How seasonal depression affects students

While many people look forward to colder weather, snow, holidays and everything else that comes with the winter months, others begin to anticipate and experience seasonal depression.

Seasonal depression, more formally known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a form of depression that occurs at the same time every year.

Symptoms of SAD are comparable to symptoms of clinical depression and include low energy and motivation, trouble sleeping or over sleeping and suicidal thoughts.

Although people suffer can from it in any season, Elizabeth Joy, a senior medical director for wellness and nutrition at Intermountain Healthcare, told ABC4 that Utah winter especially can cause SAD.

“It’s dark, you’re not outside as much, you may not be as social and as connected to other people,” Joy said. “We kind of tend to isolate ourselves in our house and that all contributes to feelings of depression.”

Joy also said that Utah’s air quality could play a factor.

“When we have temperature inversions and we have a low atmospheric ceiling and all the pollution gets trapped in our lower atmosphere — That is independently associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms,” Joy said.

According to an article from Penn State, about 6% of adults in the U.S. experience SAD for about 40% of a given year.

“It can cause a great deal of distress and difficulties in functioning, both at work and in your personal life,” the article reads. “SAD is considered a mood disorder associated with depressive episodes and related to seasonal variations of light.”

The article also said young people, specifically first-year college students, are more likely to be impacted.

The National Institute of Mental Health found in a 2011 nationwide survey 30% of college students reported feeling “so depressed it was difficult to function.”

As college students and Utahns, USU students fall into that high-risk intersection.

Kaitlynn Anderson, a USU junior, has seen how SAD can impact college students first hand. She said she has a close friend who struggles with it.

“It gets really bad,” Anderson said. “She’s completely different in the winter time because it affects her so much.”

Anderson also highlighted how her friend copes.

“She typically starts going to therapy around that time,” Anderson said. “Once it starts warming up, she gets a lot better, so short-term therapy is good for her. That time of year hits her pretty hard.”

The USU Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, offers short, six-to-eight-week counseling sessions similar to those described by Anderson.

Anderson is aware of these resources and thinks they’re helpful.

“They’re very helpful in helping people deal with this type of depression,” Anderson said. “They provide additional help and find better ways to change the habits in their personal lives. Overall, I know they do really well helping people like my friend who struggles with SAD.”

The Penn State article also suggests other methods of coping, including changing your environment, trying out a new diet and staying active.

A USU Extension article by Eva Timothy, a professional practices extension assistant professor, further discussed how physical activity improves symptoms.

“Physical exercise, in whatever form you prefer, is one option for combating SAD,” Timothy wrote in the article. “Studies show that physical exercise caused a 50% decrease in depressive symptoms.”

Timothy’s article also encouraged people to get outside during the winter months and provided a list of possible physical activities to engage in, including skiing, snowboarding and sledding.

“Dress warmly and get outside as often as possible for your daily exercise routine, or practice in a room that gets a lot of natural light,” Timothy wrote.

Joy gave similar insight to ABC4.

“Try and make an effort to hang out with people and do things outdoors, get a little sunlight on the brain, that seems to help,” she said.

Joy also encouraged methods such as therapy and professional counseling for severe cases.

-Jared.Adams@usu.edu

Featured photo by: Kate Smith