How to survive the Winter Blues

​By Lori Gottlieb
 
How can you tell the difference between SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and depression?
 
SAD generally occurs during the winter months, when people don’t get enough sunlight exposure.  We need sunlight because it provides vitamin D, and that absorption helps regulate our moods.  Rates of SAD often depend on where people live.  In California there might not be as many cases as there are in Seattle.  There are those who experience SAD year-round.
 
Clinical depression is not affected by the seasons.  SAD can trigger clinical depression, but people who suffer from clinical depression can have that any time of the year.  In the winter a lot of people experience clinical depression, but there are many people with clinical depression who experience it year-round.
 
Many people end up with low vitamin D levels in the winter because they aren’t getting as much sunlight.  Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, people aren’t even getting that little bit of outdoor time they might have when traveling from home to work.  It’s important to check in with your doctor.  You might want to get your vitamin D levels checked and ask your doctor what vitamin D dosage will be best for you.
 
What are the signs that you should look for in yourself to know if you should seek help either for SAD or for clinical depression?
 
If you’re feeling tired more of the time, you have less energy, or if you’re not getting pleasure in the things that you normally love, whether it’s spending time with your family, or doing a hobby.  Other signs of potential depression include trouble focusing or concentrating or feeling “foggy”.  Disturbances in sleep – sleeping too much, or not enough, waking up in the middle of the night etc. are signs of depression.  Changes in appetite – eating too much or no appetite and not being hungry at all are another sign of depression.
 
If you’re feeling any of these things, talk to your doctor.  Often, people feel like they need to hit a certain threshold before they make that call.  What I want people to know is that if something feels off to you, no matter how much or how little, now’s the time to make the call.  You don’t have to wait until things feel really bad.
 
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are being discouraged from doing thins that might help combat SAD, like walking to work, or spending time with friends.  How would you suggest people cope with SAD when we now don’t have these tools at our disposal?
 
It’s really important for people to get creative when it comes to self-care.  If you can take a few minutes and walk outside and get some fresh air during the day, that’s great, but even sitting by a window will help a lot.  I know that sounds simple, but it is very effective.
Sit by an open window during the day whenever there’s daylight.  With so many people working from home or staying indoors, it’s easy to forget when it’s light out or dark out or when it’s a weekday or the weekend.  It’s really important to make those distinctions.  Make sure that you structure a schedule for yourself.  Try to go to bed around the same time every night so that you have good sleep hygiene.  Try to wake up around the same time every day and open the shades when you wake up.  Put new clothes on in the morning, even if it’s sweatpants.  It’s important to get out of what you slept in.  If you can work in a different room than you sleep in, that can be very helpful.  And then at night, when you get in bed, there’s this neurological understanding that now it’s bedtime, and my body’s going to be tired, and I’m going to go to sleep.
 
In terms of the connection piece, make a virtual walking date with a friend.  Go take a walk during the lightest time of the day and ask your friend to go take a walk wherever he or she is, and talk on the phone.  You’re outdoors, you’ve changed your environment, and even it it’s cloudy or cold, you’re still getting outside.  You’re moving your body, which is really good for endorphins, you’re getting a little bit of sunlight, ad you’re connecting with someone, so you’re checking off three things at once.
 
With so much uncertainty in the world right now, many of us wake up in the morning already feeling depressed or anxious.  Do you have any tips on how to start out your day on the right foot?
 
Make your bed in the morning. I know it sounds kind of silly, because who cares right?  But by making your bed, you’re making that distinction that you are up for the day.  Having a nice physical environment can really lift your mood.
 
After waking up the first thing that many of us do is look at our phones.  If you can take five minutes before you look at your phone and write down one thing that you are grateful for, that can make a world of difference in your day.  It can be the smallest thing: “I’m grateful I can have orange juice for breakfast.” Or “I’m really grateful for my son’s smile.”  Even if it’s something minor, if you think of your mood like a scale, it just sets you in the “plus zone” for the day.
 
Most people wake up immediately they go to negative five, because they look at the news, or see how many emails they have.  Instead, try to start your day in positive territory, by letting yourself focus on gratitude.  Then as things happen during the day, like work piles up, or family issues arise, your mood might go down a little bit, but hopefully you won’t go below zero.