BEAUTY + WELLNESS
TACKLING
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER
IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC WRITTEN BY
Samra Karamustafic Find out how you can alleviate the effects of seasonal affective disorder this winter season— even during a pandemic.
W
hat comes to mind when you
The disorder has garnered more attention in the
think of the winter season? Is
past few years, especially among teens and young
it cups of hot cocoa, Christmas
adults on various social media platforms such as
music on the radio, or streets lined with twinkling white lights and colorful decorations? Or is it a time of fatigue,
Twitter and YouTube. It’s not uncommon to see your
sluggishness, and minimal to no exposure to sunlight?
users suffering from SAD the moment that Daylight
While many of us anticipate the joy of the holiday
Savings ends. In fact, according to the Cleveland
season the moment that November 1st rolls around,
Clinic, approximately half a million people in the
others prepare themselves for the inevitable end of
U.S. suffer from winter seasonal affective disorder.
Daylight Savings Time, which means shorter days and
With that being said, roughly 10 to 20% suffer from
the possible onslaught of seasonal affective disorder.
the “winter blues”, which is a milder form of winter
But what exactly is seasonal affective disorder?
SAD. Doctors and researchers have yet to find the
According to the National Institute of Mental
exact cause of this disorder, but there are three main
Health, seasonal affective disorder, also known as
theories that the Cleveland Clinic outlines on their
“seasonal depression” or “SAD”, is a type of de-
website:
pression where the individual experiences mood and behavioral changes when the seasons change. There are two different types of SAD: winter-pattern and summer-pattern SAD. As you can tell by the name, symptoms of winter-pattern SAD typically begin in late fall or early winter and go away during the spring or summer; with summer-pattern SAD (which is less common) individuals begin experiencing symptoms in late spring or early summer, which then end in the fall.
31 | VINDICATOR
favorite YouTuber posting a video about their triedand-true tips to manage SAD or to see memes about
Sunlight Many believe that SAD can be set off by changes in the availability of sunlight, especially for individuals who are particularly vulnerable to such changes. Some doctors and researchers believe that due to the lessened exposure to sunlight, a person’s internal biological clock—the one that regulates hormones, sleep, and mood—shifts. Thus, someone with SAD would encounter irregular sleeping patterns and mood changes.
