Winter months can be a mixed bag: Even as we mingle with friends and family, some also struggle with financial stress or mixed emotions about a recent loss or change in family dynamics. But there’s another silent winter impostor that can cast a cloud over the holidays, and linger long after: Seasonal Affective Disorder, or appropriately, SAD.

December is Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Month, but the depressive symptoms that characterize winter-pattern SAD can also occur in spring and summer months, although it’s less common. The common denominator is that SAD is seasonal, specific to the onset of the winter or summer season.

What SAD is – and what it isn’t

Many people get “winter blahs” or feel a bit blue as the days grow shorter and seasonal cold weather sets in for many. SAD goes beyond that and can affect not just how a person feels, but also how they think and behave. Women tend to experience SAD more than men, as well as those living in the northern U.S. Those with bipolar disorder also have an increased risk of SAD.

Symptoms of SAD

It can be easy to mistake SAD symptoms with the occasional mood fluctuations people often experience. Some may also characterize it as “holiday blues,” with loved ones coming and going or changes in normal schedules and routines. It’s important to note that SAD is specifically related to changes in daylight hours – not calendar events. Symptoms include:

• Feeling persistently sad or anxious most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks.
• No longer finding enjoyment in activities that usually bring joy.
• Withdrawing socially (“hibernating”).
• Having feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, helplessness, pessimism, or guilt.
• Experiencing low energy and fatigue, feeling sluggish.
• Changing sleep patterns.
• Overeating, craving carbohydrates, unplanned weight gain or loss.
• Increasing irritability and frustration.
• Feeling restless, finding it difficult to concentrate, remember things, or make decisions.
• Wondering if life is worth living or having thoughts of suicide.
• Experiencing discomfort and ailments, such as headaches, cramps, digestive issues, or other physical aches and pains that don’t have a clear cause and that persist after treatment.

Violent and aggressive behavior is also a symptom associated with summer SAD.

In diagnosing SAD, medical professionals look at whether an individual experiences some or all the symptoms for at last two consecutive years, and/or whether depressive episodes occur more frequently during these specific seasons versus other times of the year.

Treating SAD

Phototherapy, or light therapy, and vitamin D supplementations are common treatments for winter-pattern SAD. Psychotherapy and antidepressants can treat both winter- and summer-pattern SAD. Those with recurring SAD may benefit from treatment prior to the fall or spring as a preventative measure.  

Your Transocean benefits make it convenient for you to determine if any feelings of “blueness” you are experiencing this winter are normal, or something more serious. Take advantage of virtual behavioral health therapist and in-person visits, and support through your Optum Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and WorkLife Services Benefit. You can also explore self-help videos to gain a better understanding of what you are experiencing and gain coping tools and other self-care strategies through AbleTo.

Regardless of the time of year, you are not alone, so don’t let SAD moments take over your season.