By Dr. Michael Osit
Many people struggle with the winter months following the holiday season coming out of November and December. In fact, there is a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that can emerge in the winter months when the days are dark, have reduced sunlight, and have cold temperatures. The reduction in sunlight and shorter days in winter have been linked to chemical changes in the brain that may be the cause of SAD. Symptoms include sadness, loss of motivation, weight gain, oversleeping, and feelings of isolation. But you do not have to have SAD as a diagnosable condition to experience any or all of these symptoms. You can experience them to a much lesser degree and they can still affect your daily mood or functioning.
After the holiday hoopla, excitement, food consumption, gift giving and receiving, and spending time with friends and family (some of whom you do not see very often), there can be a post-partum type of response as you enter into January and the remaining winter months. The dark, cold, and shorter days can affect our motivation to go out and do things and see people. Feelings of isolation, sadness, laziness, and general sedentary behavior are often signs of the winter blues. Here are the following suggestions to prevent, or cope with, the winter blues.
- Since research has indicated that the reduction of sunlight in the winter may be the cause of SAD and the winter blues, light therapy can be a viable intervention. It is recommended that a half hour per day, before 8:00 AM in front of a 10,000 lux lamp 7 days a week can compensate for the lack of sunlight received during the darker winter months.
- Eating properly and healthily is always a key to good mental health.
- Regular exercise, preferably outside your home will also help.
- Renew or find a new hobby. This activity would be most beneficial if it is done with another person or group of people. Indoor racquet sports are an excellent example. Volunteering or finding a group that focuses on an interest of yours and that meets regularly is also another possibility.
- To combat feelings of isolation and laziness, initiate regular social plans with friends and family. Even if you do not feel like it, force yourself to connect with people you enjoy spending time with.
- Try to plan something in the future, but not too far in the future, such as visiting a long-distance friend, a weekend getaway, or a vacation. This gives you something positive to look forward to. It also provides you with a change of environment that can be refreshing.
- Talk about your feelings to a loved one or someone close to you.
- Seek therapy if you continue to have concerned feelings or cannot get out of your funk by yourself.
Dr. Michael Osit is a Licensed Psychologist practicing in Warren, and the author of The Train Keeps Leaving Without Me: A Guide to Happiness, Freedom, and Self Fulfillment (2016), and Generation Text: Raising Well Adjusted Kids In An Age Of Instant Everything (2008).