It is common for students to feel dreary and unenthusiastic as the winter season approaches, and the sun sets early as if their day has already ended merely an hour after school. Although this feeling can be difficult to overcome, there are ways to make seasonal depression endurable.
Seasonal depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a mood disorder characterized by depression-like symptoms in response to specific seasonal changes. Many students suffer from seasonal depression, so it is not something that only one student experiences at a time. These symptoms typically occur during the winter in response to shorter daylight hours and the weather.
“The early nights in winter are tough for me,” said Samoria Claybron, OH senior. “I often feel more tired, and I’ll look at the clock to see that it is only 5:30 P.M., yet it’s already pitch black outside.”
The normal daylight cycle helps people understand the time naturally. Even though we have clocks to tell us the time, daylight is still important for our instinctual sense of time. Having less daylight can lead people to be more isolated and no longer follow their natural schedules, potentially leading them to oversleep or undersleep, which can impact their mood even more.
“I tend to get depressed [during this time] because I want to go to bed at 4 PM as it gets dark so early, but I do like waking up and being able to see the sun,” said Salma Assad, OH senior.
The lack of sunlight contributes to messing up schedules and thus affects people’s ability to function normally. Despite these times causing sadness, there are ways to overcome these symptoms.
“I cope with seasonal sadness in academics and the real world by having something to look forward to like Thanksgiving and Christmas which keep me going,” said Nella Bala, OH senior. “Something I also do to cope is watching movies with my mom, taking a nice hot bath, reading a book, and just getting cozy in my room.”
Some of the most effective ways to fight seasonal depression involve trying to keep a normal schedule despite the season’s attempts to stop such attempts. Some of the most powerful ways involve simply spending time with others.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to be motivated to socialize and go out,” says Jaclyn DiPasquale, OH counselor, and interventionist, “[but] if it’s possible, it’s always good to socialize and have that connection”.
Spending time in person with friends may be difficult, but it is very useful in the struggle to feel better during the winter months. However, while it is very important to socialize in person, there are some easy ways to feel better even while staying home.
“I would say any activities that would also help with general depression, or major depressive disorder, help, so trying to stay active [and] moving your body is important, making sure you’re eating healthy and eating a wide variety of foods, [and] trying to use other outlets, like whatever people like to do for fun,” says Anne Sweeney, AP Psychology teacher.
While the winter months have many hurdles to overcome, there are also many ways to deal with these problems. These solutions all revolve around keeping a normal routine but specifically include spending time with friends and family, especially in person, to help with social health, eating and exercising well to take care of physical health, and trying to use fun outlets for expression and entertainment. All of these combine to help form a net to keep people safe from whatever problems they will face over the colder months.
If you or someone you know needs help or wants to discuss mental health concerns:
Dial 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
This is my first year as a staff reporter on 42Fifty and I am a senior at OHS. I am also involved in NEHS, Best Buddies, and Reading Corner at the school and in my free time I volunteer at the Naperville Area Humane Society. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
My name is Monaco Tiffany. I am a senior at Oswego High School and Oswego East High School. This is my second year as part of 42Fifty. I am serving as one of the Managing Editors for 42Fifty. I am involved in the frc robotics team 2338 Gear It Forward.
You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication
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