Seasonal Change and Its Effect on Mental Health

Sometimes it may seem obligatory to enjoy fall. Everyone talks about sweater weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and rain boots. However, if you struggle with seasonal changes, you could feel isolated. The shift to fall and the adjustment to winter are, in fact, difficult for many people. Understanding why seasonal changes might be challenging will help you develop plans to improve this season.

However, let’s say you believe that your mental health is being affected by seasonal change and is thus interfering with how you live your life. If so, you should seek the help of a medical or mental health expert to address the underlying source of the problem. If your doctor prescribes medicine, you may get genuine medications from zolpidemonlineuk for a fair price.

Your mental health is impacted by several circumstances, including the weather. Although you have no control over the weather, you may educate yourself on how it could affect you. Additionally, you can learn coping mechanisms for their detrimental impacts on your mental health.

What is seasonal affective disorder?

Seasonal affective disorder is an illness that affects 5% of Americans each year. Seasonal depression is known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Even though some people have SAD throughout the summer, physicians do not fully understand what causes it. They speculate that it may be connected to variations in outside light levels. SAD improves with the changing of the seasons, but it can also result in depression for months at a time, ranging from moderate to incapacitating.

The good news is that light therapy, outdoor activities, and occasionally medicine are effective treatments for SAD. Seasonal affective disorder may be to blame if you notice your mood changes yearly or if you’ve observed that you can’t get into the season this fall.

How seasonal changes affect mental health

Falling back entails receiving an additional hour. A significant portion of the day will also be spent in darkness. Researchers are learning more and more about how Daylight-Saving Time impacts physical and emotional health. Parents may have to get up earlier since their child’s routines will be disrupted. There will be greater darkness during the day for everyone. When a person has a seasonal affective disorder, this increases their chance of developing depression. It may also make it harder to get vitamin D, whose primary source is sunshine. Many fundamental body functions depend on adequate vitamin D consumption, and depression has been related to vitamin D deficiency.

Daylight Saving Time equates to decreased exposure to natural sunshine. Cold temperatures can exacerbate this problem, especially in northern locations. This can affect circadian rhythms and raise the risk of depression. Even those who are not sad sometimes feel more worn out and hopeless throughout the winter. Some people’s food intake and degree of hunger may change due to inadequate daylight. Therefore, weight gain around the holidays may result from hunger signals coming from your brain rather than just an excess of pumpkin pie.

Everybody’s calendar begins to fill up with holidays as summer turns into fall, including Rosh Hashanah, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Although enjoyable, holidays can require labour. It may be challenging to keep up with your friends, family, and neighbours while trying to look to be having fun. There are numerous parties to attend, decorations to buy, dinners to prepare, and presents to buy. If you skip anything, you could feel bad that the season isn’t magical enough. But if you do it all, you’ll only collapse from fatigue and distress. It may seem like a losing proposition.

Therefore, cut yourself some slack and prioritise your mental health by resting and charging yourself to meet the demands of the season. 

Furthermore, some tips are provided below to help you deal with seasonal changes.

Tips for managing your mental health during seasonal change

Seasonal changes do not inevitably bring about stress. It is a result of the lifestyle that many of us choose. Thus, it may be altered. Therapy may be a strong ally for persons who are struggling with seasonal affective disorder, severe stress, or family strife. Medication could also be beneficial, mainly when mild stress develops into severe depression. Here are some other tactics to aid with survival:

1. Creating a season-specific priority list. Avoid caving to pressure. Do what you truly like doing and ignore the rest.
2. Spending some outdoors or seated beneath a sunlamp to receive much natural light.
3. Keeping to a regular schedule despite the temptation to sleep in brought on by chilly weather.
4. Creating your family customs, especially if you don’t get along with your extended family.
5. Looking after your body. Work out at least 30 minutes daily, five days a week. Get lots of rest and eat a variety of healthful meals.
6. Volunteer for a local cause to take action.
7. Participate in political or environmental groups to reach out to others.
8. Informal contact with those who share your views.
9. Put issues in perspective and make it a habit to think positively.
10. Use nature as a therapeutic getaway.
11. Consider taking a warm bath during winter.
12. Start meditating with awareness.
13. Develop a sense of resilience inside yourself.
14. Enlist the aid of a therapist or counsellor for mental health.

It’s the minor steps that make the most significant difference. So even if you’ve struggled with seasonal changes in the past, this one could be easier. Make the transition to fall and winter your favourite season of the year by taking the time to look after your mental health.

The Bottom Line

This winter, extend yourself some grace and practice self-kindness. Build a garden, engage in spiritual or religious pursuits, create a home theatre, or engage in whatever activity makes you happy.

Remember that winter will only continue for a while. After the winter season ends, daylight increases, so persevere, take care of yourself, and request help if you need it by connecting with your loved ones.