The Chilling Reality of Seasonal Depression
As the famous UW-Madison autumn concludes, many students look forward to the holiday season, cozy nights, snow days, and a frozen Lake Mendota. The leaves fall, the wind crisps, windows shut, and workers drag inside their outdoor seating. For many students, it marks the beginning of a dark and challenging time.
Grace Koss, a former UW-Madison student, reflected on her time at UW and the anxiety and depression she experienced throughout the winter. Even waking up and seeing the grey skies was enough to turn around and get back in bed, and even going to get food was a hassle. “You’re not gonna go out. You’re just not,” she would tell herself when contemplating leaving the dorm.
The frozen lake’s chill, with the endless white skies of winter and waning daylight, leaves students vulnerable to a common mental health condition called seasonal affective disorder, also known as seasonal depression. The reduced daylight and the northern climate have students facing an extreme lack of motivation, social isolation, and negative moods, which are costly to their mental health and success.
Koss suffered from SAD during her first year of college and decided to transfer out of UW and head to her home state school, Arizona State University, where she would rarely encounter a grey day. She looks forward to her walks to class, studying outside, and seeing the sun daily. “It just automatically just kind of subconsciously uplifts, uplifts your mood,” she said.
For many people, there is no option to transfer to a different school, and for in-state students, the cycle of seasonal depression is an ongoing, expected occurrence.
Thailyr Perez is a sophomore at UW-Madison and has lived in Wisconsin her whole life. Her experiences prove that even people native to northern climates can experience the extreme mental health conditions it brings. The Midwest summers bring nothing but happiness for Perez. “I find myself obviously happier, wanting to be more motivated, do things, complete things when it’s warmer out,” she said. “And I just want to sit outside and do my homework and go on a walk, and when it’s freezing outside, snowing, gloomy, rainy, I kind of just want to sit in bed.”
All students need to know that there are options for treating and helping seasonal affective disorder and for students to take control of how the seasons affect mood. From products to routine changes, it is possible to have great, fun-filled winters. UW-Madison Associate Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry Jack Nitschke does clinical psychology research and counseling and has helped many people with seasonal affective disorder. He has had patients prepare for winter at warmer parts of the year, adding good habits and products to help them avoid their mental health tanking in the cold months.
Nitschke explained the different ways he could prepare people for the winter. “If they’re feeling good in September and April, you know, if they’re doing well, then the level of social contact that they have, I want them keeping that the same as they get into the winter and, or if anything, I want it increasing just a little bit,” he said. Making time for social interaction is vital to better mental health in the winter months. Regularly seeing your friends or family can help prevent isolation, which is common in seasonal depression.
Jack Nitschke explained that students need to find in themselves what works best for them and what brings them the mental health benefits they need. Throughout his career, he has proven that different methods, including social interaction and daily movement, which are more common in the spring and summer, need to be transferred and appreciated more in the vulnerability of winter. “It just shows that we can really work with seasonal effects. They’re real, but there are things that people can do. And everybody has their own, you know, specific recipe,” he said.
Happy Lamps are a fantastic tool for mimicking UV light and can be valuable in battling seasonal affective disorder. UV light “through the eyes leads to those beneficial mood effects,” Nitschke said. Vitamin D supplements are not helpful, as the UV on the skin is not as important as the UV you get in your retina. “10,000 Lux, 30 minutes a day, every morning,” is all you need, he said.
Perez suffers from an extreme lack of determination in the winter. “It takes so much motivation to get up sometimes and do things, even the smallest things like going to class,” she said. Perez emphasized the importance of social interaction and finding the motivation to see people who bring you joy. Social interaction in her life “ keeps me out of that dark hole,” she said.
Jack Nitschke advises UW-Madison students to remember their good habits in the summer and keep them going through the winter. “Keep getting out, going to classes, and keeping your exercise routine going on. If you like to jog, move it into a treadmill and find ways to keep it going. Keep your social contacts going,” he said.
When motivation is lacking, when school and academics are affected, you must pick up those good habits and put them to use. Nitschke said having a good routine and being the student you are in the fall and spring as much as the winter could save your mental health. “I want you to go outside, bundle up; you can do it. And I want you getting into classrooms; I want you interacting with people, I want you in lecture halls, I want you walking, all those things go a long way to preventing depression,” he said.
Many students, year after year, experience the harsh conditions and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and are being negatively influenced by the winter season. UW-Madison must educate students on options and ways to improve their own lives by taking actions that can alleviate mood changes, lack of motivation, and social isolation.
