Powering Through Seasonal Affective Disorder

It’s that time of year again: the time when summer transitions into autumn. While many are anticipating the re-emergence of pumpkin spice- and salted caramel-flavored beverages and bites to eat, the beautiful colors of the leaves, and cooler weather, others of us are struggling to adapt to the entire concept of the seasonal alterations.

For many individuals suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), it’s easy to overlook the positive changes fall [and winter] has to offer. It’s almost like our mind won’t allow us to see or feel anything but gloom.

Most people see peacefully-falling leaves; we see the death of once-green foliage. Many enjoy the placidity of the crisp, breezy air; we associate the chilling air with stillness and deep emotional pain. Some see the early-setting sun as an opportunity for more snuggle sessions with a cozy blanket indoors; meanwhile, the reduced hours of sunlight give us this feeling of emptiness and hopelessness, as if the daytime, which we desperately long for, will never come.

While severe cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or any form of depression, should be treated immediately by a medical professional, there are ways you may be able to manage such at your own risk. Although my advice won’t “cure” this mental health disorder, it may be able to subdue some of your symptoms to an extent.

Before reading the following, remember: many cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder (even ones due to physical causes) often have some sort of psychological exasperator that needs to be addressed, not just a physical one.

Feeling the Toxic Emotions

For many of us, Seasonal Affective Disorder is exhausting. Unwanted thoughts build-up, and eventually, it can become too much too quickly. Yet, we don’t know what to do with these thoughts. During those moments where we’ve let our negative feelings build up too much without working through them, we must be able to feel and express what we’re going through at some point.

However, the second we feel a negative emotion, our initial reaction is often to not just hold it in but to hold it back. We consider emotional expression weak, embarrassing, and repulsive. So, to shield ourselves of the potential judgment of others, we often lock our negative thoughts and feelings inside our head for a later time.

But unfortunately, the longer we let those toxic thoughts and emotions settle in our head, the more they “rot” and “ferment,” brewing into a bigger disaster. In the end, repression tends to hurt more than it helps.

While there will be moments where you may need to hold back your inner feelings, such as in professional settings, feeling it out — without enabling or encouraging a negative mindset in the process — is one approach to lessening the negative thoughts you feel with the season changes.

Talking with someone you trust about how you feel, writing down or typing out your thoughts, or indulging in a much-needed crying session are possible ways to let some of those emotions out.
As disturbing as it might sound, holding in our emotions is like holding our bladder. Eventually, both need to be released. The longer we wait, the more the pain manifests and persists.

Distracting Your Thoughts Rather Than Repressing Them

It sounds cliche, but distractions can work wonders in some cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Think about it: what do we do when a child won’t stop crying after falling and getting injured? Distract them with a song or small toy. So, why can’t distractions work, to an extent, for Seasonal Affective Disorder too?

One might think distractions are a way to repress our thoughts. In reality, using the right distractions in the right ways can be a method to both banish negative thoughts as well as replace them with more positive thoughts. But often, we manage these thoughts incorrectly instead.

When it comes to dealing with unwanted thoughts, the more we think about them, fight against them, or even encourage them rather than work with them, the more power we tend to give them. However, successful distractions work by naturally drawing, rather than forcing, our mind away from what’s causing us emotional or mental pain. And, if our distractions are positive, like watching a funny movie or playing an entertaining game, we can slowly change the negativity in our head to something more relieving.

Meanwhile, repression works not by gradually and naturally shifting our thoughts but by shoving all of our toxic emotions and thoughts into a box, taping it up, and storing it into a mental closet. They’re still technically there but shoved off to the side for now. After repression, we tend to be left feeling hollow, that is, until we take that box of repressed emotions out of the closet later down the road and start feeling them again. It’s a temporary coping mechanism, not a permanent one.

In fact, research shows that masking our emotions through repression, while useful in some scenarios, can not only hamper our emotional and mental wellbeing but potentially put our physical health at risk as well. Studies conducted by Pennebaker and his colleagues (1997) discovered that repression can suppress the immune system and, in turn, increase one’s susceptibility to a wide range of diseases, including cancers.

That said, depressive thoughts aren’t, and shouldn’t be treated like, an on-off switch. Rather, the goal should be to gently guide our mind to think on the other end of the spectrum by distracting and replacing thoughts rather than repressing them.

To distract is to acknowledge but not put your full attention to something with the goal to encourage change, but to repress is to pretend like it never existed as a so-called way to cope.

Establishing Positive Associations

Through classical conditioning, it’s been proven that you can form new, positive connections to a stimulus, even one you’ve already formed a negative association to. For instance, if cloudy weather is a trigger for your Seasonal Affective Disorder, it’s possible to learn how to form a positive association with that stimulus.

As you learn to associate certain aspects of fall or winter with positive thoughts and feelings, you must do so gradually to allow your mind time to adjust. Decide what it is about these seasons that you like the most (or hate the less), and find ways to celebrate and enjoy these particular things. From then, you can teach your mind to see the cooler seasons in a less unsettling and more comfortable manner.

As a specific example, if you essentially hate everything autumn has to offer but seem to like the changing colors of the leaves, instead of thinking of these leaves as beautiful yet sad, dying sheets of chlorophyll, shift your focus to think of the falling, color-changing leaves as a sign that something better is yet to come: loss of something old and the gain of fresh, new growth of spring.

Until then, “feel” the warmth of the yellow-, red-, and orange-colored leaves. Enjoy the therapeutic crunch of the fallen leaves beneath your feet. Stop during a nature walk, and photograph the sea of color provided by the trees’ chameleon foliage. Dress yourself in colors mimicking the hues of the leaves, feeling the coziness these warm colors have to offer. Try this approach with other stimuli as well. Even if it doesn’t work for you, there’s no risk in trying!

The best part about forming positive associations with something is that it doesn’t have to be specific like the latter. You can still form positive feelings towards seasonal changes based on new traditions you form, the events you encounter, and the achievements and positive changes you make during the season you find the most uncomfortable with.

Naturally, your brain will catch onto these associations and allow you to reminisce on these positive memories rather than the negative ones you’ve tied to these seasons.

In the end, the more positive associations you form with various aspects of fall and winter, the less you may despise these seasons. Eventually, you may even find that you love them. Falling in love, or even merely falling out of hatred and discomfort, with a season begins with baby steps and a conscious effort to make positive changes.

Please note: I am not a medical professional, but rather, a sufferer of Seasonal Affective Disorder of over a decade. Take my insights with caution; apply my advice at your own risk. Reach out to a licensed medical professional if you require immediate assistance.