By Rose Bialk
The end of October brings with it what I consider to be the most difficult part of the year. ’Tis the season for gloomy skies and copious deadlines, with Thanksgiving break still a tantalizing two weeks away. Thanks to the recent end of daylight saving time, Portland will not see another sunset later than 5 p.m. until the start of next semester, which can turn the long-gone cozy fall vibes of September into an inescapable pit of existential dread.
As a Californian transplant, I always thought Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately acronymized as SAD) was like a reindeer; supposedly real, but closer to Santa Claus than gravity in terms of its impact on my life. However, since arriving at Lewis and Clark, I have experienced two bitingly cold winters and a record-breaking ice storm, and have found SAD to be anything but mythological.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), millions of Americans experience SAD, or seasonal depression, with many more likely experiencing undiagnosed symptoms.
Until very recently, I thought seasonal depression was largely due to being perpetually cooped up indoors. While that certainly does not help, symptoms are caused by chemical changes in the brain and body with the change of the season.
According to the NIMH, one such chemical is melatonin, which is a sleep-cycle-regulating hormone. Your body produces melatonin when it is dark outside, so decreased sunlight hours in the winter can result in an over-production of melatonin, resulting in fatigue and oversleeping. Along with that, a lack of exposure to UV rays from sunlight can contribute to a decrease in the production of vitamin D and mood-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin.
These chemical imbalances can lead to depression symptoms including feelings of sadness, hopelessness and restlessness, difficulties with concentration and motivation, changes in sleep or appetite, fatigue, and social withdrawal, to name a few.
This conglomeration of sudden chemical changes can be extremely difficult to cope with, especially given its mysterious lack of connection to anything in your personal life. I think there is something very poetic about our bodies responding so predictably to the cycles of the natural world, but that is for me to explore in my creative writing classes. For now, I will offer some of my hard-earned insight and advice for what is expected to be a snowier and colder-than-average winter.
First, I want to assure you that winter is hard, and it is not just you. Whether or not you meet specific diagnostic criteria, cold, dark days and busy academic schedules weigh on many students. Struggling through this time is not due to any lack of scholarly prowess on your part. Many people (including yours truly!) have a hard time with this season.
There are some relatively small things you can do to care for your health and mood. As mentioned, vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter and can contribute to depression symptoms. Iron deficiency can also contribute to symptoms, a significant finding as one in three Americans are iron deficient, with vegetarians and vegans and those who menstruate being especially vulnerable. A slew of other vitamin deficiencies including magnesium, zinc, calcium and B vitamins have also been linked to depression symptoms.
All this goes to say that a multivitamin could be highly beneficial to your health if you are not already taking one. As far as medical interventions go, this could give you a lot of bang for your buck, especially considering that you can take vitamins as gummies. If all medication came in treat form, I truly believe we would live in a healthier world.
There is plenty of evidence suggesting that a UV lamp can be an effective treatment, but be sure you pick the right one and are using it correctly. These lamps are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so you will have to do some digging. A clinically effective lamp should have a brightness of at least 10,000 lux and should be used daily for 30 minutes before 8 a.m.
Finally, I would like to share some anecdotal advice, which is not medically backed by any means but that I have found to be quite useful for myself and others.
That said, if you find yourself routinely struggling with attendance, deadlines or other academic responsibilities, consider visiting the Office of Student Accessibility. I will be the first to acknowledge that it is not a perfect system (see my lengthy Opinion article on the topic), but accommodations can be a huge relief even if they are not a cure-all.
Talk to your professors. It is always better to be upfront and communicative, especially when you are struggling, and I have never been punished for admitting that I am behind and in need of support. It takes a lot of maturity and courage to admit you need help. But, it does get easier with practice and is always better than hiding.
There are tons of generic mental health tips I could list, but what I personally find to be most important is to be gentle with yourself. It is ok to not be as productive as you would like to be, or even as productive as you were a month ago. Try to take each day as it comes; celebrate days that are easier and try not to punish yourself for the harder ones. This is by no means a simple task and is something that I am still learning how to do myself, but the way you talk to yourself matters. Give yourself grace and kindness. It goes a longer way than you would think.
Finally, I implore you to reach out to people. Call your family (seriously, when was the last time you called your family?). Try to tell your friends how you are doing, because even if they can not fix it for you, having someone in your corner rooting for you makes a difference. Lean on other people, and when you are able, be there for them to lean on you.
Seasonal depression is real, it is common and it is brutal. Chemical changes in your brain and body coincide with ramped-up school work, which creates a vicious cycle of stress and exhaustion. At the risk of spouting cliche, I hope to impress upon you that you are not at fault and you are not alone in feeling the strain of the season.
Take care of each other. Take care of yourself. And if nothing else, there are only two more weeks until Thanksgiving, and we will make it through together until then.
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