SPOKANE, Wash. — Having the "winter blues" or feeling slightly down during the cloudy, rainy winter months is typical.
But according to the National Institute of Mental Health, if you start noticing significant changes to your mood, sleep patterns and eating habits, you could have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
David Wilson is a therapist in Spokane Valley at CorSpokane who specializes in working with people with depression. He says seasonal depression, or SAD, can often have different symptoms that you might not recognize immediately.
"Generally, we're looking at a low, sad or depressed mood," said Wilson. "And so sometimes sad looks like mad in a lot of our teenagers and a lot of my male clients."
Other things to watch for are sleeping too much or too little, trouble making decisions and extreme weight loss or gain.
"One of the things that we see is the increase in carbs," said Wilson. "So everybody finds that, like, you know, it's the holidays, and you're just like eating because it's holidays, but generally we see an increase in craving of carbs."
Seasonal depression can happen in the summer, but it is far more common in winter.
"The next piece is a disinterest in things you are normally interested in," said Wilson. "So, like, if you're into hiking or biking or playing guitar, or you know, having card night with your friends, and then suddenly, you find that you're no longer interested in it."
Seasonal depression affects women up to three times more than men and typically impacts people between the ages of 18 and 30 and those over 60.
Wilson says if you think you have seasonal depression, there are some things you can do to try to bring your mood up.
"Think about planning trips, especially if you can get to someplace that is sunny," said Wilson. "Whether it's, you know, part of Washington where the sun shines more often over the winter or getting down to, you know, California, Arizona, places like that. And then also, as you know, the seasons are, you know, getting a little bit brighter, making sure that you're doing your best to get outside if you can.
If you or someone you know is suffering from any form of depression, Wilson says the most important thing is to reach out to a licensed professional for help.
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