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Hope for the Winter Blues
Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder
Dartmouth may be a wonderland in winter—but not for everyone. The season of cold and dark can be a difficult time for students afflicted with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
According to psychiatrist Mark Reed, director of Counseling and Human Development at the Dartmouth College Health Service, SAD "is a form of depression that comes on seasonally in the winter months, and is more common in northern latitudes than southern latitudes."
Dr. Reed says that most people who have lived their lives in northern climes have adapted to winter in one way or another. "But students who come up from southern parts of the country have never experienced anything like this," he says. "They've never suffered a depression, and all of a sudden their lives are turned upside down until they go home for the December break. Then they feel much better, but then they come back. Winter is just a really tough few months."
The main symptoms of seasonal affective disorder are lowered mood, decreased energy, significant fatigue, an increase in appetite, and the loss of pleasure. "If students who are normally very motivated, energetic, and interested suddenly don't feel that way, it can be very disconcerting to them," Dr. Reed says. When students get depressed, they frequently isolate themselves socially, "and that tends to create a spiral downward."
The good news is that Dr. Reed's professional staff of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric residents, and psychology interns is on top of the problem. "We do a lot of outreach," he says. "We're fortunate to have a great community here where students refer other students who appear to be suffering from SAD. We have a strong residential life program where undergraduate advisors and community directors make a lot of referrals, and we also get lots of referrals from faculty members, deans, and coaches."
Students diagnosed with SAD can borrow high-intensity lamps from the Health Service that stimulate the production of melatonin, a brain chemical that appears to be crucial to one's sense of well-being. Dr. Reed said that some students notice a dramatic benefit from the lamps within three or four days. The Health Service also provides counseling and medication as necessary, and in severe cases they will help students rearrange their schedules to spend their winter term somewhere warm and sunny during their sophomore and junior years. "Sometimes students can even get permission to be away their senior year if it's really an issue," he said.
Other advice for dealing with the winter doldrums? Exercise. "If students can get out and take a skiing class or go snowshoeing or do something to get themselves outdoors and in the sun, that can be helpful. Any form of aerobic exercise is good, and socializing with friends will help fight the inclination toward isolation."