Seasonal Affective Disorder Peaks

By Roberta Baker
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
LACONIA — The brightest time of year — filled with joy, giving, treats and happy gatherings — is also the darkest time, when sunlight deprivation kicks into overdrive and ushers in clouds of winter blues.

For many, icy winds and weather on top of shorter, darker days is the cue to start hibernating.

But not for Carol Nedeau. The 76-year-old Gilford resident who battles cancer and lost her husband six years ago knows better than to give into the temptation to hunker down at home.

Instead of battling sadness and isolation, she heads to the Laconia Senior Center, where she plays bingo twice a week and participates in a lineup of activities with others in her age group, including knitting and crocheting. It’s the social aspect, visits and friendships that reset her mood.

“Otherwise, I’d lay in bed and watch TV,” Nedeau said. “I have to get up in the morning and have something to do, and this is where I come.”

For many seniors, the holiday season is a mixed blessing, peppered with memories of missed loved ones. But no matter your age or personal circumstances, if you’re feeling dull or down, sleeping more, eating more, and lack the get-up-and-go you have during other times of the year, you’re not alone.

Each fall and winter, starting in November and peaking in early December, approximately 20 million, or 1 in 20, Americans struggle with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a seasonal mood disorder that comes from lack of sunlight. Also known as winter blues, this common, recurrent drop in attitude and energy is especially prevalent in northern New England, and it can last until March and April, when daylight returns in force.

Although the northernmost states across the U.S. are most susceptible to SAD, any region with a sizable shift between seasons is ripe for it. According to nationwide data, calls to mental health providers rise when Daylight Savings Time switches people’s sleep and wake schedules to shorter periods of daylight.

In a nationwide survey of number and frequency of online searches for seasonal affective disorder, seasonal depression and winter blues, New Hampshire came in third — just behind Alaska and Vermont, according to Nick Vin Zant, a senior research analyst for Quote Wizard, the health data gathering arm of Lending Tree.

“Cold weather can trap you in your area,” sequestering you inside, Vin Zant said. “It really does have an effect on people.”

This year’s season of darkness is coming after the wear and tear of COVID, isolation and family financial stress. Mental health medication use spiked in the past two years as more people experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression, Vin Zant said. Online searches for light boxes, one of the therapies recommended for SAD, peaked nationwide last month.

“If it’s cold and dark earlier, people talk about it and say, ‘I’m in hibernating mode,’” said Susan Stearns, executive director of NAMI-NH, the state’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Alaska and the New England states are always top contenders for prevalence of SAD, and our go-it-alone, suck-it-up and stick-it-out Yankee attitude may not help us get through it.

“Our independent nature can sometimes work against us,” Stearns said. Our natural responses to light and weather may make us want to spend more time alone, when socialization is actually needed, along with regular sleep patterns.

“It’s like a winter depression,” said Eleanor Leclerc, 84, of Laconia, who has volunteered at the senior center for 17 years, and now steers its activities programming. Although the center draws regulars rain or shine, winter drops attendance slightly, said Heather O’Brien, who manages eight senior centers for the Community Action Program—Belknap and Merrimack counties. Lingering caution post-COVID and chronic health conditions can keep seniors homebound, which doesn’t help their SAD.

“If they’re feeling depressed, we’re a bunch that will cheer them up,” Leclerc said. When bad weather keeps her stuck at home, she does a jigsaw puzzle or some diamond painting, her favorite craft. But nothing beats gathering, even if you bring your own hobby to do alongside someone else, she said. The senior center is “a godsend for a lot of people,” Leclerc said.

Although shorter days can sink outlook, not everyone is affected, or equally affected, mental health experts say. Those who already experience mental illness, including depression and bipolar disorder, can be particularly vulnerable to SAD, which affects all ages.

The actual number of people with SAD is almost impossible to estimate, because not everyone reports their symptoms, and chooses instead to muddle through it.

According to the American Psychological Association, to be seasonal affective disorder and not depression, the symptoms — such as fatigue, losing interest in things, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, food cravings and weight gain, and feelings of despair — must persist for at least two winters.

“More often than not, many people experience a degree of SAD,” said Nancy Morse, a therapist at Lakes Region Mental Health Center. In some ways, it’s part of the body’s biological and neurological signaling that cold weather is coming. “Many people aren’t in touch with their flagging energy and joy, and assume they just need to try harder. Therein lies the depressive aspect,” she said.

The fact that SAD is sandwiched around the holidays does not help. “The buildup to the holidays is so high and intense, and the letdown is so significant,” Morse said.

“When you feel sad, it’s hard to tell what it’s in response to, whether it’s some difficulty in life,” a genetic tendency toward depression or seasonal affective disorder, said Dr. Nora Janeway, medical director of Health First Family Health Centers in Laconia and Franklin. SAD is challenging for clinicians to track in terms of numbers or trends, and it’s most often the sufferers who identify it themselves.

“It’s more common in months that are cold and dark,” Janeway said. “In some ways you can think of winter depression as a form of hibernation.” A certain number of people struggle with depression and low mood and energy and notice that it downshifts this time of year. But having depression does not necessarily predispose someone to SAD.

“We’re awake a lot less when skies are light,” said Beth Vachon, public relations director for Lakes Region Mental Health Center.

It’s also important to recognize SAD’s not here to stay. Some experience it for two or three winters, then not again, Janeway said. It’s not a lifetime sentence — and symptoms can be alleviated through lifestyle changes, such as getting outside to walk in daylight, getting more light (from the sun or a light box) at the beginning of the day, engaging in more social activities, regulating sleep, and eating a healthy, balanced diet. Participating in winter sports can help.

“It doesn’t mean running a marathon,” said Stearns at NAMI-NH. A 20-minute walk outside can make a difference. “Getting outside even though it’s cold and getting the sun on your face does improve your mood.”

If depressive symptoms persist or worsen, it’s important to consult a mental health or primarily care provider, and get tested for your level of vitamin D.

According to national data, 42% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, which is involved in many of the body’s chemical reactions and can effect mental health, said Dr. Vladimir Jelnov, chief medical officer at LRMHC.

Vitamin D is created in the human body through sunlight and diet, Jelnov explained. It’s plentiful in fish, egg yolks and fortified milk, Janeway added.

“Paying particular attention to a healthy diet as well as supplementing with vitamin D are safe and easy things to do when someone thinks they may be experiencing season affective disorder,” Jelnov said.

It’s important to use caution when taking vitamin D in supplement form because ultra-high doses can build up over time and cause adverse reactions, including physical and mental health symptoms, according to primary care providers. It’s best to get your level tested, and work with a provider to bring it within an optimum range.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.