Editor’s Note: In our Dec. 11 issue, we ran a story on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that we hope served an important community service. We were unable to make contact with professionals at St. Luke’s before that issue’s press deadline. What follows is further insight about SAD from Stephanie Herald, LCSW, CADC, who is the clinic manager at St. Luke’s Mental Health Clinic.
“I wanted to start by stating that the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of mental health disorders no longer acknowledges Seasonal Affective Disorder as a stand-alone diagnosis. It is now either Major Depressive Disorder with seasonal pattern or Bipolar Disorder with Seasonal Pattern.
There are consistent reports of people feeling sad during the winter, which we are finding are normal feelings with the decrease in daylight and people choosing to stay inside more often. When this seasonal pattern of sadness becomes a mental health diagnosis is when it is actually impacting functional impairment. Meaning, they are finding that they are no longer able to meet their role obligations at school, work, in the community, or at home.
“There are a few things that could be helpful to explore when feeling this seasonal sadness or seasonal depression. First, assess any changes the person has made in their life as winter has approached. Maybe they are no longer getting active, eating differently, isolating more, or even spending more time on social media, which we are finding does not enhance emotional health. Secondly, it could be helpful to make small changes back to more helpful behaviors that improve mood, such as getting more active, changing diet as needed, and interacting with peers, family, and/or the community.
“If those small changes have been made, and the person is finding continuous sadness or functional impairment in any area of their life, we have a number of amazing providers throughout our Valley and at St. Luke’s that can support through therapy/counseling and psychiatry or medication management. There are a number of resources available and I encourage people to reach out to the St. Luke’s Center for Community Health in order to explore what resources could be available to them.
We do not have to go through these struggles alone and research tells us that community and support is a large factor in why people feel well.”