Does Winter Make You Depressed?

As the days get shorter, darker and colder, many people experience a shift in mood that you might hear called “the winter blues.” The change can feel like a lack of energy or excitement about things or feeling down in general. In most scenarios, a case of the winter blues won’t have a severe effect on one’s life. However, 5% of the adult population, as well as teenagers, can experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition that can lower their quality of life.

SAD has all the features of winter blues, but it’s more than just waiting for the first signs of spring or being irritated by another winter storm. It’s a condition that can be more serious than people realize and deserves effective treatment. Read on to learn more about SAD, how it can appear in teens and tips to help prevent and treat it. 

In This Article

• What Is Seasonal Depression?
• Do Teens Experience Seasonal Affective Disorder?
• What Triggers Seasonal Depression for Teens? 
• Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder In Young People
• Identifying Seasonal Depression in Your Child 
• How Is Seasonal Affective Disorder Diagnosed in Teens? 
• Tips to Prevent SAD for Teens
  • Medication
  • Light Therapy
  • Psychotherapy
  • Vitamin D
• Work Through It Together
• We Can Treat SAD for Teens 

What Is Seasonal Depression?

Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression usually marked by its appearance during the colder months. People who have SAD display changes in mood and other symptoms that mirror depression quite closely. SAD is unique in that its symptoms appear at the turn of the seasons, typically fall and winter. However, some people can experience SAD during the summer.

Many people feel distressed and overwhelmed at the unexpected severity of this condition, which can affect them for almost half the year. SAD sufferers often don’t realize how severely their condition can affect their day-to-day duties and relationships, so only a small percentage of people ever seek treatment.

Do Teens Experience Seasonal Affective Disorder?

While it’s well understood that SAD commonly occurs in adults, note that it can also appear in teens. Your child might become depressed in the fall or winter when the days become shorter and it gets dark earlier. Once the daylight hours get longer again, symptoms often go away. 

What Triggers Seasonal Depression for Teens? 

Experts are still trying to pinpoint the exact cause of SAD, but the research so far indicates three potential sources for this condition. All three possible causes link back to the reduced exposure to light that occurs during winter. Daylight impacts chemicals in the brain — melatonin and serotonin. It also causes us to get less vitamin D. 

• Reduced serotonin: When it’s sunny, the brain makes serotonin, the chemicals that boost happiness and well-being. With shorter days and more darkness in the fall and winter, the brain may produce less serotonin, making depression more likely to occur.
• Disrupted melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland. It helps regulate our sleep cycles, and many people take melatonin supplements to help facilitate sleep. Your body produces melatonin in the dark, so people make more of it during short winter days. The excess production contributes to hypersomnia and some of the changes in mood associated with SAD.
• Reduced vitamin D: With less sunlight, we get less vitamin D. This essential nutrient links with serotonin in ways that may explain the development of depression. People with depression of all types have lower levels of vitamin D.

Geographical location can also heavily influence one’s chances of developing SAD. The farther away from the equator, the more likely you are to experience the condition. That’s because lower levels of sunlight during the winter are more extreme the farther you are from the equator, such as in places like Alaska or Oslo, Norway.

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder In Young People

While it’s normal for teens to deal with sadness during the colder and darker months or find it harder to sleep in the summer, symptoms that impact daily life can be a sign of something more. These symptoms will appear in a seasonal pattern, beginning and ending in a specific season each year.

SAD is common in the winter months when teens can experience low moods, sugar or carb cravings and difficulty sleeping. However, it can also occur during the spring and early summer.

While there are no recent studies on SAD in teens, a 2016 study found that the condition is more common in adolescence than in childhood. The connection might be due to changes that occur in puberty, specifically hormonal changes. 

SAD symptoms usually last four to five months until the days start to get longer again. Because of the influence of sunlight levels on the condition, your teen may unexpectedly experience symptoms when cloudy weather strikes at any point in the year. Spending extended periods indoors without exposure to natural light may also adversely affect those who are susceptible to SAD.

Identifying Seasonal Depression in Your Child 

With so few people understanding how common SAD is, it’s essential to understand the symptoms to help identify if your teen is struggling with the condition. As summer fades and days become shorter, a predictable set of symptoms begins to appear. They may appear more withdrawn and reclusive during the colder months — they might spend more time in their room or avoid friends and family for more alone time. 

These symptoms adversely affect daily life and school, making winter feel bleak and burdensome. As with any condition, SAD has a variety of symptoms that may or may not manifest for everyone. It’s common to cycle through several of the following symptoms with varying predictability:

• Sleeping for much longer periods
• Losing interest in people or activities they once enjoyed
• Seeming sluggish and exhausted despite sleeping more
• Withdrawing and avoiding social interactions
• Being consistently more aggravated or moody 
• Dramatic weight loss or gain
• Changes in appetite, specifically increased cravings for sugar or carbs
• Trouble concentrating, focusing and communicating

Additionally, teens can experience summertime SAD symptoms like loss of appetite, insomnia, anxiety and agitation. Both types of SAD frequently include symptoms found in major depression. Seasonal affective disorder and depression in teens can manifest as feelings of guilt, loss of interest in the activities they usually enjoy and persistent feelings of hopelessness or helplessness. Some people even experience unexplained psychosomatic issues like headaches or stomachaches.

You know your child best, and you will likely notice what behaviors are typical and atypical. You’ll spot the difference between them having a rough day — or even a rough week — and something genuinely different about their behavior. 

How Is Seasonal Affective Disorder Diagnosed in Teens? 

To receive a diagnosis of SAD, your teen’s mood changes should not be due to predictable seasonal stressors. SAD can worsen the effects of predictable seasonal stressors, and symptoms from both sides are not mutually exclusive. The only way to be sure your teen is struggling with SAD is to enlist the help of a mental health professional for a diagnosis.

Seasonal affective disorder in teens frequently goes untreated because the symptoms are reminiscent of normal teen moodiness or the onset of puberty. If you think a child or teen is struggling with SAD, look for these three indicators that occur seasonally:

1. Unusual fatigue: It’s normal for teens to want to sleep in, but when they seem to have trouble getting out of bed, there may be another problem at work. If a child seems lethargic and unable to participate in their typical activities only during winter, it could be an indication of SAD.
2. Difficulty in school: Teens with SAD may feel exceptionally tired or have trouble focusing on school during the winter months. Their grades may slip around this time of the year, often in all subjects at once. You may also notice them having trouble concentrating at home, and find it challenging to engage them.
3. Social withdrawal: Rejection sensitivity is a state in which any perceived judgment or rejection, whether real or imagined, causes the affected person emotional pain. If a child appears to be overly sensitive and avoids socialization during the winter, SAD may be the culprit.

Tips to Prevent SAD for Teens

Depending on your teen’s SAD symptoms, there are several prevention and treatment options that may help with seasonal depression. 

1. Medication

Doctors frequently prescribe drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a common category of antidepressant, to treat SAD. SSRIs do have side effects, so it’s essential to discuss the potential risks of teens taking one with their doctor. Many people find they need to try more than one antidepressant before finding one that alleviates symptoms without intrusive side effects.

2. Light Therapy

Light therapy has been helping SAD sufferers relieve their symptoms for many years. It came about from the idea that if SAD results from a lack of exposure to light, getting more light can reverse the effects. Bright light stimulates retinal cells that connect to the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that influences our circadian rhythm. By activating the hypothalamus at the same time every day, light therapy may help regulate your teen’s circadian rhythm and minimize the effect of SAD symptoms.

Typically, people sit in front of a lightbox for 20 to 60 minutes in the morning. The box puts out 10,000 lux of fluorescent light and filters out ultraviolet rays. Consult your child’s doctor before trying light therapy if they have already been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

3. Psychotherapy

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) can help your teen with SAD live in the moment and cope with stress in healthy ways. The desired outcomes are improved emotional regulation and the ability to participate in healthy relationships. Just talking with a therapist can help relieve negative thoughts and feelings associated with seasonal depression. It can also ease the loneliness that your teen may be experiencing. 

A specific, modified form of DBT called DBT-C is also available for teens. It teaches coping skills in a series of stages that match a teen’s current developmental situation. In many cases, this approach can produce better outcomes for teens who haven’t responded to other forms of therapy. Outpatient services can be a great option for teens with SAD. For instance, in-home therapy offers the convenience of receiving treatment while attending school and catering to busy schedules.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D supplementation is not an effective treatment for SAD on its own, but it does help address the lack of vitamin D found in people with the disorder. There is no current consensus on how effective vitamin D supplementation is as compared to psychotherapy or light therapy. However, as it is inexpensive and generally considered safe, many professionals recommend it as part of a treatment regimen.

Work Through It Together

If you’re worried your teen is experiencing SAD or another type of depression, it’s essential to become actively involved in their treatment and recovery. While the behavioral health professional works on the clinical side of treatment, you can help at home. For instance, treatment usually requires people to complete some form of “homework” outside of sessions. When a teen is tired and groggy from SAD, they may need some extra pushing and encouragement to get it done on top of the homework they get from school.

Spending quality time with people who have SAD is also critical, as social isolation is so common. You probably won’t convince them to hit the arcade, but playing board games can provide social stimulation without tiring a teen out. When possible, encourage exercise. If you live somewhere where the weather prohibits outdoor fitness, you may need to get creative and look for alternatives to keep your teen moving.

When you notice symptoms of SAD in your teen, remember that it’s essential to take it seriously and seek appropriate support and treatment. If left unaddressed, SAD can be a severe, year-round hindrance to health and happiness.

We Can Treat SAD for Teens 

If you are seeing symptoms of seasonal depression in your teen, consider depression treatment at Hillside®. We offer one of the premier residential treatment centers in Georgia, as well as DBT day programs that help teens curb self-destructive behaviors that can arise as a result of SAD or other types of depression. With Hillside’s help, your child can learn to manage their symptoms in the healthiest and most effective ways possible. When kids have the tools to help themselves, their outcomes improve at school and at home.

Hillside® offers several outpatient services for teens with depression, including our virtual intensive outpatient program (VIOP), in-home therapy and day programs. Additionally, the Conant School at Hillside® is ideal for teens with behavioral health challenges who may be struggling in a traditional school setting due to their symptoms. To get started, arrange treatment with Hillside® today.