Gloomy weather got you down? How to navigate seasonal affective disorder

Experts say the stress of the holiday season, which can be a difficult time for many for different reasons, can have a compounding effect on SAD.

For many Canadians, a look outside their window this week will reveal a gloomy sight. Grey skies are all too common in the winter months when the days are shorter than ever. So is seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), SAD is a type of seasonal depression.

“Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that occurs during the same season each year. It usually happens in the fall or winter, but some people may experience season-linked symptoms in the summer,” the CAMH website says.

Dr. Robert Levitan is the Cameron Parker Holcombe Wilson Chair in Depression Studies at CAMH and the University of Toronto, and a professor of psychiatry at U of T.

“SAD is a tendency for some people during the fall and winter, as the days get very short, to experience symptoms of depression,” he told Global News. It can have clear signs, Dr. Levitan said.

“(People have) feelings of fatigue, loss of interest in activities, social withdrawal. Another part of it is overeating. There’s a lot of people whose primary problem is that they crave carbohydrates and other foods and gain a lot of weight.”

He added, “(Symptoms include) oversleeping, overeating, feeling sluggish, not being able to get going in the morning and then negative thinking. For some people, it can even get into suicidal thinking if they have other risk factors for depression.”

The Canadian Psychological Association says SAD or Depression with Seasonal Pattern is a condition that comes and goes based on seasonal changes, appearing in the fall and going away in the spring/summer.