SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
- lesliecochrane99
- Nov 18, 2023
- 2 min read
And Just Like That You’re Sad
by Leslie Cochrane, LPC @ CochraneCounseling.com
No more Happy Days? The clock just rolled back; the sun is not shining as bright or as often. Holidays are just days away, and suddenly you feel sad. Maybe a little depression like 'the blues' has begun, a sense of loneliness is lurking nearby or sad, dark images are creeping into your thoughts. This is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Darkness can breed despair. So how do you get your thoughts back on track to really enjoy what was once your favorite part of the year? To begin with, turn the lights on, specifically phototherapy lights. Light therapy mimics natural sunlight and should be started at the beginning of fall as a preventative. In light therapy, you sit a few feet from a special light so that you're exposed to bright light within the first hour of waking up each day.
Talking to a counselor is beneficial for everyone with SAD, especially when therapy focuses on psychological aspects, how your brain functions, social aspects, and how you interact with others. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy based on the idea that the way you think and behave affects the way you feel. Changing the way you think about situations and what you do about them can help you feel better. If you have CBT, you'll have a number of sessions, usually over several weeks or months. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a talking therapy where you discuss how you feel about yourself and others and talk about experiences in your past. Examining your past and your feelings can help you to understand if there is a reason for your emitional changes.
After trying light therapy and talk therapy, you may need additional help. Antidepressants are sometimes used to treat severe cases of SAD, although the evidence to suggest they're effective in treating SAD is limited. Antidepressants are thought to be most effective if taken at the start of winter before symptoms appear, and continued until spring. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the preferred type of antidepressant for treating SAD. They increase the level of the hormone serotonin in your brain, which can help lift your mood.
