Feeling SAD?
Seasonal Affective Disorder is especially common in the wintertime. When the days get shorter, light fades faster, and moods shift.
Welcome, readers, near and far! I’m happy to see you here. Of course, I can’t actually "see” you…I only know you’ve dropped in by looking at my metrics on the hidden dashboard of my Substack. But…here’s an idea. If you click on that little heart ❤️ above, I’ll smile, knowing you’re really here. And thanks for sharing a little extra love!
I recently received this email from a reader:
Now that I’ve passed through menopause, I thought those days of darkness - feeling depressed, listless, anxious, and all-around moody - would pass. But they’re back with a vengeance. Does that mean my period is going to come back, too???? Please tell me it ain’t so.
NO, dear reader, your period will not come back - that is, if you have been without it for 12 consecutive months. Once you reach that point, you are considered post-menopause (and you won’t get another period).
P.S. Although… it is a possibility to have some spotting. Research finds that up to 11 percent of postmenopausal women experience some postmenopausal bleeding - but it’s probable that the conditions causing the bleeding are benign.
Here’s an article I wrote on the subject.
Anyhow…let’s get back to the original subject…that shroud of sadness and irritability that is affecting this reader. And likely, many, many more of you (especially this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere).
Like clockwork, I feel it myself, every. single. year. I don’t need to look at the calendar - or the thermometer - to tell me why I’m feeling irritable, moody, fatigued and intense craving for carbs. And I KNOW I can no longer blame menopause. Been there, done that.
😔Why SAD Happens
Our bodies run on coffee circadian rhythms, an internal “clock” that is on a 24-hour cycle. This clock dictates things like when it’s time to sleep, when it’s time to wake up, and other physical and mental biological processes.
This rhythm is set naturally by your body, guided by your brain. But there are outside factors - like light - that can affect and alter the rhythm. For instance, when light enters your eye, it tells your brain to stop producing melatonin (which is the hormone that helps you sleep).
Circadian rhythms are especially sensitive to light, which is an easy explanation as to why, when there are shorter days and less sunlight, we can feel “off.” Plus, less sun exposure results in less Vitamin D and serotonin absorption (which can also affect mood, energy, and even our immunity).
Interestingly, SAD is about four times more common among women than among men, notes Normal E. Rosenthal, MD, in his book, Winter Blues.
Michael Breus, PhD., author of The Power of When, calls circadian rhythm a “precisely engineered timekeeper,” governing everything from energy to the ability to heal. He says that being out of sync with “bio-time” is devastating to your physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Amen.
So, what helps with SAD???
Retail therapy. (Kidding/not kidding). Why it helps: Research has shown that shopping releases serotonin and dopamine, those feel-good neurotransmitters associated with reward and pleasure. Why it may hurt, though: The down side is that shopping unnecessarily can hurt your wallet, and that sweater/bag/pair of boots you thought you absolutely couldn’t live without becomes a thorn in your side once you get the credit card bill. (Even worse are the sales that are so tempting…but are FINAL SALE.)
Regular exercise. Aside from relieving stress and anxiety - both hallmarks of SAD - feeling stronger and fit can help boost your mood. And as an extra bonus, exercising outdoors, weather permitting, can help, too. Forest bathing, a Japanese method of immersing yourself in nature (no, it’s not a bath), is very mentally and physically therapeutic, studies find.
Resist temptations to give in. Easier said than done…but worth a try. Oversleeping, overeating, hibernating, and withdrawing socially, as tempting and natural as they may feel, will only exacerbate your SAD. Now is the time to push yourself to commit to a regular (earlier) wake-up time, as well as make social plans (or at the very least, get thee out of the house, even if it’s just to walk around the block or sit in a coffee shop around other functioning people.)
“Do whatever it takes to resist the very strong temptation to be a couch potato,” writes Dr. Rosenthal. “Do something - anything - to keep your body active through the winter months.”
Replace the lost light. You could, of course, throw open your curtains and turn on all the lights in your house. But that might not exactly do the trick.
Light therapy can be an effective way to treat SAD, and light therapy boxes have been utilized since around the 1980s. It was actually in the 80s that I tried a light therapy box but quickly gave up because I grew impatient sitting in front of the box 20-30 minutes each morning. But recently, I was thrilled to discover I could get the same benefits from a wearable device, called AYO, that looks like a pair of eyeglasses. I put them on when I wake up can roam around my house (or sit still, if I choose) while they do their 20-minute-timed session of exposing me to gentle blue light. AYOs co-founder, Alex Dimitrov, explained that products on the market were too inconvenient to use, and not smart or personal. He created AYO so that users could engage in daily activities while improving their circadian health. “The primary function is designed to help support circadian health, increase energy, and improve natural sleep,” by exposing your brain to a “wake-up signal,” he said. AYO also comes with an app to further personalize the experience.
Other therapies. Some people might turn to/benefit from psychotherapy, vitamin D therapy, or antidepressants to chase away the winter blues.
Believe it or not, the earth is closest to the sun in January. Called Perihelion, which is Greek for “near to the sun,” it doesn’t equate with getting more light (or warmth). Why? Not really sure, except it has something to do with the tilt of the earth, which makes the sunlight spread more thinly over the northern half of the planet during that time.
Here’s some solace: There are only 199 days until June 21, the longest day of the year, when you might need blackout curtains in order to sleep (especially if you live in a place like Fairbanks, Alaska, which gets up to 22 hours of daylight!)
And while you’re here, feel free to leave a comment or share any thoughts or suggestions below.