get you back on track, here are a couple of things you can do to combat SAD.
1. Begin taking Vitamin D supplements.
Easily, the quickest and easiest cure for your Vitamin D deficiency is to take supplements. This will definitely be inexpensive and boost the Vitamin D running through your system.
2. Start an active exercise routine.
Not only is exercise proven to boost your self-esteem, but aerobic exercise signals your brain to produce more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is affiliated with happiness and relaxation. You also might find that the increase in physical activity helps you sleep better at night.
3. Make sure you set a regular bedtime schedule.
The shorter days and longer nights mess with your circadian rhythm, or confuse your brain into thinking it should be tired more often. Help your brain get back on track by trying to stick to a regular schedule. Give yourself a two hour window in which you’ll plan to go to sleep, and a two hour window to when you’ll wake. If you find yourself tossing and turning for longer than twenty minutes, try getting up and doing something else that you find relaxing. Create the association for your brain that your bed is for sleep, not for tossing around.
4. Take advantage of the campus counseling center.
If your negative thoughts are overwhelming, don’t sit and let yourself be brought down. Talking to a counselor can not only give you a safe space to blow off steam, but they are trained to give you the techniques you need to be successful. Aside from that, their services are free and 100% confidential. If that’s not enough to convince you to call them up, they also have a light therapy lamp to provide you with an additional boost in Vitamin D.
Seasonal Affective Disorder can really put a damper on your holidays, but there’s no reason you can’t beat it. If you think you might have it, talk to a counselor or health care professional to set up a plan of attack.