As the nights draw in earlier, it’s chilly and dark outside we might notice that we feel low in mood, withdrawing more from others or that we have lost our enjoyment in things. Research suggests that we can experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is a type of depression that comes and goes in line with the seasonal changes. This means, we may feel better in the summer months compared to the winter months.

How does Seasonal Affective Disorder feel?
Just like depression we can notice various symptoms including:

• Persistent low mood
• Loss of enjoyment or interest in daily activities
• Feeling irritable
• Strong feelings of guilt and worthlessness
• Sleeping more during the daylight hours, longer than usual or finding it hard to get up in the morning
• Difficulties focusing and concentrating
• Reduced sex drive

But…. Why might I have Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Unfortunately, there are specific answers for this! However, it is thought that the lack of sunlight might affect the brain which can lead to us feeling low in mood. This can be because:

• We have more melatonin in our bodies which is the hormone that makes us feel sleepy! It’s usually produced more when it’s dark as it signals to the body it’s time for bed.
• Reduced sunlight can lead to less serotonin which is the hormone that affects out mood and if we don’t have enough, we can feel lower.
• Our body clocks! Our bodies are very clever and uses sunlight to keep to a rhythm such as knowing what time to wake up, go to sleep etc.

How do I beat the winter blues?

This is our most common question and there are a few things that can help! Why not try a couple of our techniques to see how they help you to boost your mood and wellbeing.

1. Let the light in: As the evenings draw in and it gets dark early we still need lots of natural light. Why not schedule your activities during the daylight hours e.g. walking the dog at lunchtime, going out with friends and family. We can also open the blinds and windows to let natural light into our homes which has been found to help. Alternatively, using a specific lamp called a light box can help simulate sunlight.
2. Engage with our values & activities we enjoy: It’s important that we live our lives in line with the things we value most – to make our activities meaningful! We can start by writing a diary of everything we do in a week and notice any gaps or things that appear to be missing. We need a mixture of activities (things we enjoy, do routinely and things we must do). Creating goals and writing down the activities we feel are important to us can help us to boost our mood (we’re less likely to go through a vicious cycle) and keep our motivation going.
3. Checking in with our unhelpful thoughts: How often have you texted (or WhatsApp) your friend, you see they’ve read the message and not replied, and you then have thoughts such as “I’ve upset them” “they don’t like me”? It’s pretty common! These thoughts are known as unhelpful thoughts because they make us feel negative. What would happen if you didn’t listen to those thoughts? What would happen if you challenged them and did the opposite? We need to put our thoughts to the test and see what happens and then examine it. We can think of it as taking our thoughts to court – examining evidence for and against them.

Here at Lifted Therapy, we feel that everyone deserves to feel uplifted, supported and compassion, no matter what they’ve experienced in life. We know the winter months can feel difficult and emotional and we’re here for you and you don’t need to face this alone. You can contact us and speak to our friendly team to talk through what you’re experiencing and for us to work with you to find the next steps and to help you, feel more like you again.