Coping with Seasonal Effective Disorder

Since it is SUCH a wonderfully, terribly gloomy day today, I thought I'd discuss my experience with Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD). First off, what is it? It's just as it sounds. It's a depression related to the changes in season, usually occurring in late Fall through Winter, although people may also feel affected in Spring and Summer. Since I don't personally experience Spring or Summer SAD, I will focus on the Winter months in which my stress levels are at an all time high. 

What causes SAD? Research has found that the lack of light may have the following affects on the body: reduced serotonin levels, increased melatonin levels, vitamin D deficiency, and a distruption in the body's circadian rhythm (your body's natural rhythm.) 

Before I knew what Seasonal Affective Disorder was, I simply thought I was going insane. I would wake up one day ridden with helplessness...no energy or desire to do anything, a deep, bottomless depression. Since I already have severe anxiety to begin with the severe increase in these negative emotions heightened feels almost unbearable. With the aid of medication, a healthy diet, exercise, oils, and yoga, I am usually able to keep my anxiety at homeostasis. However, when the change of season comes and it's weeks upon weeks without the sun, panic attacks sneak out of the woodworks, the world is against me, I don't belong, and thing could never possibly get better. In the past, I've packed on the pounds; looking for comfort in food. When I was living on my own, this didn't happen. I was too afraid to leave the house, in fear of having a panic attack, that I would snack on a can of beans and some macaroni collecting dust in the cabinets. I know I am in the depths of depression and SAD when I sleep the entire day. It's so much easier to sleep than to have to experience the real world.  

Isn't it wonderful that the holidays happen in winter??? Isn't it enough stress just having to balance out family troubles, finding the perfect gifts, finding the money for said gifts....? I've missed several holiday family get togethers in the past because of my anxiety being at such a high, further alienating me and my relationships with my family and friends. Awesome. Depression is such a difficult thing to explain to people who haven't experienced it first hand. In my experience, many people often just think you're being anti-social and therefore resent you. They just can't imagine that something so "insignificant as a couple of clouds" can make you lock yourself inside.

I've known a lot of people chalk it up to the "winter blues" and brush it off, truly believing it's just something you need to power through. As if we don't feel worthless and misunderstood enough as it is. Well, the good news is: this is a real thing; a very real thing and you are very much not alone. 

So, this post is titled "COPING with Seasonal Effective Disorder", isn't it? Let's get to what I find works for me. I have one of those huge, wonderful sun lamps that emits an ultra bright light that mimics the sun, regulating your brain chemicals. Quite honestly, I've sat in front of this maybe a total of three times. I'm the type of person who likes to see instant results and gets extremely defeated when I see I don't get instant validation. I really should dig up my light therapy box, though. It works for SO many people and it is a therapy that without a doubt needs time to build up in your system. 

I find that when I push myself to go for a walk outside, no matter how gloomy, the fresh air has such a soothing affect on me. The sun is technically still out, so although significantly lower than in the Spring and Summer months, you still get a dose of vitamin D, which increases those wonderful serotonin levels, causing a little mood boost or pep in your step. If it's warm enough, I'll take my socks off and dig my feet into the ground. When it's too cold, I'll quite literally hug a tree; whatever I feel connects me to the earth. This is by far the greatest therapy for myself. 

I also rely on essential oils for a mood boost, balance, or relaxation. Citrus oils such as wild orange, lemon, and grapefruit are great mood lifts. Earthy oils such as cypress and juniper berry are extremely grounding for those of us who can't get out of our heads. And the mother of all oils, lavender, is an oil a rely on all year round to calm my nerves. I apply the oils to the bottoms of my feet, the back of my neck, and my wrists, areas where the oils are quickly absorbed into the body.  

To manage my general depression, I do take medication. I often pop a beta blocker in the winter months when things are particularly unbearable. One day, I would very much like to discuss anti-depressents and SSRIs and the shame and stigma often attached to it. After sixteen years, I can finally say that I take SSRIs without fear of being judged or "weak." Medications simply help those with severe chemical imbalances in the brain. Trust me, I've tried so many holistic therapies, and while they all have their place, none of them have been able to give me an iota of the relief I get from Prozac and Klonopin. Prozac Princess for life. 

Other therapies I've found that have helped me include the tapping technique, yoga and pranayama, EMDR, hypnotherapy, and medicinal herbs including Ashwaganda and Kava Kava (gesundheit.)

So there it is. My experience and coping mechanisms associated with Seasonal Effective Disorder in a nutshell. I would love to hear from you. Do you suffer from SAD? What has or hasn't worked for you?