5 Tricks to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal depression can be debilitating and professional help is crucial. But for the estimated 25 percent of us who experience a milder form of SAD (aka the winter blues), these strategies can help.
By Corrie Pikul
Photo: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Thinkstock
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Seek the Right Kind of Help
What you've tried: Waiting for your funk to pass.
Why it might not work: SAD is characterized by major depression that starts in the fall or winter and lifts (or remits) in the spring or summer. So it's possible that you won't feel completely normal until...April.
What to try instead: Rohan's research shows that cognitive behavioral therapy, a kind of talk therapy, can be an effective treatment of SAD. As part of CBT for this condition, Rohan says she helps patients identify things that they find enjoyable about the winter—hot chocolate parties, for example—and encourages them to do more of them. This helps them form positive associations with the season and allows them to engage with it instead of hibernating for three months. The predictability of SAD can be a bonus. Unlike major depression, which can be frightening because of its ability to come on seemingly out of nowhere, with SAD you have a pretty good idea of when you'll start feeling blue and can seek out a CBT-oriented therapist in your area to come up with a plan of action.
Published 09/19/2014
