While our days are growing longer, it won’t be until after Daylight Saving Time in March until we start seeing sunsets after 6:00 p.m.
The lack of daylight hours this time of year and the cold weather are big contributors to Seasonal Affective Disorder. It’s a form of depression that occurs during the winter.
Jessica Schaefer is a licensed clinical therapist with Aspirus Health. She says it’s the perfect combination for our energy levels to be depleted.
“When we have that combination of our energy is low, our mood is low, what we start to do is we start to do less, right? So, we're less engaged. We're not keeping up with our routine. We're not keeping up with enjoyable activities, or we're not socializing as much. We kind of just shut down in general,” said Schaefer.
There are things people can do to turn that around.
Schaefer recommends moving more. Even just trying to increase daily steps can help.
She encouraged people to make plans with friends and get out of a cycle of going to work or school and then back home.
Pushing yourself to try new things can also help. This can range from trying a new recipe to planning a trip.
“Those things can start to increase our energy, increase kind of those feel good chemicals, and we can start activating different emotions, besides just feeling low, feeling flat, you know that sadness that kind of comes with the season,” said Schaefer.
If feelings of hopelessness persist or last more than a couple weeks, Schaefer says people can also get medical help.
She recommends going to your regular provider first and talking to them about being referred to a therapist or counselor.
Support for local health coverage on WXPR is brought to you in part by a grant from the Rhinelander Health Foundation.
