By Megan Wehring
About 5% of the U.S. population experiences Major Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern (formerly known as seasonal affective disorder) in a given year.
Most symptoms begin in the fall and continue into the winter months, but they can also occur in the summer or spring for some, like Kate Hix, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) Central Texas.
“I get really bad insomnia, so I’m really fatigued all the time,” Hix explained what she goes through in the summer. “I tend to stay up later, and I really want to stay indoors. The heat feels really oppressive to me and it almost scares me to go outside because I hate being hot so much. I can absolutely imagine how it affects people who have the exact same experience but in the winter. For me, I want to get out of the light, and they want to walk toward the light.”
About 10% to 20% of Americans struggle with winter or holiday blues, which is a mild form of depression with a little bit of anxiety, according to Dr. Joanne Sotelo, division director of psychiatry at Baylor Scott & White.
There is a physiological component to the winter or holiday blues, Sotelo explained. Social components can include high expectations around the holiday season and for some people, it can get stressful with an overabundance of social interactions.
“The days get shorter, grayer with less sunlight,” Sotelo said. “It’s colder so we have less skin exposure even when we are out. Sometimes, it’s also believed that there could be an overproduction of melatonin which is part of what gets our energy and motivation down.”
“One of the first things is having the awareness that our mood is changing,” Sotelo said. “Then, [we need] to evaluate ourselves to know is this a little bit more than normal, I have to crank myself more than usual, or is it more serious where my mood is low all the time and it’s interfering with my functioning.”
Hix said there is a difference between having the winter blues and having a major depressive disorder. She added that NAMI Central Texas always has the same toolkit that it suggests for people, no matter what they may be dealing with:
• Do not self-diagnose: If you think you have Major Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern, talk to somebody.
• Maintaining a consistent nighttime routine by getting enough sleep.
• Checking in with yourself.
• Healthy nutrition.
• Physical activity.
• Do not isolate yourself.
“For me in the summer, and the winter is the exact same thing, the weather is not friendly to getting outside,” Hix said. “But you have to find a way to move. I will literally just do yoga poses in my bedroom when my kids go to sleep to get my body moving.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can now easily call or text 988.
For more information on how to get help and support, visit https://namicentraltx.org/resources/.
