There are ways to beat seasonal affective disorder or the winter blues. (ID 53222757 © Katarzyna Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Cornet

health

Darker months a prime time for seasonal affective disorder, winter blues

Dec 17, 2024 | 5:21 PM

The holidays are a stressful time for many people and they can amplify mental health issues that may already be present.

That’s according to Dr. Chris de Feijter, a certified counsellor and psychotherapist who is based in La Ronge. He explained the fall and winter months are a time when many people experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or go through the winter blues.

“SAD is a subtype of depression, but it is a specific subtype because it follows a seasonal pattern,” de Feijter said.

“It is typically between fall and the winter months when there is a lack of exposure to sunlight. There is something else called winter blues and the winter blues is more about also having a lack of sunlight, but people feel temporarily down at those times. SAD is more structured, so people are feeling down for weeks and weeks in a row versus winter blues where they will only have a mood dip once in a while.”

As the days get shorter in Northern Canada, there is less sunlight and people are unable to produce enough Vitamin D and neurochemicals like adenosine. Neurochemicals are designed to help a person feel somewhat more optimistic and sleep well at night. Adenosine helps people get enough momentum to actually fall asleep at the end of the day.

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SAD affects between five to 15 per cent of the people who live in the Northern Hemisphere.

“They lose interest in things they like to do, their appetite changes,” de Feijter noted.

“For example, they get an increase in wanting to eat carbohydrates and potato chips and things that they like. They often have a lot more difficulty with concentration, and they sometimes feel like they don’t want to do anything, so they start to feel somewhat hopeless or worthless. It can really impact everyday functioning.”

One of the main factors with SAD is extreme fatigue. People could have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning and will call in to work sick more often. When they do make it to work, they find themselves extremely drained of energy.

People with SAD could also have problems finding anything fun to do. They might give up other things like going to the gym, hanging out with kids or taking the dogs for a walk, for example, and it becomes a cycle.

Holidays like Christmas and New Years could be a compounding factor.

“The holiday season is great for some people, but it is terrible for other people,” de Feijter added.

“People have lost loved ones, people are struggling financially, and people might not have a place to stay, and they see other people have fun and they see other people enjoy Christmas. The Christmas holidays, in general, are already quite stressful for many people. If you add that on top of dealing with SAD or just the winter blues, it is going to make everything more difficult to get through.”

De Feijter mentioned during the last 15 years there has been a lot of research into SAD and there are three main actions people can do to find relief. Those include increasing Vitamin D intake under medical supervision, talking to others about their feelings or journaling about them, and the use of a light therapy lamp every morning for 20 minutes.

Light therapy lamps can be quite expensive, but can be given free of charge for those who qualify for Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB).

“That is a special lamp that emits bright light and it helps the body with creating neurochemicals and it helps the body with waking up,” de Feijter said.

“Those neurochemicals are needed to start the body in the beginning of the day and to release melatonin at the end of the day and it really helps people deal with some of that low mood.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com