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By Natasha Etherington, Canadian Certified Counsellor
Introduction
With more rainy and cloudy days toward the end of the year, are you feeling blue? Do you have a hard time enjoying activities or people that use to bring you pleasure and joy? Does your low mood and lack of energy start to affect other aspect of your life, like work and personal relationships? Hey, you might be experiencing Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
SAD is a type of depression that changes according to the seasons. It usually occurs at around the same time of the year. It affects one’s mood and behaviours or even productivity. Unsure whether you are (or your loved ones) suffering from a seasonal affective disorder? Here are some common symptoms that might help you identify SAD:
· Social withdrawal
· Irritability
· Anxiety
· Low energy, no interest in activities that you once found fun
· Memory and attention difficulties
· Sadness nearly every day for more than two weeks
· Crying nearly every day
· Sleeping for too long
· Changes in appetite
· Have you gained weight?
· Thoughts of harming yourself
· Irrational thoughts
Causes of SAD
Seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) is common at this time of year due to a lack of sunlight. The difference in sunlight causes changes in our biological clock in our bodies, which can disrupt our hormones and result in a deficit in vitamin D levels. Did you know that 15% of Canadians experience periods of seasonal affective disorder? Even in the summer times, some people can experience S.A.D. as well due to the day light savings time change. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a very common type of mood disorder. And as a result, the treatments for S.A.D. are well researched and quite effective.
Treatments for SAD
There is treatment for S.A.D.. You do not have to suffer alone. There are four types of treatments you can consider:
· Anti-depressant medications
· Psychotherapy (individual or group CBT)
· Vitamin D supplements
· Light Therapy
Anti-depressant medications
In B.C., you would need a medical doctor to be prescribed an anti-depressant medication. Please consult your family doctor or any general practitioners (G.P.) to get a referral to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will likely book an initial appointment with you to give you a diagnosis. Then he or she will likely call you back for a check up in a few weeks up to a few months to review the effectiveness of the medication that was prescribed to you. During this time, you can contact your family doctor or the psychiatrist to discuss the medication dosage if you experience any negative effects. It is not recommended to change the medication dosage on your own without consulting your attending doctor. But definitely, you are the one who knows your body the best. So proactively talking to the medical doctors about your medication is best to determine which medication is most suitable for you.
Psychotherapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the recommended psychotherapy approach by the Canadian Psychology Association for SAD. CBT can help you break down the issues you are facing and formulate a treatment plan to help you manage the issues you face. Your counsellor will work with you to develop a treatment plan that fits your needs. You don’t have to suffer through the winter months as there are a variety of practical techniques to help boost your mood. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps teach new coping skills to increase pleasurable activities, identify negative behaviours that are making you feel worse, manage your stress levels and increase physical activity. Your counsellor can also discuss good sleep guidelines with you such as oversleeping.
Besides talking to a therapist individually, you can also join the CBT group offered at Nuway Counselling. For Seasonal Affective Disorder, we recommend joining the CBT for depression and CBT for depression relapse prevention course. These courses offer both online and in person with a rolling start date. You can learn with fellow participants to share, learn and support each other through this journey. Check out the program list to sign up for an upcoming start date.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is known to be helpful for battling depression and calcium absorption. Vitamin D can be naturally produced by our body through the direct contact of sunlight. When the ultraviolet (UV) light hits the skin, our body is triggered to produce vitamin D. As a result, for those who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, taking supplements of vitamin D can help reduce the depressive symptoms from SAD. Those who work in an indoor environment are also prone to vitamin D deficiency that leads to depression such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). As a result, please be mindful about how much sunlight you’ve been receiving daily. If your lifestyle or work environment doesn’t promote skin contact with sunlight, it is recommended for you to consider taking vitamin D supplements or light therapy.
Light Therapy
Light therapy is using a light box to simulate sunlight when you are indoors. Typically fluorescent light is used to reduced the risk of visual disturbance and other effective of the head, such as headache, fatigues or nausea. A medical doctor may prescribe light therapy for 30 minutes to up to an hour per day. If you are using it at home without a prescription, make sure you are aware of all the risks and benefits and not overuse light therapy to the point that causes harm to yourself. You can buy a therapy light on your own or borrow a therapy light from our local public library. [Check out the link to BPL borrowing a therapy light ]
Conclusion
Since the cause of SAD is quite predictable, many believed that with the appropriate treatment and self-help strategies, SAD can be prevented or better prepared before it comes. Talk to a counsellor or your healthcare provider for a personalized treatment plan to help ease some of the trouble that SAD brings to you. At Nuway, counsellors can work individually or in a group setting to help you overcome the negative effects of SAD.
Self-help strategies that works
In addition to psychotherapy, there are some practical recommendations you can start now such as exercising regularly; getting outside to be in sunlight (any outdoor light helps even if it is cloudy) and opening curtains and blinds in your house to let light into your home or office. By taking these actions you will immediately feel brighter. Seeing friends and do things that boost up your energy usually helps as well. Please check out our S.L.E.P.T. self-care check list for more details.
Our warm and friendly clinical counselling team are here for you both in-person or virtually 7 days a week. Do you have questions? Contact us or book online for a free 20-minute virtual consultation.
Do not wait! You deserve to be happy! Looking for more information? Contact Nuway at Info@nuwaycounselling.ca or telephone 604 448 2416 to learn about the upcoming monthly Therapy Group for adults with Social Anxiety called Confidence in Rescue [click here to the registration link] in the new year!
Canadian Mental Health Association (BC branch): http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/sites/default/files/seasonal-affective-disorder_0.pdf
American Psychological Association (APA): provides information on symptoms management and how psychologists can help: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/seasonal-affective-disorder.aspx
Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): provides general information, as well as a short video about symptoms and treatments for SAD: http://www.camh.ca/seasonal_affective_disorder
Information regarding the debate of the diagnosis: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2167702615615867
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder
References:
Canadian Psychology Association. Dec 31, 2020. Seasonal affective disorder.
Mayo Clinic. Dec 14, 2021. Seasonal affective disorder.
About the Author
Ms. Natasha Etherington is a Canadian Certified Counsellor at Nuway Counselling. She has years of experiences working with children and youth at Foundry BC. She is passionate about children and youth mental health. Her experiences in early psychosis intervention and mental health not only provides her with lots of professional expertise, but a lot of empathy and understanding for those who are suffering. Besides providing individual and group therapy for clients at Nuway Counselling to help them boost self-esteem, manage anxiety and depression or battle social anxiety, she enjoys scenic places outdoors with friends and family.
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