What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and how to combat it?

As the warm summer months grow into a distant memory, our days become cold and invaded with darkness, many people can start to notice a change in their mood and energy levels. It’s not out of the ordinary for people to experience this temporary change of the “Winter Blues”, however, others find themselves struggling with a more serious condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The very fitting acronym gives a clue as to what this condition is, but what exactly is SAD and how can we tell if we are experiencing it?

In this blog, we’ll explore the symptoms relating to Seasonal Affective Disorder, what are the common causes, and what can we do to lessen its impact.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of recurring depression that becomes more apparent and intense in a predictable seasonal pattern that mostly affects those who are younger, female and live far from the equator. The symptoms of SAD are centred around low mood and energy levels. Most commonly, the seasonal pattern is one that begins in Autumn and continues into the Winter, however, in rarer cases people can also experience the inverse of this, beginning in Spring into Summer.

SAD is not just the general feeling of sluggishness or lethargy in the Winter months, it is a diagnosable mental health condition that can significantly impact a person’s daily life. In the UK around 20% of individuals experience “Winter Blues”, whereas only 2% experience Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Disorder has a broad range of symptoms that can also affect people differently, so every person’s experience of it can be different. Lists of symptoms, while helpful for simplicity’s sake, can do an injustice to the individual’s experience. If you or someone you know is experiencing SAD, here are some of the changes that we might notice:

Physical Changes

Energy We can become less active, find it difficult to keep up with the activities we do in other seasons because of low energy levels and becoming tired much more easily.

Appetite We can begin to eat more and crave carbs. For summer SAD, this tends to be more closely associated with having less of an appetite and undereating. 

Weight Depending on how it influences our appetite we can gain or lose weight

Sleep Winter SAD can often include oversleeping and having consistently unrefreshing nights of sleep. Summer SAD may see us sleeping much less and manifesting in Insomnia.  

Gastrointestinal Experiencing stomach or digestion difficulties.

Physical symptoms without cause Feeling generally run down with more headaches, ache and pains in our muscles.

Changes in Thinking

Brain fog

We might experience a slowing down of our thinking and having more difficulty with focus or concentration.

Indecisiveness Finding decisions more daunting and unable to commit to one.

Self-Criticism We might find that we generally think less of ourselves, thinking that we are a failure, not good enough or a bad person.

Thoughts of death We think about death more often or have thoughts about not wanting to be alive any longer.

Changes in how we feel

Mood We feel generally more down and depressed or cry more often than previously.

Interest The things that we used to enjoy no longer interest us and feel more like a burden, this can be a hobby, our work, socialising with others.

Inadequacy We may feel more useless, unlikeable or worthless.

Detached Feeling more separate from the world or other people’s lives.

Numb We may find it difficult to feel anything or have the absence of emotion.

Irritable Our fuse may be shorted, we are quicker to anger and snap at others or ourself more.

Confidence Having more doubt in ourselves.

Behaviour Changes

Neglect We may stop looking after ourselves as much as we did previously, we might stop showing, shaving, eat a poorer diet.

Motivation Everything seems a huge effort. We might find ourselves not performing well at work, letting the laundry pill up or not keeping on top of the bills.

Socialising We might withdraw, we don’t speak or meet up with friends or family as often.

Substances We may more frequently use drugs or alcohol.

If Seasonal Affective Disorder is to be considered as a diagnosis these changes outlined above experience a reduction or completely disappear for at least two months when the season changes.

What causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

It’s not fully understood what causes SAD but there is no single reason for developing SAD as with any other mental health condition. There are factors that may put us at a greater likelihood of developing it.

Where we live is a major indicator of our likeliness to experience SAD, people who live much further from the equator are more at risk as these regions tend to have the most drastic changes between Summer and Winter.

Circadian Rhythm is our biological ‘clock’ that tells us when to wake and sleep. Evidence shows that individuals with SAD can struggle with the adjustment to the winter light-dark changes.

Vitamin D levels play a key role in serotonin activity – a neurotransmitter that is believed to be responsible for balancing mood. Low vitamin D levels because of less exposure to sunlight due to wearing more layers and staying inside during winter can influence serotonin, our circadian rhythm and melatonin.

Melatonin is a hormone that makes the body feel sleepy and influences the circadian rhythm. The amount of melatonin produced in the body is influenced by the number of daylight and night hours – as the winter becomes darker, we produce more melatonin causing us to feel more sleepy and lethargic.

How do we manage Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Luckily, there are several effective treatments available for SAD. If you're struggling with symptoms, consider the following options:

Self-help Simple lifestyle changes can make a big difference to the intensity of symptoms. Regular exercise, spending time outdoors during the day, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, and eating a balanced diet can all help improve your mood.Feeling down, unmotivated and bad about ourselves does not happen in a vacuum. When we feel this way it has consequences for our work or the way we interact with our friends and family. Speaking with our loved ones about how we feel and helping them understand our experience can go a long way in getting support, giving us the best opportunity to feel better.

Light Therapy Considering the influence that decreased sunlight has on the on the development of SAD, Light therapy aims to replace this through bright artificial light that we expose ourselves to, particularly during the morning. Evidence shows that this beneficial in lessening symptoms of SAD with 30minutes usage each day. Dawn-simulating alarm clocks can also be used which come on dimly and gradually getting brighter if we find it difficult waking up on winter mornings.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT has shown to be an effective treatment for a broad range of mental health conditions and SAD is included in this. CBT for SAD can help an individual identify and break unhelpful thinking or behavioural patterns that lead to the maintenance of their symptoms.

Medication Anti-depressants can be effective in SAD. Speaking with GP about your medication options can be useful to understand how they might help you or if it is a route that you want to take.

Final Thoughts

 Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition that effects millions of people throughout the UK. If you start to notice changes in your mood that are strongly tied to the season, know that you are not alone in this and there are treatments that can help.

Don’t wait to seek out for that support, whether it comes in the form discussing your symptoms with your GP or reaching out to a therapist to better understand your experience.

If you are struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder and would like to speak with a therapist about how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) might help, please get in touch.