Have the winter blues?
When it’s normal to feel down in winter — and when it’s not
Just like other animals, humans tend to slow down during the colder months, and it’s natural for a person’s mood to dip in the winter due to fewer daylight hours and colder weather, according to Psychology Today. While many of us feel the desire for more quiet time and sleep, when the need to hibernate keeps us from being able to work or engage with others, it may be time to find help.
With the solstice just behind us, the days are starting to get longer, which brings more light that may improve mood for those who are sensitive to the effects of winter. The solstice is also the official beginning of winter, however, so the turning of the seasons toward summer is slow. Despite an abundance of year-round sunshine in Northern New Mexico, winter time here, like elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, brings us many cloudy, cold and snowy days that can bring on the winter blues.
“There is a natural tendency for humans to slow down during the winter months,” said Dr. Craig Sawchuk, psychologist with the Mayo Clinic, in an interview with the Taos News. “After all, we are animals too. As the days get colder and shorter with diminished light, both the environment and our biology start to slow us down. Most people describe some form of ‘winter blues’ in which they feel a bit more tired, have a stronger urge to sleep, feel less motivated and perhaps just feel ‘blah.’ However, the experience of these changes and symptoms tend not to cause them problems in day to-day living.”
A local gardener in Taos who spoke with the Taos News on the condition of anonymity explained that her natural cycle goes with the sun, so her energy starts to pick up as the days get longer in mid-January. “I move mountains for months in spring. My energy keeps ramping up until the summer solstice. There’s so much energy then,” she said.
While her energy might be almost too high during this period, she starts to feel a decline as the days get shorter in July. By October, she said she enters a deep introspective mood until January — when the cycle begins again.
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
A feeling of low energy may be part of our natural cycle that we come to expect and manage, but if it becomes harder to navigate, it may be a sign of a more severe condition. “Shifting from feeling slowed down to the winter blues to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a matter of the intensity of the symptoms experienced and the degree of disruption that these symptoms cause in your life,” said Sawchuk. “SAD is very much akin to almost a hibernation syndrome: daytime fatigue, the urge to sleep longer (hypersomnia), carbohydrate cravings/loading, weight gain, loss of motivation, social withdrawal and feeling more down or apathetic. When it gets to the point of causing more functional problems (e.g., calling in sick to work, disengaging from family and friends, excessive sleeping at the expense of taking care of important responsibilities), that’s when it’s more of a clinical problem.”
He explained that Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of a mood disorder that has a seasonal pattern. The pattern develops over a period of two years and a person’s mood changes at the same time without external stressors, and the mood returns to normal at a different season. Although the most frequent pattern is a mood decline in the fall and winter, a small number of people experience these symptoms in the spring and summer.
Methods to boost mood in winter
The local gardener who spoke with the Taos News for this story manages her low energy by sleeping more and acknowledging physical, mental and emotional limitations. She takes hot baths and looks to herbs like St. John’s wort, a plant with yellow flowers believed to treat depression, but she cautions that this herb is not for everyone as it can be dangerous when combined with certain medications. She also tries to get outside in the mid- to late-afternoon before the long nights set in. She says that a short walk or just bringing in wood can boost her mood. “I try to socialize just enough to stay connected but not overwhelmed and it’s a lot of just riding it out,” she said.
Being aware of the effects of winter can be the first step in making a plan to help manage seasonal mood changes. Beyond therapies and medications, Sawchuk said there are a number of lifestyle changes and interventions that can be helpful.
“It’s always good to keep up exercise, healthy eating, and especially routine sleep habits,” he said. “Try not to hibernate and do keep a normal sleep-wake cycle going. When you get up in the morning, get the lights on, open the drapes, and try to spend time outside if possible. Natural daylight, even on a cold day, helps to wake up the brain. Make sure to keep up with social connections, as well to help offset the tendency to withdraw during the winter months. Healthy social supports are among our best natural antidepressants.”
Light therapy can also be an effective treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder. With advances in technology, lightboxes are much more sleek, portable and cost-effective. Most research suggests a lightbox with 10,000 lux intensity; the intensity of the light is important as that will dictate how long you need to use it each day (e.g., 10,000 lux = 20 minutes/day; 5,000 lux = 40 minutes/ day). Start using the lightbox about a week or two before the typical time of year your mood declines (e.g., mood decline usually happens at the end of November, suggest starting lightbox around mid-November). Use it within the first hour of waking up in the morning; have it positioned about an arm’s length away (or within 3-5 feet); keep your eyes open while using it but you can continue to do other things such as watching TV, eating breakfast or using a tablet. Keep using the lightbox throughout the season until your mood rebounds to its usual baseline.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that teaches people practical skills to better manage negative thoughts, withdrawal behaviors and difficult emotions. There is strong evidence that both individual and group forms of this therapy are effective in treating mood disorders, including Seasonal Affective Disorder. Skills take work to learn and apply, but there are no sideeffects of treatment and the improvements can be quite durable across time, experts say.
Antidepressant medications can also be helpful in the context of mood disorders, and it is important to talk with your primary care/family medicine team or a mental health prescriber to discuss options.
Winter well-lived
A Taos County man, who also agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity for this story, said he feels less energy in the winter. He points out that each season of the year has its own purpose, its own place. “If spring is a joyful time, if the ‘living is easy’ in summer, if fall is glorious and bountiful, winter surely is a time for grieving on some level,” he said. “It’s basic accounting, balancing the ledger; to everything there is a season.”
This may run contrary to expectations, however. During the holiday season, we may feel pressure to be happy and active in order to celebrate with family and friends. That pressure can be at odds with the need to be quiet and introspective, especially for those who have experienced a loss or feel some level of depression. But we may be able to start to find the right balance by reflecting on our personal needs and accommodating them to a certain degree.
Many people find joy and comfort in the celebrations of the season and the delights of staying inside and drinking hot chocolate by the fire — embodied by the concept known as hygge — a Danish approach to winter that emphasizes coziness, warmth and comfort.
And, as the light increases and the new year approaches, there may be a new sense of hope.
“I know it’s possible to really struggle through winter,” said the Taos County man who agreed to an interview for this story. “I wonder if, instead of so much focus on ameliorating the effects of winter, of trying to maintain some imagined ‘normal,’ if there aren’t strengths or advantages to being ‘seasonally affected.’ What can come of a winter well-lived?”
TOP: Most people experience some form of the winter blues, a natural downturn in mood during the winter months. But fewer daylight hours and harsher weather that reduce sun exposure can also cause what’s known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. The good news is that both are often easily treatable with changes to daily routines, like diet and exercise outdoors, and rarely require medical interventions.
To find out more about SAD and therapies, visit mayoclinic.org.