Today, December 21st, is the shortest day of the year — and the longest night — and this time of the year when there’s so little sunlight can bring on the blues in many of us.
Tim Heller, a therapist at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says people who are susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, can see a big bite taken out of their holiday spirit.
“They feel more depressed, they have less energy, having problems having interest in anything, they feel sluggish, difficulty concentrating,” Heller says. “Worst case scenario is that it can lead to thoughts of death or suicide.”
While therapy may help some Iowans to overcome SAD, others may benefit from sitting under a special type of bright light. Heller says SAD can also be kept at bay by getting outside and into the sunlight, and by forcing oneself to be more social.
“We do know the decrease in the sunlight makes a difference in our mood, so that would be important,” Heller says. “There’s a variety of ways that we can have socialization with others. Modern technology, I mean, we can do FaceTime with family members and things like that. If you can’t get out during a blizzard, we’re not recommending people go out in dangerous conditions, but we do recommend that you have to get out and socialize.”
For some Iowans, the holidays are far from jolly and this trend may come back every winter.
“If there’s been a loss, someone that has lost their spouse and spent many years with them,” Heller says. “That can be a very problematic period of time because they’re reflecting back on things that they used to do, some of the things they’ve lost with the loss of a loved one, so that can be a trigger.”
There’s can be a lot of pressure to spend money during the holiday season and some people try to overcome their sadness by hitting the sales and buying gifts.
“A lot of folks don’t necessarily have a Christmas savings account or money set aside for that, so they dig into their wallet and their purse and they start using their credit card,” Heller says. “What happens is, oftentimes about February or March, those credit card bills start coming through which causes additional stress.”
Heller says studies find between 35- and 50-million Americans suffer from SAD.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)