10 Ways To Combat Seasonal Depression
Mental health can feel like a struggle at any time of the year but there is something about the fall and winter months that makes those usual mental health struggles feel that much harder to deal with!
If the darker days and colder temperatures have got you feeling tired, sad and unlike your usual self these days - then you could be dealing with the classic symptoms of seasonal depression.
The good news is you’re not alone!
Almost everyone has experienced at least a mild form of the winter blues. And luckily, there are many different things that you can do about it! So in this article, we’re going to share 10 simple ways that you can start to combat seasonal depression.
What is seasonal depression?
Seasonal depression (also called seasonal affective disorder) is a type of depression that begins with the darker months of fall and winter and then goes away during spring and summer.
People with milder forms of seasonal depression will start to feel sad or down as the days get colder, shorter and darker. In more severe cases however, these mood changes can also have a more serious effect on the behavior and feelings of a person and require professional treatment.
Since seasonal depression is a specific kind of depression, the symptoms are usually quite similar. Some of the common ones include:
Changes in sleep (esp. sleeping too much)
Low energy and constant fatigue (despite sleeping too much)
Overeating (esp. cravings for sugary carbohydrates)
Feeling sad, unmotivated and numb
No interests in activities that you usually enjoy
Problems with focus and concentration
Seasonal depression can happen at any age but it’s most likely to first appear between the ages of 18 and 30.
How can we treat seasonal depression?
1. Stop beating yourself up for feeling low
The first thing to remember when dealing with seasonal depression is that it’s NATURAL to feel like you have less energy in the winter. Take a look at nature to remind yourself that animals and plants alike slow down when it’s cold and dark outside.
We might live in a society that has become detached from living in tune with nature, where productivity and accomplishment are expected every day of the year. But just because society demands one thing, doesn’t mean that our bodies play by the same rules.
So if you’re feeling worthless or guilty about your current lack of energy, you might benefit from a simple change of perspective. Instead of beating yourself up about sleeping more and not being as motivated (which only makes the symptoms worse!), try to remind yourself that this is your body’s ancient need to rest and recover for the year ahead.
Perhaps you can use this time as an opportunity to turn inward. Work on self care, start journaling or mediating, learn a new skill or work on checking off some of those books on your reading list.
2. Start preparing in the fall
One of the best ways of dealing with the negative impacts of seasonal depression is not letting them arise in the first place. Don’t wait until your symptoms have gotten to be really bad and then start making changes to help you feel better. If you know that this is something you deal with regularly, then make a plan to prevent the symptoms and start implementing it in fall.
What will prevent your symptoms? That will depend on what you find causes your symptoms and what usually brings you the most relief. Continue reading through the list and if you find that e.g. light therapy or vitamin D supplements really help with your symptoms then perhaps start including those in your prevention plan the next year.
3. Prioritize going outside while there is sunlight
In many cases, the thing that gets us most in winter is the darkness. Continuous lack of sunshine can play a huge factor in influencing our moods and causing seasonal depression symptoms. It isn’t surprising then that for many people increasing their exposure to sunlight every day can help alleviate some of their symptoms.
On average, you should spend at least 1 hour outside every day but the more you can fit it into your routine the better. So plan your winter routine in a way that allows you to go for daily walks or sit outside to have your morning coffee if the weather permits it. You could also consider rearranging your office or living space in a way that you spend the majority of your day close to a window where you’ll be exposed to natural daylight.
4. Try light therapy
If you find that the amount of natural sunlight you can get isn’t enough to help you feel better, another great option to try is light therapy. Light therapy involves sitting in front of a special light box that shines a very bright light (usually 100x of a normal indoor lighting).
This is usually done every day for 20-30 minutes throughout winter and many people see improvements from the treatment within a week or two after they start implementing the light box regularly.
If you’re curious about light therapy and want to know more about choosing the correct light box that can help with your symptoms, check out this great article here.
5. Get enough Vitamin D
Another thing that is commonly associated with seasonal depression symptoms is a lack of vitamin D. Since most of our vitamin D usually comes from sun exposure, we often find ourselves deficient in the winter months.
To increase your levels, make sure to eat a lot of food rich in vitamin D during the winter. Both fatty fish and seafood contain the highest amounts of naturally occurring vitamin D. But you can also eat egg yolks, mushrooms, red meat and liver.
Alternatively, you could also consider taking a vitamin D supplement. How much should you be taking? For most people, the average safe dose lies between 1,000–4,000 IU per day. However, all of our bodies and nutritional needs are unique so we highly recommend you ask your health care provider to test your vitamin D levels first.
6. Make sure you get enough social contact
As soon as the seasons change and the days get shorter and colder, many of us will naturally feel inclined to want to stay home. This urge to hibernate and slow down during winter is absolutely normal but it often comes at the cost of going out and being social within our community.
Spending enough time with friends and family is a crucial part of mental health and when we isolate ourselves in the winter, we’ll easily feel the impact it can have on our mood.
So make sure you prioritize staying connected in your social group. Even if you can’t spend as much time on outdoor activities, perhaps consider starting up game nights or regularly cooking dinners together. Any kind of interaction with other people will make you feel less alone and hopefully ease some of the winter blues you might be feeling.
7. Move your body more regularly
Being stuck at home during the winter months usually means that we move our bodies less than we do in the summer. And when you’re feeling tired due to seasonal depression, of course the last thing you want to do is think about moving or exercising.
However, when you don’t move much for prolonged periods of time, the energy and circulation in your body can become stagnant and cause symptoms such as fatigue, sluggishness, dizziness when getting up and general lack of motivation and energy. In many cases, we try to combat these symptoms by resting and sleeping more but that only makes the problem worse.
Instead of trying to rest more, maybe you would benefit from some form of light exercise to get your blood circulating and the energy moving through your body. Don’t push yourself with high-intensity training or long cardio sessions in the gym. Simply try going for a 20-30 min walk everyday, start doing restorative yoga and stretching or find some other form of gentle movement that can ease you back in.
8. Eat a lot of warm, hearty foods that contain lots of healthy starches (e.g. stews, soups, potatoes, etc.)
One of the main reasons that people with seasonal depression tend to overeat is because their body is cold and tired and craving energy. And for good reason, evolutionarily the harsh winter months are a threat to our survival and our body craves that extra fuel so that it can keep us warm and functioning at normal levels.
So the reason you're craving fast food, pasta and sugary carbs like donuts and ice cream is because they give us a really quick sugar spike and therefore the energy we might be needing at that moment. The problem is that that energy spike is always followed by a crash that will make us feel even more tired!
Instead of relying on processed carbs to give you energy, turn to healthier, whole foods instead. Winter is a great time to bring out those hearty stew and soup recipes that warm you up from the inside. You could also consider adding more healthy carbs such as potatoes, squashes, fruit, oats and other whole grains to your diet.
Plus: Your body actually needs to use energy to heat up any cold foods you eat to your body temperature - so eating warm and hearty foods like stews and soups can actually make it much easier for your body to convert food into energy and thus make you less tired!
9. Consider going on a winter vacation
If you live in a part of the world where the winters are particularly dark and you feel like the days of darkness seem to be never-ending, then perhaps you might benefit from regularly scheduling a winter getaway in advance.
For many people dealing with seasonal depression, this has become a must-have way of getting away from their darker winter routine and spending a few days in the sunshine and filling up on vitamin D. While beaches and the ocean can be a great place for that, even a skiing trip to the mountains can be a fun opportunity to spend time outside and enjoy yourself in the sun.
If traveling during the winter months is something that helps you but you’re worried about the financial burden of a vacation, you could always set up a winter vacation fund and start saving throughout the year.
10. See a mental health professional
In some cases of seasonal depression, it is possible that the symptoms become so severe that simple lifestyle changes might not cut it anymore.
There are many different options for professional treatment and most mental health practitioners will be able to assess you and offer you a combination of treatments, including talk therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy and different types of antidepressants.
If you’re feeling depressed and overwhelmed by your symptoms with no idea how to deal with them, we highly encourage you to go see a trained mental health professional that can help you deal with your symptoms. With the right treatment, symptoms can improve quite quickly!
Need more help on your personal development journey?
If you liked today’s article or are interested in learning more about effective self care practices to improve your mental, emotional and physical health, then you might enjoy the resources we provide in The Self Care Space membership.
We have everything from self-guided prompts and programs to guided meditations and healing visualizations to help you on your healing journey. We also have amazing advisory board members who specialize in a variety of areas and will be there to answer your questions in the private community or at our members-only live events. Whichever route you choose, we just want you to know we are proud of you for showing up for yourself in the first place!
So on that note, we’ll end this article by encouraging you to just take a breath, relax and enjoy the upcoming seasons as much as you possibly can!
xoxo,
The Self Care Space
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