Seasonal Depression

One of the benefits of living in Upstate New York is having four beautiful seasons. At the same time, Winter here is long. Living at latitudes above 38 degrees North is associated with increased rates of Seasonal Depression. Albany is a little over 42 degrees North latitude.

After the Fall equinox, we get less and less daylight, up until the Winter Solstice in late December when we have only about 9 hours of daylight.

I see patients with symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) starting in September or October, with symptoms peaking in January and February. Here is a good summary of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

Here are some of the things I do and recommend to my patients to help get through the winter:

Light therapy - 10,000 lux full spectrum for 30 minutes in the morning

We adjust according to how well it's tolerated and whether the person has unipolar or bipolar depression. Here is some information from the University of Wisconsin about using light therapy for depression.

Get outside - getting outside at any point in the day is going to help regulate your mood, energy and stress levels. If you can add exercise, such as walking, sledding, cross country skiing, even better.

Vitamin D - this vitamin is naturally created from cholesterol in our bodies when our skin is exposed to UVB light. In the wintertime most of us will need to supplement.

Enjoy the holidays your way - The holidays make getting through winter easier, but only if we are in tune with ourselves. If we overcommit, the holidays will drain us. It's ok to skip some events, it's ok to limit time with difficult family members, it's ok to say no to extra helpings of desserts or drinks from overzealous partygoers. You can't control what other people do, but you can create your own traditions that are special to you and replenish your energy during the holidays.

Socialize - Humans need social interaction to thrive and winter can be very isolating. Make sure to spend time around others, even if it's something simple like going to the grocery store, coffee shop, place of worship or library. If you can't go out, try virtual meet ups with your social circle.

Be kind to yourself - Winter is hard enough, creating time for self care and rituals that are soothing to you is important. This can include having a hot cup of tea, using aromatherapy, doing some self massage, cozying up with a good book or movie or something else; you get to decide what is a special treat for you. It's important to continue healthy eating and exercise during this time of year, but if we have a slip up, acknowledge, and move on with small steps to get back on track.

Medications - Sometimes at this time of year, all the above is not enough and we need an increase or an addition to our medications. No one's life is perfect and we can't always control everything in our environment to keep our depression at bay.