It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is coming up soon, and people are filled with the holiday spirit, but there are some people who absolutely dread the holiday season and winter months.
This could be for a number of reasons; maybe they are not really a fan of cold weather, or maybe they are missing someone special this holiday season. However, there are some people, myself included, who suffer some something called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD for short.
Seasonal Affective Disorder according to the Mayo Clinic is defined as “a type of depression that’s related to changes in season– SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.”
It was not until recently I discovered that this disorder existed and that I had it. Usually when you get sad during the winter months it gets brushed off as the “holiday blues” never really taking the time to acknowledge what was going on, but as the years went on, I began to realize and accept that there was more to this than most people realize. The amount of people who have been diagnosed with SAD is astounding considering so few people talk about it.
So maybe this holiday season when you see someone who looks a little down, or maybe just is not really getting all in the holiday spirit, remember that yes, the holiday season is a joyous time, but it can also be a sad and confusing time for others.