3 easy ways to fight winter depression — and when to seek help

It’s been a brrrutal winter — even more so for people suffering from seasonal affective disorder.

SAD emerges during the fall or winter when daylight hours are shorter. While the “winter blues” might stir mild feelings of sadness as the weather gets colder, SAD is characterized by a persistent depression that lasts at least two weeks.

One of the greatest misconceptions about SAD is that it happens every year — and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Here are my three tips for combatting SAD and guidance for seeking professional help.

How to tell if you have SAD

SAD manifests in different ways. You could be sleeping more, or you could be sleeping less. You could be eating a lot or not at all.

People with SAD lose pleasure in the things that used to bring them happiness and joy. They’re less active and less motivated. Their mood has changed.

How to fight SAD

Fret not — there are a lot of things we can do to help manage SAD symptoms. 

First, it’s really important to eat nutritious meals. Some research suggests that highly processed foods might negatively affect anxiety and depression, so we need to focus on whole foods. 

Also, be sure to eat regularly. Monitor your habits to see if there’s been a change in appetite.

Second, some data shows that light therapy can be effective in treating SAD. Scientists hypothesize that it can correct winter circadian rhythms and boost the production of serotonin, the “feel-good” hormone.

You should aim to sit in front of a light box emitting 10,000 lux of light for at least 30 minutes each morning, ideally around 8 a.m.

But the optimal way to get light exposure is to go outside, even when it’s cloudy.

Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, which can significantly enhance mood. Plus, we know that 150 minutes of exercise per week has a great impact on anxiety and depression.

If you’re staying home and isolating yourself from others, you’re going to feel worse.

That’s why my final tip is behavioral activation. You should get out and do things — activities you once enjoyed — even when you don’t feel like it.

Let’s stop that depressive cycle.

When to seek help

If you’re worried you might be suffering from SAD, you should start writing down your symptoms and mood.

When were you feeling good? When were you feeling less than good?

Typically, we’re not very good historians of our feelings because we’re in our bodies. It’s helpful to get that objective data when we sit down and reflect.

One of the ways you can do that is to note your emotions throughout the day using a scale from 1 to 10. That way you can keep track of changes over time.

You should also ask your loved ones if they have noticed changes in your mood.

If people in your life say, “Hey, you know, you don’t seem like yourself, you’re isolating more, you’re staying in more, you’re not as happy as you used to be,” it’s a good time to seek help.

There’s never a bad time to seek help. If you just don’t feel like yourself, get an evaluation. The worst that can happen is they tell you you’re fine.

Thea Gallagher, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and associate professor at NYU Langone. She is also the director of wellness programs in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Langone.