SAD about the winter?
It could be more than just a feeling
- posted: 04 Dec. 2007
- scrollspecial@byui.edu
Students complain about the cold. Trees get naked. Bears just sleep through it.
Winter’s short days, moody weather and little sunlight have a tendency to bring out changes.
While some find that they may sleep and eat more as the temperature lowers and darkness falls early, many experience more serious reactions to the season. They get, well, SAD.
Experts believe that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is triggered by the brain’s response to decreased daylight exposure, according to www.kidshealth.org.
Currently, experts think that the sun plays a role in helping the brain produce the key hormones melatonin and serotonin. These two hormones regulate sleep-wake cycles, energy and mood, according to www.kidshealth.org.
For those with SAD, the onset of winter can also mean a cyclical uprising of depression-like symptoms such as anxiety, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, oversleeping and weight gain.
Heather* is one such person. Now a sophomore at BYU-Idaho, she began feeling depressed during her first winter in Rexburg last year. At first she ignored warning signs.
“I was sleeping 12 or 14 hours a day,” Heather said. “I just didn’t feel like doing anything, even things that I had always really loved. I would get really easily annoyed and upset, and that wasn’t like me at all. But I didn’t believe that I had depression — I just thought I needed to snap out of it.”
While friends and roommates tried to convince her to get help, Heather resisted the idea for the first several months of her symptoms. Finally, she recognized that she needed help and made an appointment with the Counseling Center.
There, she was told that she likely had SAD. Though it is hard to definitely diagnose when symptoms have not appeared consecutively for a few years, Heather’s counselor recommended that she treat her depression with common SAD treatments, like light therapy and Bupropion tablets.
SAD is most common for women over the age of 20 living in northern locations where there is little light during the winter months, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is also possible to have spring- or summer-onset SAD.
People who feel they may be experiencing symptoms should spend time outdoors and get as much sunlight as they can. It’s also helpful to manage stress, socialize and, if possible, take a trip to a sunny location, or consult a counselor to determine if they do have SAD.
*name changed 
