It’s SAD Season Again
Season Affective Disorder arrives on schedule, again.
It is that time again, the beginning of November. For some that means simply we are in well into Autumn heading towards Thanksgiving and Christmas both of which will have a unique significance in our country this year. Others see this time more like one big Hallowe’en. They do not have any affinity for scary costumes, they have Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Known also as SAD, among other names, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a form of depression that begins usually in mid to late Autumn and continues well into the Winter. There are other forms that show up in Spring to Summer. I have the former type and it always begins in late October and continues until early January.
Scientists believe one cause is a lack of sunlight which lowers levels of vitamin D. Another is a lack of the body’s ability to regulate the two hormones associated with maintaining circadian rhythms: melatonin and serotonin. The National Institute of Mental Health in the United States explains that people living in Alaska or New England (the most northeastern part of the country) have a greater chance of developing it than those living in Florida.
Millions of American adults may suffer from SAD, although many may not know they have the condition. SAD occurs much more often in women than in men, and it is more common in those living farther north, where there are shorter daylight hours in the winter. For example, people living in Alaska or New England may be more likely to develop SAD than people living in Florida. In most cases, SAD begins in young adulthood.*
These all seem to be factors in the unique disorder that changes people’s moods depending on the time of year. If you have SAD, it is always a good idea to be aware when your seasonal affective disorder begins and be attentive to mood changes that happen. You can, then, prepare yourself for your annual bout of SAD, accordingly. For example, if I plan any major projects, I need to focus them more in all but November and December. I know I will have less energy in those months. I also need to plan my days accordingly at that time of the year.
Use cultural clues
Another good idea is to have cultural clues. For example, when the circus used to come to town in Boston in October, that was one of my clues. If I found myself particularly in a bad mood and gloomy, seeing an ad for the circus would remind me that my SAD had arrived again and it was time to plan for it. Now, I do not have that cultural clue but I am still aware as October ends, I need to be attentive to my mood.
Just like any other changes in our daily life there are serious things to consider. One piece of advice I adhere to during these times is no letters and no major decisions.
What do I mean? Obviously, as a writer, I am normally careful what I write and always have the reader in mind in my words. However, in the past I occasionally let my anger or even my mood do the writing and that never produced good results. If you have SAD then you know in those months no matter how much you feel something is a good idea, you need to be sure. Be careful anything you write is not your SAD talking more than you. The feelings you have towards a particular person especially any friction or issue may be the same throughout the year, but your way of expressing them or even choosing whether to do so at all changes under SAD. Being aware you are in the season of your Seasonal Affective Disorder is essential. It makes you think twice and hopefully thrice or more. Think like a pilot who flies on instruments. My cousin, a pilot explained the principle to me.
Fly on instruments
Pilots often have to rely only on their instruments because their own internal sense can betray them. So, he explained, though a plane is flying right side up through a cloud at night and everything the instruments indicate is accurate, pilots, at times, feel they are actually flying upside down. They have no visual clues except the instruments to tell them otherwise. Disbelieving the readings of the gauges before them can prove fatal and often is.
Think of SAD the same way. You will have to fly your own emotional form of instruments until the season passes. Be aware of your feelings but do not act on them until you are sure that is a wise thing to do. Take at least twenty-four hours of reflection and maybe more before you respond to an upsetting letter, text or before you make an important decision. If you express your thoughts of how you want to respond to disinterested third parties and they give you warning not to do it, then give that warning more priority than anything else.
Do not quit your job, sell your house or even buy a new car or any other major purchase unless you are sure that these are good long term decisions. Remember, during this time your feelings may be betraying you and you need to take that into consideration. You are flying on instruments.
One good thing about seasonal affective disorder is that it ends and usually at a predictable time. Leave all your major decisions until the end of the season and then revisit them.
Treatments and strategies
There are treatments for those with SAD. The most famous in popular culture is light therapy. These are large lights that sufferers use to make up for the lack of sun outside.
Canadian authorities recommend changing where you exercise and even work to take advantage of the sunlight as much as possible. So, they suggest, moving your desk and your exercise routine closer to the windows during the day. The most southern part of Canada borders the most northern part of the United States, except for Alaska. So, Canadians too have to deal with SAD. The same would apply to northern Europeans.
Here in the New England, it is not unusual for sundown to be between four and six o’clock Eastern Standard Time (GMT-0500) in the Winter. While in the summer it can be close to nine Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-0400). According to the website Suntoday.org, on June 22, 2020 there were fifteen hours and twenty-two minutes of sun in Boston, Massachusetts whereas on December 22 there will be nine hours and four minutes. That is a tremendous change of the natural amount of light one receives which produces vitamin D.
Other treatments include anti-depressants and psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a skill to listen to your thoughts and judge them against actual evidence. So, if you wake up feeling today will be your worst day. What is the evidence you have that validates those beliefs. If you have no evidence, reject the thought.
Still others such as myself simply live through it day by day and manage it daily. It is not that we slog through life until January rather we understand what to do best during these days and what to put off until another part of the year.
Is SAD a produce of evolution?
I personally wonder if SAD is a left over element from evolution. After all, some mammals hibernate during these days. They do not have a watch that tell them to go to bed until March, they have body rhythms. We do not have the luxury and I could not hibernate anyway. However, the slowdown may be more natural than people think. That is just my unscientific impression from the inside of SAD.
I also find my creativity increases. It is a great time to come up with ideas to write about in the Spring and Summer.
In any case, for many sufferers of SAD the season is upon us. Be hopeful Spring is coming.
Sources:
*National Institute of Mental Health (US): Seasonal Affective Disorder https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder/index.shtml
Canadian Institute of Mental Health (CA) Seasona Affective Disorder https://cmha.bc.ca/documents/seasonal-affective-disorder-2/#F
Mayo Clinic SAD Symptoms and Causes https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651