The Beginning of Seasonal Depression

The snow is falling as the Christmas trees come up. The world is winding down as you're ready to get on with your new year. Ambition is high, as well as your spirits, but the sun is not as bright as you remember it being earlier that year. You eat your dinner looking out the pitch-black window. Taking a refreshing walk isn't near as refreshing anymore. Holidays bring so much fun and joy, and they also bring stress and anxiety. Wondering if you can afford the best gifts or host your family parties. You wonder if you can pull off as many needed work hours as you can while also attending the parties and seeing all the friends you've missed for so long.

Seasonal Depression is upon us. You sit in your bed, not wanting to wake up because it is warm in your bed, and you know that you feel fine and yet...

You're sad. And you don't know why.

You really don't have the ambition to get out of bed because life feels so much harder than it did during the summer. But, I promise you, life isn't necessarily any harder because of what's going on around you, but rather, life is harder because of what is going on inside of you.

You see, Seasonal Depression occurs for people who live in climates that don't see as much sunlight in certain parts of the world as others. The Mayo Clinic writes, "Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer."

Symptoms consist of feelings of sadness and hopelessness (often without cause), extreme fatigue and sleeping more hours, eating habit changes, and tiredness alongside low energy.

This disorder is caused by three main things: sleep pattern changes, serotonin levels, and melatonin levels.

As the sun changes its time seen on certain spots of the earth, our circadian rhythm changes too, disrupting our internal clock and leading to feelings of depression. Reduced sunlight also drops our serotonin levels and boosts our melatonin levels.

I am a current student in college, and I am affected by this greatly. I'm about to wrap up my first semester of this year, and with it comes final exams. Because these tests are quickly upon me and my peers, we have an urgency to finish writing those papers and to study 24/7, and yet we are plagued by oversleeping and a lack of motivation.

We wonder why this happens. It didn't occur earlier this year when we felt like we could take on the world! And yet, we feel defeated. We feel unworthy. We worry we can't do well on our exams. We feel like our meaning in college is gone.

But we haven't lost hope.

Together, we have pushed each other higher and motivated each other to continue working. We encourage one another to get those moments when we see the sun and to relish the days that may be warmer than others. And above all, we encourage each other to see that we all have meaning in this life and that this very real battle we fight now will come to pass.

And I want to encourage you too.

If you're reading this, chances are you feel the heaviness of the winter too. It may be difficult to do common chores and tasks, but you must push yourself. In the end, which will satisfy you more- making your bed and brushing your teeth, or staying in? Finishing that last paper proactively or procrastinating until the moment when you physically can't?

I am with you, this is a hard time. It's so difficult to stay motivated. But you must find your encouragement. Find people who care about you and stick close to them. If possible, manage your sleep, so you only get the amount you need to, no more or no less, which means no sleeping in. Challenge yourself not to watch TV and instead take a walk or read a book.

You can push through this! I know how difficult this is, but if I can, you can to!

God bless, and have a Merry Christmas! Don't stop fighting!