Understanding Seasonal Depression with Cayce Collins, LAMFT

Seasonal depression is more common than many people realize, especially during the fall and winter months. In this episode of the MedLink Health Connections Podcast, we sit down with a behavioral health therapist to talk about what seasonal depression is, why it happens, and how it can affect daily life.

Listeners will learn about common signs and symptoms, simple strategies to try at home, and when it may be time to reach out for professional support. We also discuss how primary care providers and behavioral health services can work together to support mental health.

If you or someone you love struggles with mood changes during certain seasons, this episode offers helpful guidance and reassurance that support is available. If you are ever in crisis or experiencing thoughts of self-harm, help is available by calling or texting 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day.

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Transcript

Why Short Days Affect Mood

Symptoms To Watch For

Life And Work Impact

At‑Home Strategies That Help

When To Seek Professional Help

What Therapy Looks Like

Easing Into Therapy

Hope, Resources, And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Today, we're talking about seasonal depression, something many people experience this time of year without even realizing it. To help us better understand what it is, why it happens, and how to manage it, we're joined by one of our behavioral health providers. I'll let you introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little bit about what you do. My name is Casey Collins. I am a marriage and family therapist. I work at Medlink Raven Behavioral Health, and I just started working at Medlink Heartwell. So I provide individual therapy, couples therapy, and I also provide family therapy. For listeners who may not be familiar, what is seasonal depression? That's a good question. So seasonal depression is when someone experiences depression symptoms, and I can go over what some of those might be, but it's when they tend to experience symptoms of depression in a seasonal pattern, typically in the fall and winter months. Some people do experience it in the summer and spring months when it's warmer, but we usually see it more in the fall and winter, and it's like a pattern. So you usually see a recurring pattern over the course of a couple years or more where you notice more of these symptoms during a certain season. And why do symptoms tend to show up more during the fall and winter months? Yeah, so there's a few studies and research and theories about why that happens. And from what I've seen, um, it might be related to the changes in daylight. So you know, as we go into fall and winter, you know, it gets darker earlier, people are at work and they might be inside, and then they by the time they get out of work, it's dark, and that can really mess up with what we call our circadian rhythm. It's our our body's natural wake and sleep cycles, and circadian rhythms can be really impacted by exposure to to light. Um kind of uh what's the word calibrates based on your light exposure. So when it starts getting darker earlier, you know, that kind of messes up their circadian rhythm and that can really impact your sleep, which then if you're not getting good sleep, you might be feeling tired, agitated, maybe even feeling down and depressed. I like to, a good example is like that's similar to this feeling is jet lag. When you're going to another country, your circadian rhythm might be messed up because the daytime is different and you might have some of the symptoms too. Red that serotonin production can be impacted by sunlight. So if you're not getting exposed to the sun, that might impact your serotonin levels, which might impact your mood. And what are some common signs people might notice in themselves or a loved one? So the big ones, the two big symptoms that we see with depression are low mood, feeling down, depressed, or hopeless. And then what we call anhedonia, which is the inability or difficulty feeling pleasure or interest in doing day-to-day activities or things that you normally enjoy. And then there's some other symptoms that are associated with depression, like fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, feeling like failure, difficulty concentrating, sleep changes, appetite changes, feeling like you're moving really slowly, talking really slowly, like kind of like you're moving through mud. And then in more severe cases, some people might even experience thoughts of death or suicidal ideation. How can seasonal depression impact daily life, like work, school, or relationships? So if you're experiencing these symptoms, you know, fatigue, low mood, difficulty with motivation, that can really impact your day-to-day functioning, like your motivation to go to work, to take care of yourself, and you might even feel irritable around people, and that might impact your social relationships. Overall depression can just make day-to-day things feel like it takes a lot of effort. So it's to make life kind of difficult. What are a few simple things people can try at home to help manage these symptoms? So that's the part I'm excited to talk about because there's a lot of things that we can do to help with these things. There's been research on using light exposure. So you can use natural light like going outside, especially in the morning or midday, to recalibrate your circadian rhythm so that you're sleeping better throughout the night. And then you can also, if you aren't able to get outside during the day, you can also buy light boxes that you can have at your desk or when you're getting ready in the morning. You might need to do some research or talk to your doctor about what kind of light boxes would be good or if that would be good for you personally. But that's something that's been shown to be effective. And there's other lifestyle changes you can do, really working on improving your sleep hygiene, making sure you're going to bed and waking up at a regular time that can regulate your sleep, having calming bedtime routines, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, four to six hours before you go to bed. Those are all good basic hygiene tips. And there's a lot more sleep hygiene tips out there that you can read about online. And then making sure you're getting good exercise in. Exercise has been shown to help reduce depression, not just seasonal depression, but um in general. Um so getting good exercise, elevating your heart rate, getting outside, those can help with depression. And then the other thing, making sure you're getting some social connection, reaching out to your loved ones and your friends, that can be really helpful with depression. When should someone consider reaching out for professional help instead of trying to push through it on their own? So it's always okay to reach out for professional help. You don't necessarily have to be in a crisis to reach out to to get help. If you're experiencing any of the symptoms, I've talked about getting some support, talking to your doctor, or talking to a counselor so you don't feel alone, and maybe find some tools, some of the things I already talked about, or other tools to help you with feeling better. Like you said, when should someone seek professional help? Signs that you or someone you might need to get professional help is when you're feeling hopeless or feeling like a burden, when you're noticing you're withdrawing from others, if you're having more risky, dangerous behavior, or if you're ever having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of hurting others, or um having violent thoughts, those are all signs that professional help is really recommended. And you can get professional help by if you're having any of those suicidal thoughts or those crisis situations, thoughts of harming others. You can always call 988. That's the mental health crisis line, 24-7 support. And I always let people know about that resource because it's a good one. And then you can always go to your local ER if you're in a crisis, but it don't necessarily have to be in a crisis to go get help. You can always go to your doctor if you're feeling depressed and get a referral for behavioral health, or your doctor might have you try some medication. And the doctor can also rule out if there's any medical things going on that might be causing these feelings that you're having. What does behavioral health support for seasonal depression typically look like? So, overall, uh behavioral health counselor is talk therapy. And so a counselor can talk to you about what you're going through, any stressors you're going through, just overall giving providing you support so you don't feel alone. And then they also might help you with finding coping skills to help with the stressors that you're having, or finding healthy ways of dealing with the weather changes, or they might help you find different ways of thinking about the weather changes, finding more ways of thinking, helpful, finding thought patterns that aren't helpful and challenging those dot patterns. So that's the basics. Every therapist is different in how they would treat, but I think those are like the main things that you might find in therapy. And what would you say to someone who feels hesitant or nervous about starting therapy? What I would mainly say is that feeling nervous is normal. You're opening up to someone new, and sometimes therapy can be a vulnerable process. So yeah, it's normal. And sometimes it takes time to build a therapeutic rapport and relationship with your therapist. So give it time and give yourself grace. Um, it's okay to feel nervous, and you can always try, you know, if you try a therapist for a little bit and think that's not the best fit for you, you can always try a different one. But I would say, like, try one out for a few sessions to give it time to build trust. Okay, and what's one message or takeaway you hope listeners remember after today's episode? So my main, I guess, hope is so you know a little bit more about what seasonal depression is. And then the good news is there's a lot of things that we can try, like the lifestyle changes, getting good sleep hygiene, and the light therapy, talking to your doctor, talking to a counselor, but also remember that seasons change, that the winter darkness and coldness is temporary, and you can find ways to help navigate through it. You don't have to do it alone. There's your medical providers and therapists out there that help support me through it. Thank you for tuning in to the Medlink Health Connections podcast. We hope you found today's episode informative and inspiring. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Remember, the information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns. Stay connected with us on social media and visit our website at medlingga.org for more resources and updates. Until next time, stay healthy and take care.