How to Cope with Seasonal Sadness — Balancing Bites Nutrition

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is no joke. I never really noticed I get the blahs until I moved to Pennsylvania. I’ve always lived in warm sunny states. During the fall, winter, and spring months, I feel blah and uninterested in most activities.

Our first year living in PA, I distinctly remember shoveling snow in late April, telling my husband it is not supposed to snow in the spring. I remember asking him why anyone would choose to live in a state where you had to shovel in April. I’m pretty sure I was ranting because we obviously chose to live in a state where I had to shovel in April. I remember being frustrated that I had to wear my winter coat at the end of May.

May!!! It’s ludicrous!

Now that I’ve lived here for four years, I know what to expect and those things don’t bother me as much. Unfortunately, I still get the symptoms every year.

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So, what is SAD?

SAD is a type of depression that occurs when the season changes. It usually affects people in either the fall/winter months or spring/summer months.

Symptoms

Typical symptoms include:

Feeling depressed
Loss of interest
Low energy
Sleep loss (spring/summer)
Sleeping too much (fall/winter)
High appetite (fall/winter)
Low appetite (spring/summer)
Weight gain (fall/winter)
Weight loss (spring/summer)
Feeling blah (fall/winter)
Feeling anxiety (spring/summer)
Difficulty concentrating
Negative feelings such as guilt or hopelessness
Thoughts of death and suicide

When to get help

It can be confusing to understand the difference between feeling blah and straight up depression. It’s best to seek help when you feel you need help and if any of your symptoms have been lasting for long periods of time and/or interrupt your normal activities and routines. Also, seek help if you are using drugs or alcohol to cope or you have thoughts of death or suicide.