Dr. D: Lift winter mood with TV, fresh air

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Dr. D.,

I have a tendency to go through really bad seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in late winter, so I’m trying to save my eight Counseling Center visits for then.

I have a lot of anxiety about it, although I feel fine now. I have some close friends and even though I feel good now, I know there’s a decent chance that I will get depressed. I think I can deal with it again — I did it before — but I don’t want it to ever get that bad again. Is there anything I can do now?

Thanks,

— Enough is enough

EIE,

Thanks for your question. Let me just say you are in the company of an empathetic sunlight worshiper. What you are describing is unfortunately common in Mid-Michigan.

Let me first deal with your statement about feeling the need to “save the eight Counseling Center visits.” The Counseling Center director has advised me to inform you that you are welcome to come to the Counseling Center now, where you can begin to work on your anxiety and fears.

She additionally wanted to let all MSU students know that if at the end of eight sessions of counseling you are in crisis or too fragile to stop, they would never make you stop.

They will not abandon you. So if you feel the need to go, you should go in and seek help.

You also should know they have groups students can attend that do not count in the eight sessions. You may be a candidate for one of the groups that deal with anxiety.

So let’s get back to seasonal affective disorder. Among students, faculty and staff, the season can bring out long faces, stymie motivation and create a sense of feeling trapped. It also can bring on or trigger depression.

I know SAD and the accompanying depression can be serious and debilitating. So let’s talk about some maintenance activities you can do in addition to getting counseling.

For some people, just spending as much time as possible outside, whether the sun is out or not, can help alleviate the symptoms.

For others, watching movies and TV that have a lot of “sun and surf” seasonal footage can work.

Sit by a window in class or when at work. Sometimes just hanging pictures of outdoor visual references can help.

One recommendation that has shown some promise is light therapy. This artificial sunlight therapy has been shown in some cases to improve symptoms after varying amounts of exposure (two to six hours).

MSU students also report talking with family and friends, getting out to do some exercise or listening to their favorite music helps them deal with both the depression and the stress of long hours of no sun.

There also is the option of going to see a health care provider at Olin Health Center or, as I said, a counselor at the MSU Counseling Center. If you have any thoughts at all of suicide or self-harm, you need to get yourself in to see a counselor ASAP.

Whatever you should choose, just remember there are people who want to help you here so please give us a call.

Although actual sunlight is a necessary component of life, sometimes it is not always around in the quantity we may desire. These are the times when we need to rely on the sunlight that exists in the very essence of all life.

Interacting with people and finding the sunlight in all that there is might help alleviate the loss of natural sunlight. I wish you wellness and as much “people sunlight” as you may need.

Peace, love dove,

- Dr. D.

Dennis Martell, Ph.D., is a coordinator of Olin Health Center education. E-mail him your questions at dennis.martell@ht.msu.edu.

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