Latest / Celeste The Therapist / EP 487 Understanding Seasonal Depression

Transcript

EP 487 Understanding Seasonal Depression · Celeste The Therapist

• 0:21
  Hi Hi
• 0:28
  beautiful people and just make sure my mics on Okay,
• 0:33
  my mics on so my name is Celeste I'm a therapist from
• 0:38
  Boston and Let me just change this
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  because we're talking about seasonal depression today I Understanding
• 0:54
  seasonal depression. I'm just
• 1:02
  changing the bottom. Okay, that
• 1:05
  was last week's subject. So last week we actually talked about,
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  hey, on Instagram. So I'm streaming on Instagram,
• 1:15
  Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. And
• 1:19
  last week we talked about substance abuse and
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  we talked about ways to understand it because I do recognize that
• 1:27
  it starts in subtle ways that we don't recognize. So definitely
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  a really great episode to check out. You can find it streaming on
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  all podcasting platforms or video, but definitely
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  like a subject, substance abuse during the winter and fall
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  seasons tend to take an uptick. And
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  the way people end up becoming addicted to substances, it
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  doesn't start as an addiction. And I think there's this misconception. So
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  I hopefully helped people really understand that. Today,
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  we're talking about seasonal depression. Every year
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  around this time, I talk about seasonal affective disorder
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  because, again, something that people don't understand. They
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  just know. I think sometimes people are like, oh, this is how I am in the winter. This
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  is just the way it is. And I feel like the
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  more you understand yourself, the more you understand these things
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  that may come up, it won't take over your life. And
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  it's so easy for with the seasons changing, the lack of
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  sun and not recognizing the link between the sun and the
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  seasons and how it affects you. If
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  you don't know it, you just are affected by it and you make adjustments
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  and just deal with it for the next few months. And I just want to
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  help people kind of see their power in their situation. So
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  one of the things I do if you're new to watching me is
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  I create visuals with the topic, just
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  for some people that might be more visually inclined like me, where
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  it helps and it's digestible. So if you are listening to me on the
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  audio podcast, you can definitely go on
• 3:01
  YouTube and find these episodes. So let's just kind of
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  start with like, what is seasonal depression or also
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  known as seasonal affective disorder. So it's a type of depression that's
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  triggered by the change of seasons. It most often happens
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  in the fall or winter. So it definitely happens in the spring and
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  summer, but it's not as talked about. But right now we're talking
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  about what's happening now with the seasons changing. It's
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  not something that's in the DSM. So the DSM is a
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  book that people like me, well, I don't use
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  it. I don't like that book, where we diagnose people, and
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  it's not something where it's a diagnostic diagnosis,
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  but it is something that occurs. And so basically,
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  as you can see, it's triggered by seasons, most
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  often in the fall and winter, and it's depression. So let's talk about
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  the symptoms that take place. So these are a
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  lot of the symptoms that take place. So feeling listless,
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  basically like no motivation, sad, down most of the day, nearly
• 4:02
  every day. Losing interest in activities you
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  once enjoyed. Having low energy and feeling sluggish.
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  Having problems with sleeping, a lot of people tend to sleep
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  a lot more, like hibernating. Experiencing
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  carbohydrate cravings, overeating and weight
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  gain. A lot of times people tend to gain more weight
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  during the winter times and you're not realizing that
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  you're having these cravings and you're eating and you're stuffing your emotions away.
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  Having difficulty concentrating. feeling worthless,
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  hopeless, or guilty, and also having thoughts of
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  not wanting to be here. These are signs. And if
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  you know the signs of depression, these are literally similar,
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  same symptoms of depression, right? So people
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  that already struggle with depression, especially if
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  you're in a cold weather state, the seasonal depression, unfortunately,
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  you're more apt to be affected by it
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  than others, right? So, what
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  are the causes of seasonal depression? There
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  are no real identifiable things
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  we can say like, oh, okay, this is going to happen because of X, Y, and
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  Z. But these are some factors that are included. So
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  your biological clock, the circadian rhythm, the
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  reduced level of sunlight in the fall and winter may cause winter
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  onset SAD, which is seasonal affective disorder. This
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  decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body's internal clock and
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  lead to feelings of depression. the light
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  affects us a lot. And a lot of times we don't know, uh, during
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  the pandemic, because a lot of people were staying and not moving
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  their bodies, not getting sun. A lot of people were experiencing a
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  lot of these symptoms. Right. Um, and so, and that's why
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  like at nighttime, when I'm talking about sleep and your sleep hygiene,
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  paying attention to your screen time, the lights, all
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  of those stuff matters, it's confusing the brain. And that's why, like,
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  if you're somebody that struggles with sleep, start to develop a
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  sleep routine, because basically you're telling your brain, like,
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  okay, I'm starting to wind down, it's time to go to bed,
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  right? When you wake up in the morning, you
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  know, when the clock goes back and you wake up in the morning and it's dark, your
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  system is confused. In the next couple
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  of slides, I'm gonna talk about light therapy. which
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  is one of the things that people use to help treat
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  this. So serotonin levels.
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  So there is a drop in serotonin brain chemical levels
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  that affect your mood and might play a role inside. So
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  reduced sunlight can drop in serotonin that may trigger
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  depression. and then melatonin levels. The change in
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  season can disrupt the balance of the body's level of melatonin, which
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  plays a role in sleep patterns and moods. So these
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  are all, hey, these are all, these are
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  all things, right? Regardless of what you got going on, how
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  much money you have, It's important to
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  understand some of the ways that life
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  affects us, the sun affects us, right? Like thinking about what
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  we can do to be proactive, because every year,
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  fall and winter comes. Anybody who works with me, they already know,
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  like around this time, we're talking about, all right, you know, fall, winter's
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  coming. Like, what's the plan? What are we doing? I know you've been like walking
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  outside, but it's about to be cold. So we got to figure out another plan.
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  Um, I'm a very, very proactive provider in a sense of
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  not just talking about like the stressors in the moment, but just
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  thinking about the other things that are coming up that you should think about.
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  So I do want people to start thinking about this because not
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  having, um, when it starts to get cold, um,
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  we don't feel like moving your body as much, like you're highly affected by it.
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  Uh, so let's talk about some treatment, right? Treatment
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  for a seasonal affective disorder. So light therapy, therapy, therapy,
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  having therapy and medication. Now with light
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  therapy, I want to point out definitely like talk to your doctor about
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  it, especially if you struggle, if you have bipolar because
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  it can potentially trigger manic episodes. So
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  there are things like vitamin D that's important for us to have where I'm like, check
• 8:21
  and find out what your levels are because too much vitamin D is not good for
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  you. Right. Cause people be like, Oh, take this vitamin D pill, take this light
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  therapy. And, uh, it's important to know that sometimes
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  depending on the way your system is operating, Um, with,
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  especially if you, um, have bipolar, uh, the
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  light therapy may not be the best option for you. Um, so,
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  so be mindful of that, but I'm going to talk about strategies to prevent and
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  manage it. Um, and, um.
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  before I do that, I just want to play this quick video where
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  it talks about how to avoid seasonal depression. And it's interesting
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  because anytime I bring this up with people, a lot of times it's the first time they're hearing it.
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  They, people do call it like the winter blues, but I do think
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  people feel like they're at the mercy of fall and
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  winter, I can't wait for spring. Like the fact that November, December
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  comes and we're like, we can't wait for spring. So does that mean that I suffer for
• 9:15
  the next three months? Like I'm the type of person I refuse to suffer. And
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  I'm like, there has to be a better way. That's how I've been my entire life. And
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  so I do want you to know there is another way to think about doing this
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  so that you don't feel like you're at the mercy of the seasons and
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  being okay. Um, so let's go ahead and watch this
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  three minute video together. Turn it
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  The end of daylight saving time, seasonal depression. Nearly
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  all of us wound our clocks back yesterday. When we fall back,
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  the sun rises and sets an hour earlier. That
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  can disrupt our natural rhythm and cause the winter blues or
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  the more severe seasonal affective disorder. Psychiatrist Dr.
• 9:56
  Sue Varma is here with how to avoid the possible impact. Good
• 9:59
  morning, Sue. Good morning. How does a one hour swing, just a one
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  So our body clock our circadian rhythm relies upon
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  two important things routine and light and even
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  a 15 minute change in our bedtime or wake time causes
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  a major disruption. And what we're finding is it's not just this one day.
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  Right. We think that magically we wake up and we have an extra hour. But the
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  shorter daylight hours leading up to it is particularly difficult
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  for people who are prone to seasonal blues or affective disorder. And
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  this is something that affects women more than men, potentially seasonal affective
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  disorder? Yes. And if you can believe it, four times as
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  many women are affected than men. Wow. And it's not entirely true,
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  but we think that women are more sensitive because of hormonal
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  fluctuations to depression in general, but particularly to the
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  lower daylight hour. What we're finding is ser serotonin
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  is really import mood to decrease our irri is noted with
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  a carbohydr get more carb craving. T more. They want to eat m is happening in
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  the spring know that it might not b just just plain old winte So
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  5% of the population, depending on what part of the country or what part of the world you live in,
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  will be affected by seasonal affective disorder. And this causes impairment
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  in our functioning. So the person is actually missing appointments. They're not
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  able to get to things. They are avoiding people. They're procrastinating. And
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  this has an impact on their job and their relationships. They're drinking more.
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  They're fighting more with their family members. But the blues, which
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  15% to 20% of people might have, and it often flies under the radar, unfortunately,
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  is more of the hibernation, where you're like, I don't feel like it, but you're able to get
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  Yes. So the first I say people often who ha get
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  it year after year st light boxes are a very co that
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  under the care of a to daylight in the early m seven and 10 a.m. If you outside,
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  that's really imp it does is it shuts the me we
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  think of sleep and sle you only do at bedtime. N
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  in the morning. Physical important social support after
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  Um, all right. So as we can see, uh,
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  she kind of gave some, uh, reasons why this
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  happens, right. And then thinking about ways that you
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  can avoid it. Um, so lessening your, uh,
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  alcohol consumption, paying attention to what you're eating because
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  the cravings are going to come, um, especially in
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  the morning, if you can get some sun in the morning. opening that
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  curtain, standing outside, letting it hit your system. These
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  are things that we're not taught. Most times if we go to the doctor with
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  these symptoms, they're going to prescribe us a medication. They're
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  not going to access what our diet and exercise routine is like. They're
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  not going to access if we're getting any sun. They're not going to ask us
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  about our sleep and routine, right? Some do, right? There are
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  some doctors that are more holistic driven and
• 13:10
  asking those questions. But it's important for
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  you, even if your doctor is not asking those questions, it's
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  important for you to check in with yourself and be real with yourself and
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  ask yourself, actually, what are you doing to help mitigate some of
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  the symptoms that you're experiencing, especially if they're outside of
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  circumstantial things that are happening. So
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  strategies to prevent and manage it, so sunlight,
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  exercise, diet, sleep, socializing, stress
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  management, paying attention to your stress, and what
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  are you doing to manage it, planning activities, staying hydrated, and
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  avoiding electronics before bedtime is
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  important. So that in a nutshell is,
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  uh, what seasonal affective disorder is. If you have
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  any questions, feel free to ask. That's what seasonal affective
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  disorder is. A lot of people are experiencing it
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  around this time. It's about to start, right? The clocks go
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  back in November, but as you can see in the video, uh, this
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  starts even before the clocks go back because we start to notice a
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  change in the way we're seeing the sun. We're
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  not going to see it as much first thing in the morning. And then
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  especially if you work late hours, you may go
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  into work and come out and it's dark still, right? Recognizing how
• 14:28
  those things can affect you and being proactive about making sure
• 14:32
  you're doing something to change the situation, whether
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  it's like, I'm going to make sure I move my body. I'm going to make sure I,
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  um, with my stress level, right? Cause stress affects
• 14:42
  in the summertime, think about in the summer, springtime, some certain things happen. It's
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  easier for you to kind of roll with it or deal with it.
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  than it is for the winter. Something that happened in the winter, if it
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  happened in the spring or summer, it may look different with your response. And
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  so I need you to think of managing your life
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  and dealing with your stressors as your, what is my everyday
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  routine to living life? So for instance, like when you're surviving
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  life, you're making sure that you're eating, you're drinking water, that
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  you are, you know, brushing your teeth. There
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  are certain things that it's like automatic that you do to
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  survive, right? Now, when it comes to living, I
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  want you to think about what is my routine for living? And a
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  lot of times we don't think about it that deeply. We don't think about what
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  are our routines and the things that we're doing because the
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  job is stressful. So what am I doing when I leave work?
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  Am I grabbing a bottle of wine? or am I
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  taking some time to like stretch? And am I taking
• 15:48
  some time to journal? Am I taking some time to reflect on
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  how I'm feeling? How can
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  I help somebody that is struggling? Struggling
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  with seasonal affective disorder. Great
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  question. So, you know, when it comes to like, let's say you're
• 16:06
  not the person and you notice like, you know, I think my partner is
• 16:09
  struggling or my kid or whatever. Awareness, right?
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  So it can literally be starting with talking about,
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  hey, like I seen this thing about seasonal affective disorder
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  and it affects people around this time. The more people are aware
• 16:25
  of what's going on, the more they can actually manage it.
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  And believe it or not, people will feel a
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  lot of times people feel broken. They feel like they're damaged when
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  it comes to how they are and not even recognizing like
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  there are things that are happening or that has happened that has created where
• 16:41
  they are, but it doesn't mean you always have to be that way. Right. And
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  so if you, um, are listening to this and you're like, Oh
• 16:48
  my gosh, like this happens to me all the time or someone else
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  like spread the word and let people know, because people don't know.
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  You only know what you know, right? So I hope this was
• 16:58
  helpful. I hope this makes sense. If anything I ever say resonates for you, I
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  always tell people, like, understand, like, you have power to create change. But,
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  you know, it starts with the little things. I said on my social media the
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  other day, I was saying, like, sometimes when problems
• 17:14
  feel so heavy and I'm talking about
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  things like, oh, going for a walk or looking at your diet, It's
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  kind of like, well, how's my diet going to pay my bills or how's my diet going
• 17:24
  to stop my partner from treating me like
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  that? Or, you know, a lot of times I think instead of
• 17:31
  us doing the little things because we can't see beyond like
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  where we are. Try not to think about it like that. Try to think of
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  it as like, let's say I need to get to Z and I'm at
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  A. It's going to take time for me to get there as I go through the alphabets A,
• 17:45
  B, C, D. But look at it as if like, you know what, let me just
• 17:49
  take this first step to get to B because that pushes
• 17:52
  me further along. And so sometimes the little things
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  don't feel like they make sense or it doesn't feel like it's
• 17:59
  going to make a dent. But I promise you it will. Literally,
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  if you're somebody that struggles with routine and consistency, just
• 18:08
  start setting yourself a time to
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  wake up and making up your bed in the morning. Start with that. Make up
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  your bed for a couple of weeks and watch and
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  start that routine start to come in heavy. I
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  literally wanted to get back into reading more,
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  but I kept saying, I don't have time. I would listen to audibles, but
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  I really enjoy reading an actual book. And
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  a few months ago, I became intentional and
• 18:35
  I set my alarm for 9.30 every day and
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  I set my timer for 25 minutes. So that means
• 18:42
  like I made it a point to read until
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  my timer went off at 25 minutes at the beginning. I'm like, okay, cool.
• 18:49
  I did my 25 minutes. But then because I was
• 18:52
  doing it so often, my system started to
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  crave the book. It was like, when do we read? So now literally I
• 18:59
  wake up in the morning and I grab the book to read the book. I'm
• 19:02
  going through books so quickly because I
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  made it intentional. Like it was important to me and I
• 19:09
  decided to do it. And so think about like, what's important to
• 19:12
  you and what do you need to put in place? What systems do
• 19:16
  you need to put in place to make it happen? Um, and I,
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  and I don't think we think about things that deeply. We don't think about like, well,
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  what can I do to make a change? If things aren't going the way that
• 19:26
  you would want it to go, or if you're not going in a direction of your
• 19:29
  goals, check in with yourself and be like, what am I doing actually
• 19:33
  to make it happen? right? Look at your screen time,
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  see how much time you're spending on social media. And then if
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  part of what your excuse is, is time, check in
• 19:44
  with yourself and be like, I say I don't have time, but when I check my
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  average screen time for social media, it's looking like five and
• 19:51
  six hours. Is that true? Do I really not have time? Like
• 19:54
  sometimes we have to take accountability and really
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  make radical changes in our lives. And it doesn't mean
• 20:01
  we have to change everything overnight at one time, but it
• 20:04
  do means just taking that one step. And before you
• 20:08
  know it, you're at B, then you're at G, then you're at R.
• 20:12
  You're really starting to be like, oh my gosh, I'm so close to my goal. But
• 20:15
  it takes you taking that one step that may seem insignificant, but
• 20:18
  very important. Um, so if you want to learn more about me, you
• 20:22
  can go to Celeste, the therapist.com. You can find me on all social media platforms.
• 20:26
  Uh, you can also, um, check out my, um,
• 20:31
  my wellness center. Uh, it's called shifting the way you think I'm having an
• 20:35
  open house. So you, if you are, uh, in the Stoughton area,
• 20:38
  November 2nd, I'm having an open house. So if you're
• 20:41
  a provider or if you're somebody that wants to
• 20:45
  learn more about the services and the things that we're going to have at
• 20:48
  the center, the goal is to create content
• 20:52
  and workshops around these areas right here. Financial,
• 20:57
  wellness, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, spiritual,
• 21:00
  and emotional. wellness. So that's my goal. I've
• 21:05
  always said that therapy and psychiatry are
• 21:08
  not the only modalities of healing. And also sometimes
• 21:13
  for people, therapy doesn't work. And I think sometimes people
• 21:17
  feel like they're failing because they can't find a therapist or They've tried
• 21:21
  therapy and it doesn't work. Depending on the person's approach, it
• 21:25
  may not be the best option for you. It may not be an
• 21:28
  option that's working. And so my goal is to introduce
• 21:32
  to the community, like all these other options, all these other practitioners and
• 21:35
  wellness providers, that are, um, doing the work, uh,
• 21:39
  that may not be as conventional as the American system. Um,
• 21:43
  so that's something that's so important to me. Hey Cush. So thank
• 21:47
  you all so much for rocking with me. Uh, we'll be back same time,
• 21:50
  uh, Wednesday, uh, to talk about something
• 21:54
  different. If there's ever a topic you want to discuss, make sure you,
• 22:04
  And your life gon' be lit And you are now rockin' with Celeste, the