Coping with SAD

If SAD affects you during winter, there are particular things you could try that might help. You could:

• Make the most of natural light. It might help to spend time in natural light, for example going for walks, spending time in parks or gardens, or simply sitting near a window. This seems to be helpful if you experience SAD in winter.
• Plan ahead for winter. For example, try to make meals in advance and freeze them if you know you are likely to lack the energy to do this during the most difficult period.

“I try to get some natural light during the day just by being outside, maybe tidying up the garden or taking my dog for a walk. Exercise in natural light is really helpful but is not always possible.”

If SAD affects you during hot weather, there are particular things you could try that might help. You could:

• Drink plenty of water so that you stay hydrated. See Mind’s page on food and mood for more information.
• Look for ways to get shade, such as wearing wide-brimmed hats or sunglasses.
• Visit indoor places. Staying inside all the time could make you feel isolated. It could help to try doing activities indoors, like visiting your local library or going to the cinema.
• Plan ahead for summer. For example, try to avoid going outside at the hottest times of day where possible.

“I feel calmer and more relaxed when I have had a bath or a shower – no matter how quickly I am in there for. The same can be said for doing the washing up – it is a massive chore but I feel good when I can see the end result and also I find it takes my mind off the negative.”

It can be hard to reach out when you’re not feeling well, but it might help to share how you’re feeling. If you don’t feel you can talk to the people around you or you need additional support, you could contact a helpline such as:

• SANEline – support for people experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else. You can call them on 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm–10.30pm every day).
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) – support for anyone who wants to talk. You can call them on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm–midnight every day) or use their webchat service.
  For more options, see our page on helplines and listening services. Mind’s Infoline can also help you find services that can support you.
• Samaritans – open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to listen to anything that’s upsetting you. You can call 116 123 (free from any phone), email jo@samaritans.org or visit some branches in person. You can also call the Welsh Language Line on 0300 123 3011 (7pm–11pm every day).

“SAD is like a cold blanket that keeps depression and anxiety wrapped close to me. When I feel I can, I go outside and face the sun, close my eyes and focus on the light and warmth.”

You might find it helps to keep a note of your symptoms, including when they start and if particular things seem to trigger them, including changes in the weather. This could help you notice any patterns.

You could also make a note of things that feel helpful for you or which seem to make things worse. This can be helpful because SAD affects you at some times and not others, so you might not easily remember these details.

“I keep a daily diary and it’s helpful to look back over the years and see how each year I’ve felt the downward spiral starting.”

If you’ve noticed your symptoms follow a pattern, you may be able to work out when they’re most likely to start in the future. This may help you put things in place for those times.

For example you could:

• Try to re-arrange stressful activities or events for another time
• Plan relaxing activities that might help improve your mood
• Plan ahead, such as stocking up on things you need or preparing early for special occasions such as Christmas
• Try to make more spare time to rest or do things you enjoy
• Create a self-care box

Some people find it helpful to fill a box with things that comfort them or help them to relax. You could try including your favourite book or film, a notebook and pen to write down your thoughts or notes of encouragement to yourself. This can be a useful tool as it can be very difficult to come up with ideas to help you when you’re feeling low.

“December is dark but the festive lights and cheerfulness are an antidote and I now put up my Christmas decorations really early (1st Dec) as a way of coping with my SAD symptoms and stretching out the ‘fairy-light antidote’ for a whole month. However, when all the festive cheer has gone, I find January and February really tough.”

Peer support brings together people who have had similar experiences. Some people find this very helpful.

To find peer support, you could:

• Contact Mind’s Infoline or your local Mind to see what support there is in your area
  ask your GP for details of support groups, and if you live in England you can also contact your local psychological therapies service
• Look for details of groups through organisations like Depression UK and Rethink Mental Illness
• See if your local library or community centre has details of groups in your area
• Explore our peer support directory
• Try an online peer support community like Mind’s Side by Side or SANE’s support forum.

If you’re seeking peer support on the internet, it’s important to look after your online wellbeing. For more information see our pages on online mental health and peer support.

“I have a dawn simulator alarm clock which lights up gradually to fill my space in the bedroom with a glow.”

• Manage stress. It can help to think of ways to manage pressure and build your emotional resilience. See Mind’s pages on how to manage stress for more information.
• Try some relaxation techniques. Learning to relax can help you look after your wellbeing when you are feeling stressed, anxious or busy. See Mind’s pages on relaxation for tips you could try, or information on mindfulness.
• Spend time in nature. Being outside in green space can help you feel more in touch with your surroundings. See Mind’s pages on nature and mental health for more information.

“I get up early, wrap up warm, put on my pedometer and walk in the dark and enjoy the solitude … By the time people are up and about, I’m back home having walked a good few miles and feel so much better for it.”

Looking after your physical health can make a difference to how you feel emotionally. For example, it can help to:

• Get the right amount of quality sleep. For lots of people who experience depression, sleeping too little or too much can be a daily problem. Getting good sleep can help to improve your mood and increase your energy levels. See Mind’s pages on coping with sleep problems for tips to help.
• Think about your diet. Eating regularly and keeping your blood sugar stable can make a difference to your mood and energy levels. See Mind’s pages on food and mood for more tips.
• Engage in physical activity. If you find exercise a challenge remember that even gentle activities like yoga, swimming or walking can be a big boost to your mood. See Mind’s pages on physical activity for more information.
• Look after your hygiene. When you’re experiencing depression, it’s easy for hygiene to not feel like a priority. But small things, like taking a shower and getting fully dressed whether or not you’re going out of the house, can make a big difference to how you feel.
• Avoid drugs and alcohol. While you might want to use drugs or alcohol to cope with any difficult feelings, in the long run they can make you feel worse. See Mind’s pages on the mental health effects of recreational drugs and alcohol for more information.

“My eyes, skin, throat and muscles ache. I find it difficult to concentrate. I can’t take in information or think things through to organise properly and my short-term memory is unreliable at that time of year. Evenings come as a relief. I feel my muscles relaxing as the sun goes down.”

There are many different talking therapies that can be effective in treating depression. Mind’s pages on treatment for depression and talking therapy and counselling have more information on these treatments, and information on how to access them – including through the NHS, charities or privately.

“My energy levels fluctuated between autumn/winter and spring/summer. I absolutely dreaded the onset of darker days and felt that I was literally shutting down.”

You might be offered an antidepressant, either on its own or in combination with talking therapy. This will most commonly be a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).

Our pages on treatment for depression and antidepressants have more information.

“Antidepressants have helped to put me in a place where I was more able to cope with counselling. This required a lot of hard work and I had to accept a completely different way of thinking.”

Medication really helps some people but isn’t right for others. Before deciding to take any drug, it’s important to make sure you have all the facts you need to make an informed choice.

See Mind’s pages on things to consider before taking medication and your right to refuse medication for more information.

Mind’s pages on coming off medication give guidance on how to come off medication safely.

Some people say they find it helpful to use a light box – a device that gives off strong white or blue light – or a lamp, or an alarm clock that simulates dawn. This is sometimes called light therapy.

The NHS doesn’t provide light therapy because there is currently insufficient evidence to show it works, although some people find it helpful. More research needs to be done to establish whether it is effective and why some people find it helpful and others don’t.

Light therapy might not be suitable for you if you’re also taking St John’s wort, as St John’s wort can make your skin more sensitive to light.

If you decide to try using a light box or lamp, you may wish to discuss this with your doctor who can advise on whether it’s suitable for you to try. If you have existing eye problems or you use a light box regularly, it’s also advisable to talk to an optician and to have regular eye check-ups.

“Using a light box wasn’t perfect but the change was tangible… a real shift and I began to cope better with the dark days and didn’t have the all encompassing desire to get back into bed and stay there.”

You might also decide to try other treatments alongside, or instead of, talking therapies or medication. These might include:

• Complementary and alternative therapies
• Ecotherapy (nature-based treatments)

Your doctor may be able to refer you to some of these. You can also contact your local Mind to find out what they have available.

“I approached my GP and reported my symptoms but, as my antidepressant was increased, this just added another degree of sedation.”

Lots of people can find it hard to open up about how they’re feeling. One of the most important things you can do is let the person you’re worried about know that you care and that it’s ok to talk about what they’re experiencing.

Supporting your friend or loved one to seek help can be really important. It can help to remind them that SAD is a recognised condition like many others and that they deserve help and support.

You can read Mind’s information on treatment and self-care, and encourage them to seek help from their GP. See our pages on how to support someone else to seek help for more information.

“I can see my family members with winter depression SAD shutting down through autumn, until in winter they are prone to afternoon naps, shutting themselves away alone in a room, and a lack of interest in anything.”

If you’ve not experienced SAD yourself, it can be hard to understand why your friend or family member can’t just ‘snap out of it’. Try not to blame them or put pressure on them to get better straight away – they are probably being very critical and harsh towards themselves already.

It’s common to describe certain types of weather as being good or bad, for example talking about ‘good weather’ or describing rainy days as ‘dreary’ or ‘miserable’. This could make someone with SAD feel criticised or alone, so it might really help if you consider how you talk about different types of weather.

“Their self-esteem is very low in the winter months, particularly November and December as the days get shorter.”

SAD can affect people in different ways, so it’s important to ask what things they would find most helpful, and what has or hasn’t helped them in the past. They may just want your emotional support or there may be specific practical things you could do that could help them cope.

Everyone will need different support, and the form this takes can change over time, so talk to your friend or family member about what help they might find useful and what they feel able to do themselves.

“I try and recruit my partner in making the main meal a couple of times a week and freeze leftovers to reduce pressure.”

If you have some idea when their symptoms are likely to start, you may want to plan things in advance that might help. For example, you could schedule time to offer practical help, plan activities to help them relax or just make sure people will be around to offer support.

It may also help to avoid planning any activities during that time that they might find particularly difficult, and to talk together about what demands they can cope with – for example, you might decide to avoid having guests during difficult times.

“I try to encourage my winter suffering family members to think ahead and get helpful things organised for during their difficult time (counselling, light boxes, planned events to look forward to etc) before winter starts, while they still have the energy and ability to do so.”

SAD can cause people to feel very isolated, for example if they don’t feel up to joining in with social activities or they struggle to find things they can do during difficult times.

It could help to suggest things they might find easier to do – for example, in the case of someone who feels worse in hot sunshine, doing indoor activities like watching a film together.

“I try to encourage them to get out of the house during daylight hours. They can forget that anything like that can be helpful.”

It can sometimes be really challenging to support someone, and it’s common to feel overwhelmed at times. It’s important to look after your own mental health too. For example:

• Set boundaries and don’t take too much on. It is important to decide what your limits are and how much you are able to help them. If you become unwell yourself you won’t be able to offer as much support. See Mind’s pages on how to manage stress for more information.
• Share your caring role with others, if you can. It’s often easier to support someone if you’re not doing it alone.
• Talk to others about how you’re feeling. You may want to be careful about how much information you share about the person you’re supporting, but talking about your own feelings with someone you trust can help you feel supported too.
• Find support for yourself. The organisations in useful contacts are there to support you too. It could also help to explore peer support and talking treatments.

“I found that as the day went on I would literally want to get into bed… it was an absolute struggle to stay up and be sociable just with my family and often I lost the battle.”