Published in the Westchester Guardian, November 2014
My November Guest
My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds have gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reasons why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
Robert Frost
Even though the change is slow and gradual, it seems as if someone has suddenly turned off natures light and this is occurring before we even turn the clocks back one hour. How difficult this time of year with these months of darkness wreaking havoc on my mind as I experience more anxiety, cravings and restlessness. And the temperature has not even dropped, substantially. I have noticed these subtle changes and the sun setting a few minutes earlier since late August. By early September, I felt the end coming with the onset of Labor Day – the annual notice to savor the last remnants of summer daylight. It is all part of life’s cycle but that doesn’t make the seasonal changes any easier.
The Mayo Clinic defines Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as “a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD, begins and ends at about the same time every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Symptoms, caused by the lack of sunlight which affects the chemical balances in the brain, dissipate in spring or early summer with the obvious upcoming of warmer weather and light. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.” (See my article on April 25th, 2013.) My situation is not that extreme, but too many suffer with this issue that they did not bring upon themselves.
Some may feel as severe as Augusten Burroughs in Dry. “I’m lonely. And I’m lonely in some horribly deep way and for a flash of an instant, I can see just how lonely, and how deep this feeling runs. And it scares the shit out of me to be this lonely because it seems catastrophic.”
Mental Health America states that “SAD is a mood disorder associated with depression and related to seasonal variations of light. The “Winter Blues,” a milder form of SAD, may affect even more people.” Also, various organizations state that women are more likely to be affected with an age preference form 20 to 50. These symptoms include depression, (from mild to severe), irritability, agitation, anxiety, fatigue, cravings especially for carbohydrates and oversleeping. Signs arising from depression may include, but not limited to loss of interest in certain once enjoyable tasks, lethargy, hopelessness, sleeplessness, weight gain, a decrease in socializing and suicidal thoughts. Don’t hesitate to see your doctor if you have any of these symptoms and don’t be reluctant into inquiring about the mental health of other family members and friends. Other risk factors include your geographic location, family history and other mental health diagnosis within your family. One site states that four to six per cent of the population suffers from SAD.
In contrast, to debunk all prior research, PsychCentral.com stated in an August 2013 article with, lead author David Kerr of Oregon State University, in a detailed study reported, “The public may have overestimated the power of the winter blues for a few reasons. These may include awareness of SAD, the high prevalence of depression in general, and a legitimate dislike of winter weather. “We may not have as much fun, we can feel cooped up and we may be less active in the winter, but that’s not the same as long-lasting sadness, hopelessness, and problems with appetite and sleep – real signs of a clinical depression.”
Treatments of course vary and include light therapy, psychotherapy and medication. Light therapy uses exposure to a “light-box” that imitates sunlight and to be used for 30 minutes each morning. Per the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): “Antidepressant medications have been found to be useful in treating people with SAD. Of the antidepressants, fluoxetine (Prozac) and bupropion (Wellbutrin) have been studied in the treatment of SAD and been shown to be effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved these medications for treatment of major depressive disorder but any person considering treatment with an antidepressant medication should discuss the benefits and risks of treatment with their doctors. “
Personally, the most pro-active and difficult treatment – psychotherapy – uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Changing the brain, improving the mind, involves restructuring the way one accomplishes, or tries to accomplish certain goals and activities. I am trying, with difficulty, to adjust my activities, especially physical undertakings that used to occur in summer evenings and find new routines to replace the outside behaviors I so enjoyed. Last year I focused on jigsaw puzzles and writing which had some positive effects in reducing my cravings and irritability. Any method chosen especially, walking or exercising in the morning, will not provide instant relief by a gradual turnaround into some normalcy.
Other remedies I have used with variable success include leaving some lights on in unoccupied rooms (which really goes against my nature), making it a point to get outside whenever I have the chance, background noise from music to talk radio and exercising – taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking the long way home, using the car less, climbing the home stairs more frequently in lieu of regular exercise or maybe reviewing that gym plan as a viable option.
There are alternative treatments involving supplements, but these scare me because I have no idea how they may react with my diet and other medications and they aren’t monitored by the Food and Drug Administration. Other therapies which I do not currently have the discipline for include mindfulness, yoga and meditation, but may work for others. Resilience, common sense, friendships and a healthy diet aid in the battle for normalcy in these cold winter months.
I hope this advice from a consumer and sufferer will lead one to a more comfortable winter.
“Melancholy were the sounds on a winter’s night.” ― Virginia Woolf, Jacob’s Room
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Glenn Slaby Blog