SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
11/3/20261 min read
SAD affects many people around the world as the seasons change from summer into winter. The daylight hours reduce, the temperatures drop, the weather changes and the clocks go back! All these things combine to have a sometimes quite profound impact on our brains and bodies;
Lower energy levels
Sleep problems, for example sleeping more or less than usual, difficulty waking up, or difficulty falling or staying asleep
Changes in your appetite, perhaps wanting to eat more
Finding it harder to concentrate
Not wanting to see people as much
Feeling sad, low, tearful or hopeless
What can we do to support ourselves during this time? A few suggestions;
Make sure you are taking a vitamin D supplement, the NHS recommends we all take one for the darker 6 months of the year; from October to March
Get outside, especially in the day time! Getting some sunlight on your skin and into your eyes boost the levels of hormones that make us feel more awake
Find the joy in the autumn and winter; take the time to notice the things about the changing seasons that you really enjoy. Autumn colours, open fires, evenings in under a blanket, cold crisp mornings.
Mindfulness can really help too; by allowing us to notice how we feel in our brains and bodies which enables us to make choices that best support ourselves.
I’m running a course this Autumn covering physical and mental health strategies that can really help us at this time of year. You can join me here;
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/autumn-health-and-wellbeing-tickets-2003666638854