Written By: Kate Clark, from Nourishing Minds Nutrition and The Rooted Place

Yesterday, I had a 12-hour sleep. Yes, I really slept for 12 hours straight. I don’t even remember moving around in my bed. Now, I understand this sounds like I’m bragging. Many people reading this right now would do dark things to have the privilege to sleep soundly for 12 hours. I understand my privilege here, I really do.

But as soon as I woke up, I said “…oh it’s happening. Winter is coming.”

Look, I’m not trying to rush fall by any means. I love fall. But it’s hard to not feel distracted by the heaviness of the winter season, for me personally. I’m wondering if you feel the same? I live up north and the weather is feeling dramatically colder up here, already, but it’s not just about the temperature. It’s about the transition.

Transitions can be really challenging. Specifically, the transition between seasons if you’re someone who experiences Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.

“Seasonal depression” is a phrase that gets tossed around all the time and people are constantly self-diagnosing after experiencing what they know is a symptom. And they may be completely correct in their self-diagnosis, but we should really leave that to the psychiatrists and trained mental health professionals. SAD is a very serious and real mental health disorder that affects about 5% of the world’s population. I find it especially interesting that out of those with SAD, 4 out of every 5 are women.

SAD is a type of Major Depression Disorder that you can find in the DSM-5 (which is like, the bible for mental disorders) as depression that is consistently experienced in specific seasons. It typically starts in the fall, lasting through the winter or spring.

The cause of SAD has to do with an imbalance in chemicals in our brain and body that happen in reaction to the decreased sunlight. Isn’t that fascinating? Sunlight helps our bodies produce vitamin D which then allows our brain to make this amazing hormone called serotonin, have you’ve heard of it? (lol, I know you have) It’s a neurotransmitter that affects our mood, in a positive, happy kind of way. So, when we decrease sunlight, we decrease our body’s source of energy to produce this chemical at normal rates. Now, some bodies can handle the same load with less light, some can’t, others are in the middle.

Melatonin production is another cause of SAD. This is our sleep hormone; it tells the body when it’s time to switch gears and shut down for the day. Again, it’s sunlight related. We actually end up producing more of this hormone in the fall and wintertime, which can get our sleep cycles out of sync, and also affect our mood. This happens to all of us, but all at different degrees.

Individuals who are extra sensitive to these internal functions could have SAD. Though it’s often those with underlying mental health struggles, or who have a family history of depression or bipolar disorder who meet the diagnosis. SAD diagnosis involves a comprehensive mental exam by a qualified professional, review of family history, and detailed assessment tools that provide information about symptoms related to things like changes in weight, eating patterns, thoughts, social behaviors, and sleep during specific times of the year.

Common symptoms of SAD are ones that you absolutely might be experiencing right now in this time of seasonal transition. Does this mean you have a full-blown mental disorder? Most likely not, but, maybe. It’s not my intention to scare you with this blog post. It’s to inform you, and then empower you to take your health into your own hands using the support that’s appropriate. If you think you might be experiencing SAD, I want to greatly encourage you to talk to a therapist or psychiatrist for next steps.

I also want to drive home the point that these are all things that we can experience as a healthy human, too. Remember, everything is a spectrum. But depending on how far along that spectrum you sit, you might want more qualified support.

You are not alone if you are feeling:

A loss of energy

An increase in sleep

Craving dense and warm foods

Craving carb-heavy foods

Eating more

Weight gain

Sleeping deeper

Feel sadder

Cry more often

Difficulty concentrating

Increase anxiety

More disconnected

More distraction

Decrease in movement

Withdraw from social situations

Again, these are both symptoms of SAD, but also normal experiences for a human to have in moderation! If you aren’t sure, a proper mental health professional will be able to measure if you are in a healthy place with these symptoms, or not.

For me, I have cultivated an incredible amount of mind-body awareness over the years and I feel confident that I’m (not so) simply experiencing a normal amount of heaviness during this darker time of transition. I also have a therapist to confirm that. I definitely feel more sensitive to the seasonal shifts, especially since I moved back up north, but I don’t feel it’s disrupting my life. This sense of mind-body autonomy is something that continues to be strengthened through my daily interconnection practices (including intuitive eating)!

When I woke up from that 12-hour sleep, I knew what I had to do. I had to get out my self-care toolbox and reorganize it for a seasonal transition; the Wintering. Some things that are taking priority and helping me stay grounded through this extra anxiety-ridden time, for myself, are:

Prioritizing self-care

Getting out of bed consistently

Stepping into the sunlight every single day

Quieting my surroundings (more social media breaks)

Warm spices in my foods and drinks (turmeric lattes, reshi hot cocoa, nutmeg curries….)

More whole, dense meals, and less snacks

Daily journaling

Daily gentle movement

Embracing rest

Weighted blankets

Heated blankets

Warm water

Phone calls with friends

More candles

Longer showers

Prioritizing night rituals

If you’re feeling heavy in this seasonal transition, you deserve comfort.

It’s about balancing one of my favorite sayings “Push yourself in the times that feel easy and be gentle on yourself in the times that feel hard” But I also believe that there is a time where we are called to push ourselves when things are tough. But only you will know where that line is.

It’s not always going to feel easy to get out of bed, brush your teeth, and step into the limited amount of sunlight that we have in a day, but you deserve to take care of yourself, even when it’s the last thing you feel like you can do.

Remember that.

If this season is bringing on more anxiety and dissociation due to the anticipated stress that comes along with the holidays; like thoughts of eating “all the food”, being around weight-obsessed family members, painful body-shaming conversation, and the threat of back peddling on all of your intuitive eating work, then BABE, have we got something for you. We’ve created this holiday survival guide e-book for you so that you can learn how to enjoy the holiday season, food included. This e-book shares how to use intuitive eating during the holidays, common pitfalls to avoid, how to live life in the gray area and so much more. CLICK RIGHT HERE to get this baddie sent straight to your inbox, today.

If this season ever feels unbearable, or you just need someone to talk to, you can reach out to Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. There will be a highly trained crisis counselor on the other end to support you 24/7.

Take great care of yourself, you deserve it.