Autumn’s arrival is a welcome change for many people who look forward to cooler temperatures, brilliantly colorful leaves and the approaching holidays. But often, this time of year brings something less welcome – the return of seasonal depression symptoms.
If you’ve noticed your mood and energy consistently decline as the days get shorter, the beginning of autumn is an excellent opportunity to start preparing. Acting before your symptoms worsen may make the coming months more manageable.
Seasonal Depression Is More Than the “Winter Blues”
It’s not unusual to have occasional low-energy days when it’s cold and dark outside. However, seasonal affective disorder is a specific form of depression characterized by a recurring pattern. Most people with SAD experience symptoms during fall and winter, though a less common form occurs during spring and summer.
Winter-pattern SAD can cause many of the same symptoms as other forms of depression, including persistent sadness, loss of interest in activities, difficulty concentrating and feelings of hopelessness. You might also feel unusually fatigued, sleep more than usual, crave sweets and carbohydrates or withdraw socially.
The onset of these symptoms is a vital clue. If you look back over multiple years and recognize that your mental health reliably changes around the same time annually, it’s worth making an appointment with a mental health professional.
Pay Attention to Your Early Warning Signs
Seasonal depression doesn’t emerge all at once. Your mood and behavioral changes can be subtle and gradual enough that you don’t immediately notice them.
Knowing your warning signs gives you an opportunity to respond sooner. Instead of waiting until your motivation reaches a low ebb and it’s hard to find enthusiasm for anything, consider what has helped you maintain your mental health baseline during previous years and what tends to make you feel worse.
Make Daylight a Priority
Researchers have identified a correlation between reduced daylight hours and lower serotonin levels in the brain, which may lead to feelings of depression. Reduced exposure to natural light can also affect your body’s circadian rhythms, or internal “clock.”
As daylight hours decrease, create more opportunities to spend time outdoors during the day. For example, you could try enjoying your morning coffee outside or going for a walk after lunch. Incorporate these activities into your routine before shorter days make staying indoors increasingly tempting.
Light therapy is another frequently recommended treatment for winter-pattern SAD. It typically involves sitting near a specialized box that emits an intensity of approximately 10,000 lux for 20 to 30 minutes every morning. However, light therapy isn’t necessarily appropriate for everyone, so talk to your doctor about whether it makes sense for you rather than assuming any bright lamp will have the same effect.
Protect the Routines That Help You Feel Well
Fall and winter can disrupt the habits you rely on to support your mental health. You may exercise less often, spend more time indoors, lose interest in socializing or gradually shift your sleep schedule.
Try to protect some structure as the seasons change. Maintaining consistent sleep and wake times, exercising regularly, eating balanced meals and continuing to visit with your friends and family can provide much-needed stability during a volatile period. Sticking to a routine can be a valuable component of your broader self-care strategies.
Children and Teens Can Experience Seasonal Changes, Too
Adults aren’t the only people whose mental health may follow a seasonal pattern. However, children and teenagers don’t always have the vocabulary or context to describe their experiences as depression. As a parent, you can look for red flags such as increased irritability, withdrawal from friends, changes in sleep, declining motivation, difficulty concentrating or a loss of interest in previously enjoyable hobbies.
Some of these changes are easy to attribute entirely to the school year, which is why pattern recognition is a vital skill for parents to hone. Consider discussing your observations with a qualified professional if significant emotional or behavioral changes keep reemerging around this same time every year.
Don’t Wait Until You Reach a Low Point to Ask for Help
If you already have a therapist, psychiatrist or other mental health provider, tell them you’ve noticed fall and winter have historically been rough patches for your mental health. Together, you can discuss these experiences and determine whether you should adjust your treatment plan to adapt to seasonal changes.
Early fall is also a good time to find a therapist if you’re not currently working with someone. Effective treatments for SAD may include talk therapy, light therapy, medication or a combination of approaches, depending on your unique needs.
Prepare for the Season Ahead
You’re not being pessimistic if you’ve recognized that fall and winter can be difficult for you. You are taking a responsible, preventive approach, using knowledge gained from previous years to take better care of yourself.
You can’t control when the sun sets or how cold the weather will get, but you can pay attention to changes in your mood, update your coping toolbox, preserve the routines that work well for you and ask for help before you get caught in the undercurrents of seasonal depression.
Pine Grove provides comprehensive treatment for children, adolescents and adults experiencing depression and other mental health concerns. If you notice a recurring seasonal change in yourself or someone you love, professional support can help you understand what’s happening and develop a treatment plan for the months ahead.
