Managing Seasonal Depression during the Winter Months

For some, winter is a time of celebration and fun activities, while for others, the dark and cold days of the season can cause low moods. For those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), symptoms can severely impact daily life. Here are answers to questions about SAD and suggestions to cope with the condition if you are struggling.

What is SAD?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. While SAD is not specific to winter, this is typically when the symptoms are more severe for many sufferers. The cause of SAD is often attributed to reduced exposure to sunlight, though the exact cause is not completely understood. The condition is thought ​​to affect around 2 million people in the UK.

How can SAD affect someone’s day-to-day life?

​​Symptoms of SAD can include a persistent low mood, difficulty concentrating, feelings of despair and guilt, and feeling lethargic. According to Mind, if your low mood and energy levels are interfering with your everyday life, it could be a sign that you have depression. If they return at the same time of year, doctors may determine that this is SAD or 'seasonal depression'.

How can you cope with the effects of SAD?

If you’re struggling with symptoms of SAD, you could consider seeing a GP, who will carry out a mental health assessment and determine a course of treatment. Treatments can include lifestyle measures, such as getting as much sunlight as possible, light therapy, talking therapies and antidepressant medicine. 

However, if you would prefer alternative methods to cope with symptoms, or are on a waitlist for treatment, you could try these suggestions depending on how you are feeling:

Go on regular walks while it is light outside. I find that walks can help to clear my head and ease anxiety, and getting plenty of sunlight is really important for aiding symptoms of SAD. Try to eat a balanced diet and take care of yourself, including keeping the environment around you as clean as possible.

Reach out to friends and family and spend time with them. In my experience, talking through how I’m feeling with my friends and family helps me to understand how I can take steps to help myself.  However, if you find yourself without supportive friends or family to reach out to, you could try reaching out to your personal tutor or subject department mental health team if you’re a student. I would also recommend sports or societies to find friendly people with similar interests, and something fun to do.

Try to maintain your interests, for me, music is a low-effort outlet which helps me to work through how I’m feeling and elevate my mood. You might find it helps you, or something else, such as watching films or reading. Journaling is a way of approaching mindfulness which allows me to work through my feelings, by writing a thoughts dump of everything on my mind.

These are not definite answers to coping with SAD, but they are suggestions to help. If you find that these aren’t enough, here are places to reach out to for further help:

• Call Samaritans on 116 123.

• Specific information about mental health support from The University of Sheffield can be found here.

• Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19.

Edited by Nicole Collins