Winter depression is real and there are many ways to fight back

Carla K Johnson
| Associated press

As winter approaches and daylight hours shorten, people prone to seasonal depression may feel it in their bodies and brains.

“It’s a feeling of panic, fear, anxiety and fear all in one,” says Germaine Pataki, 63, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

She is among the millions of people estimated to have seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Her coping strategies include yoga, walking and antidepressants. She is also part of a Facebook group for people with SAD.

“I’m trying to focus on helping others get through it,” Pataki said. “This gives me purpose.”

People with SAD typically have episodes of depression that begin in the fall and subside in the spring or summer. Turning the clocks back to standard time, which is happening this weekend, could be a trigger for SAD. A milder form, subsyndromal SAD, is recognized by medical experts, and there is also a summer variant of seasonal depression, although less is known about it.

In 1984, a team led by Dr. Norman Rosenthal, then a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, first diagnosed SAD and coined the term. “I believe the acronym stuck because it’s easy to remember,” he said.

What Causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Scientists are learning how specialized cells in our eyes convert the blue wavelength portion of the light spectrum into neural signals that influence mood and alertness.

Sunlight is charged with blue light, so when cells absorb it, our brain’s alertness centers are activated and we feel more awake and possibly even happier.

Researcher Kathryn Roecklein of the University of Pittsburgh tested people with and without SAD to see how their eyes responded to blue light. As a group, people with SAD were less sensitive to blue light than others, especially during the winter months. That suggests a cause for winter depression.

“In winter, when light levels drop, that, combined with lower sensitivity, can be too low for healthy functioning, which can lead to depression,” Roecklein said.

Miriam Cherry, 50, of Larchmont, New York, said she spent the summer planning how she would deal with her winter depression. “It’s like clockwork,” Cherry said. “The sunlight is low. The day ends at 4:45 PM and suddenly my mood is terrible.

Does light therapy help?

Many people with SAD respond to light therapy, said Dr. Paul Desan of Yale University’s Winter Depression Research Clinic.

“The first thing to try is light,” Desan said. “If we expose patients to bright light for about half an hour every morning, the majority of patients improve dramatically. We don’t even need medicine.”

The therapy involves devices that emit light that is about 20 times brighter than regular indoor light.

Research supports using a light of about 10,000 lux, a measure of brightness. According to research, you should use it for 30 minutes every morning. Desan said this could help not only people with SAD, but also those with less severe winter symptoms.

Special bulbs cost $70 to $400. Some products marketed for SAD are too weak to do much good, Desan said.

Yale tested products and offers a list of recommendationsand has the nonprofit Center for Environmental Therapies a consumer guide to select a lamp.

If your doctor has diagnosed you with SAD, contact your insurance company to see if the cost of a light can be covered, Desan suggested.

What about talk therapy or medication?

Antidepressants are a first-line treatment for SAD, along with light therapy. Doctors also recommend maintaining a regular sleep schedule and walking outside, even on cloudy days.

The benefits of light therapy may fade when people stop using it. Research has found that one type of talk therapy — cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT — has more lasting effects, according to researcher Kelly Rohan of the University of Vermont.

In CBT, you work with a therapist to identify and change unhelpful thoughts.

“A common thought people have is, ‘I hate winter,’” Rohan said. “Reframe that into something as simple as, ‘I prefer summer to winter,’” she suggested. “It is a factual statement, but it has a neutral effect on the vote.”

Working with a therapist can help people take small steps to have fun again, Rohan said. Try to plan undemanding but enjoyable activities to come out of hibernation, which “can be as simple as meeting a friend for coffee,” Rohan said.

What else could work?

People with SAD have six months to develop coping strategies, and some have found hacks that work for them — even though there may be little scientific support.

Elizabeth Wescott, 69, of Folsom, California, believes contrast showers help her. It is a water therapy, derived from sports medicine, in which hot and cold water are alternated while showering. She also uses a light box and takes an antidepressant.

“I’m always looking for new tools,” Wescott said.

Cherry in New York dedicates a corner of her garden to the earliest blooming flowers: snowdrops, winter aconite and hellebores. These bloom as early as February.

“That will be a sign to me that this isn’t going to last forever,” Cherry said. “Things will get better and spring is coming.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.