How to manage seasonal depression

Lexington, Ky. (WTVQ) — With a decrease in sunlight and colder weather people may experience some feelings of depression.

UK Research Assistant Professor Matt Southward gave tips for coping with seasonal depression and beating the “winter blues.”

SAD or seasonal affective disorder can happen to anyone.

“It’s a condition that people can experience where they’ve been feeling down or depressed or have a lost of interest in things for at least a couple of weeks pretty consistently0,” said Southward. “So, some people have this often times during in the fall and winter. When days get shorter or colder, they aren’t with people that they care about as often. And so it can kind of bring on this kind of depressive episode.”

According to studies SAD affects up to five percent of the population. And around 200,000 Kentuckians.

Southward listed a few signs and symptoms to look out for.

“A feeling of lack of interest in things you enjoy; lack of energy; sleeping either a lot more or a lot less than normal; having thoughts of being guilty or hopeless or that things are really worthless.”

If you feel you are displaying any of these symptoms, Southward says there are some ways to manage it.

“There’s a few different things, so there are a lot of cognitive strategies, behavioral strategies and acceptance kind of strategies.”

This might include reminding yourself you’ve gotten through these kinds of things before, getting active by going for a walk or just moving and spending time with people you care about.

Southward says it’s important to remember, “This might be a condition that you’re experiencing is a way of saying ‘no this is necessarily my fault, this something that’s just going on’ and there are treatments that we have to address it.”