What is seasonal depression and how to identify it?

In recent weeks, it has been felt more clearly how the temperatures have changed compared to summer. The sky is gray, the days have fewer hours, it gets dark early and you have to start getting your warmest clothes out.

Although this may excite some, as it means the winter is getting closer, there are also those who in this period are not having a good time and feel that their moods could suddenly change : sadness, bad mood and melancholy have become the norm for several months. In some cases, a seemingly simple activity like getting out of bed and being functional ends up being an almost impossible process to perform.

It is a phenomenon that has nothing strange and that can occur more than we think in the immediate environment. You may even feel some signs yourself. It is something that has a very clear name: Seasonal affective disorder (TAE), also known as seasonal depression .

It is a type of depression related to seasonal changes and usually always begins at the same time of year. In this case, it lasts for the duration of the winter months. It has also been identified that seasonal depression can appear during the summer months, but it occurs less frequently compared to winter and has other types of symptoms.

Sunlight deficiency is critical in causing this condition, as it has been linked to people’s serotonin levels. Paula Errázuriz, an academic at the School of Psychology at the U. Católica, researcher at MIDAP and co-founder of the PsiConecta Foundation, explains that “the fact that the days are shorter and that you have to get up several times without light” also influences .

Some symptoms are clear in people with this disorder and make it easier to identify, although it is always advisable to consult a specialist for a correct evaluation.

Luis Risco, director of the North Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the Faculty of Medicine at the U. de Chile, explains that the main signs are “bad mood, increased nocturnal sleep with daytime sleepiness and increased appetite for carbohydrates, mainly in the evening” . Therefore, the latter usually leads to weight gain and a feeling of constant fatigue.

Not all people are equally at risk of having it. Experts say those most susceptible are those with a direct family history of bipolar disorder or depression, as well as those who have been diagnosed with these mental health conditions in the past.

But in addition to these risk factors, there are also others that are more related to the characteristics of the residence environment, explains Errázuriz. As long as individuals live in more extreme locations having the equator line as a reference, either very far north or very south, they are more likely to face this problem.

Seasonal depression causes adverse emotional effects, thereby impacting other areas of life. Everything will depend on the intensity of the image, but if it becomes accentuated, It comes to compromise interpersonal relationships in family or friendship, academic performance and functionality at work, which can cause emotional suffering in those who experience this disorder.

“In more extreme cases, such as other more depressive disorders, it can cause people to not want to continue living and to take their lives,” the U.S. academic points out. Catholica.

Although the brightness of the sun is decreasing at this time and there are still months before this ends, all is not lost. Specialists suggest that there are different tools that can be of great help in better mitigating and controlling the presence of this disorder.

“One of the treatments is psychotherapy, which may or may not be accompanied by medication, depending on the needs of each patient” said Errazuriz. On the other hand is the phototherapy a technique in which the person is exposed to bright artificial light for certain periods of time in order to regulate serotonin levels.

For Riesco, the best thing to do is to try to bring natural light outside on days when there is more light. “It can be done by walking, hoping to expose yourself as much as possible over the course of a day. The most reasonable thing to do is to do it around four o’clock in the afternoon, which is the time when the light is the brightest. ensures.