Seasonal Depression Ideas

5 Ideas on How to Start Now Before It’s Too Dark

By Bluestone Psychiatric Services It’s a weird time of the year. We wonder if maybe “next week” the weather will warm up. Or possible our winter mood will improve after the holidays. Are there days when you leave for work in the dark and return home in the dark? It can be a difficult time for our moods with shorter daylight and darker evenings.

• Each year, over 10 million Americans experience mild to severe symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

You may wonder is your low winter mood being impacted? Is it just part of a situational experience or is it more complex like seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Five Ideas to Change the Seasonal Pattern of Depression

1. Turn Off Auto Pilot – We have trudge along allowing our auto pilot to take the path of least resistance and stimulation. Turn it off and start savoring what is around you. Look for beauty and pleasant moments before they pass you by. Seek thankfulness and be grateful for what you do have then focusing on what you don’t.
2. Engage the Elements – When it is snowing, cold and dark we often cocoon up; hibernating until “it’s over”. Yet, is counter-intuitive to avoid the elements. Instead, place yourself in the outside. Dress warmly and experience the wind, the cold, the snow. Use your physical feeling experience to be mindful of the world around you. 
3. Find the Light – Sunlight can activate specific vitamins in your system as well as regulate the amount of melatonin in your body, both of which are connected with your moods. If you are able find opportunities, despite the cold or wet, to get outside. Some research suggests the morning light is best, but anytime you can make time to get outside during these short daylight times will help.You can also add full spectrum light to your house. The National Institute of Health recommends a 10000 lux exposure for 30 minutes. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181778/)
4. Connect the Dots – Picture the people in your life as dots. Look for chances to connect those dots by making visits to those people. Plan a lunch, take a walk, go to a movie, or get some coffee. The more dots you connect the better your mood picture will be. If you know the winter impacts your mood, have one of your dots (aka friends) hold you accountable to get out and be social.
5. Medication to Soothe the Intensity – supplement the above techniques with psychiatric medicine. Our team of psychiatric medication providers enjoys connecting with people interested in making a change. NIH continues to recommend this approach, “Data emerging from [placebo-controlled] trials has led to the recommendation of the SSRIs sertraline and fluoxetine as first-line treatments of SAD.”

SAD expert Dr. Kelly Rohan defined the disorder as, “a regular seasonal pattern of major depressive episodes during the fall and winter months with periods of full improvement in the spring and summer.” Maybe at first, it didn’t seem so bad; nothing that binge watching your Netflix show and some well placed sweet treats couldn’t manage. But a few weeks later the mood remains. If this is the case, try a few of some well practiced techniques to make a change. If you find your mood to be impacting your daily functioning at home, at work or in public, please contact Bluestone Psychological and Psychiatric Services. We have a variety of passionate, caring individuals whom can walk alongside you during this struggle. Additional contributions by David A. Morris, LCSW And https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181778

More on Depression

Depression is a serious medical condition, but it often goes undetected until the patient is moved to do something drastic under its influence, like self-cutting or a suicide attempt. Here are some signs to look for which indicate a person suffers from depression and needs professional help:

You No Longer Derive Joy from Your Interests

We all have hobbies that provide us with joy and an interest in life. Whether it’s a sport, an art form or pop culture consumption, there is always something you do to kick back after working hard at your job all day. These hobbies and interests are what make life worth living. If you begin to feel you’re no longer interested in them and constantly experience listlessness and an absence of joy, it may be time to seek help.

Instead of Therapy, You Self-Medicate

Some people try to deal with feelings of pain and sadness with drugs and alcohol. If you find yourself consuming large quantities of medicine without getting a prescription from a doctor, remind yourself that you are only succeeding in temporarily blocking the pain out in a drug-induced stupor instead of getting cured. If you want to genuinely get better, you will need to go to a licensed professional who will tell you which drugs, if any, you should be taking to deal with your problems.

Depression Starts Affecting Work

One of the most common symptoms of depression is when you no longer feel strong enough to face the world. This can result in your shutting out the difficult parts of your life by not leaving your house, even to go to work. This behavior has a very negative effect, both in the short term in terms of feeding your paranoia, and in the long term in terms of affecting your financial independence and professional reputation.

You Spend Too Much Time Fantasizing

When real life carries no joy, often we try to take refuge in an imaginary world of our own making. We might try to lose ourselves in video games, movies or online chat forums, but all we’re doing is temporarily avoiding our rapidly mounting real-life problems. If you find yourself spending too much time lost in daydreams as a way to push away reality, it’s a strong sign that you will need outside help from a professional to deal with your depression.

Other People Notice Your State

You may try to convince yourself that you are merely going through a bad patch and that your problems are nothing serious, but what about when your issues start affecting those close to you, and they begin to comment on it? This is a clear sign that your problems are much more serious than you had imagined, and need to be addressed with the help of a professional. Don’t be ashamed to take your relatives into your confidence. You will need their support to get better.

You Consider Self-Harm instead of Seeking Help

There is never, and I mean NEVER, a good reason to try to hurt yourself. The impulse to injure your body or take your own life is a result of long-term depression and a general feeling of helplessness. You feel you don’t control your own life and can never experience happiness again, but this is not true. Talk to a professional, take help from relatives, and get the medical assistance you need to get back to your normal life. Life is never perfect for anyone, but amidst all the difficulties, there are still many new experiences to be enjoyed that make life worth living. If depression is affecting you, or your loved one, you can contact us and get matched to a therapist to meet your specific needs.