It is a cold, rainy, foggy and gray day here in Wisconsin. It doesn’t exactly put anyone in a good mood. In fact it causes many people to suffer severe depression or to have mood swings.

It used to be called cabin fever, but now there is a real diagnosis for this and it’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

It’s far more than being cooped up in your home, the cold weather, or not having energy. The lack of sunlight causes changes in people’s moods. I am one of them. It’s only recently that I’ve figured out the correlation between the two.

The Mayo Clinic has information about SAD on their website.

The symptoms of SAD are very similar to clinical depression:

• Fatigue
• No longer being interested in things you used to be
• Anxiety (could be anger)
• Social anxiety (for me this means being glad when I don’t have to leave the house)
• Overeating or craving carbohydrates
• Loss of energy

There are more symptoms than those that I’ve listed, but these are the most obvious. Weight gain is one of the symptoms, but it can be hard to tell if weight gain is from SAD or because we (the general public) tend to not be as active during the winter.

SAD is a true mental health issue. One of the causes of SAD is the reduction of sunlight during the winter. This is a huge trigger for me. Sunlight triggers the chemicals in your brain that affect your mood. During the winter we don’t see as much sun, at least not here in the Midwest. Looking at the ugly piles of gray and dirty snow when you are out certainly doesn’t help things.

Kids can suffer from SAD just as easily as adults. It can make for some very long days in your house if both kids and adults are dealing with this.

What can you do?

Light – If it is sunny outside, get yourself into the sunlight as much as possible. If it’s cold and you don’t’ want to be out in the cold, find another way. On one beautiful day we took a drive through a state park and I kept my sunglasses off. Some people use light boxes, or go to tanning beds.

Medication – You can try an herbal medication like Melatonin, or talk to a doctor about prescription medications.

Therapy – Find a therapist you can work with during this time. An internet search will give you many links for information about SAD and how to find a therapist or counselor that you can work with.

If you feel that this may apply to you, don’t be afraid to seek medical help. You are certainly not alone.

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