Intro

It’s been a pretty amazing New Year in terms of weather!  In Eastern Iowa, we have had record and near record snowfall, and bitter low temperatures for the past two weeks.  And in the week to come, the prediction is for temperatures as high as 40 and rain!  Inconsistency is something that, as a rule, your brain doesn't really care for.  This up and down and all around weather might even be producing stress in you and those around you that results in some irritability and moodiness.

My Thoughts

But for many people, every winter produces various kinds of stressful responses, regardless of the specific weather patterns.  There is even a diagnosis for it called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, with which you may be familiar. While the cause of SAD isn’t clearly understood, it seems to be related to longer periods of darkness (less light) that naturally occur during the winter. It isn’t known how many people could be diagnosed with SAD, and it might not even matter because many of us experience the Winter Blues and a diagnosis isn’t needed to know that we need some ideas to deal with the long winter leading to the Spring equinox and the “lights coming back on.”  Symptoms of SAD more or less mirror those of depression - low energy, listless mood, oversleeping, overeating, a general sense of lethargy.

Conclusion

If you are having symptoms like this at this time of year, here are some things to think about:

• Regardless of diagnosis, the experience of SAD-like symptoms is common and tends to begin in people’s lives during adolescence and early adulthood.  You are not alone and there is nothing wrong with you.  Remind yourself of this frequently as symptoms of SAD (depression) can lead to people isolating themselves and getting trapped in a bad internal story about themselves.

• So, don’t isolate yourself! Spend time with people.  Get out of your bed and into the living room where there are people.  Talk with friends and family - anything to engage your brain.

• Stay physically active.  Physical activity is one of the body’s most effective ways of working against depression.  Exercise regularly.

• Choose your inputs well - don’t feed the monster!  What are you watching and listening to?  Sometimes we choose what’s going in to our brains based on what we are feeling - e.g., “I’m feeling sad so I am going to listen to my favorite sad songs.”  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It’s amazing that we have music and videos and so on that can help us process our emotions.  But if you are experiencing symptoms of SAD this time of year, consider using music and video to lift your mood, not reinforce it. Some people have found stand up comedy videos very helpful. Laughter is physiologically beneficial.

• It might seem weird but getting a sun lamp specifically designed for light therapy can be helpful.  We are not advocating for any particular kind, but this Light Therapy Lamp came up first on Google from the Temu site - there are a bunch more all under $40!  Talk with your parents about this.

• One of the benefits of sunlight is Vitamin D.  Some people have benefitted from taking Vitamin D supplements during the winter.  Again, talk to your parents about this.

• Control the story in your brain.  While SAD symptoms are real and you may be experiencing the Winter Blues, you can take control of the story and remind yourself that what you are experiencing is not unusual and that you will make it through.

• Finally, if none of this is working for you and it seems to be staying bad or getting worse, talk to your parents and consider visiting your doctor for additional interventions that they may suggest.