In the words of the late Ned Stark, “winter is coming” and St. Lawrence is becoming a dark and dreary place with shorter days, colder nights and a coat of grey clouds. To make things a bit drearier, this weather coincides with one of the most stressful times in the academic year. Students spend more time indoors, most entering some form hibernation, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), commonly known as seasonal depression, becomes more prevalent on campus.
“It definitely seems like people are less energetic in the winter,” says Hayes Graham ’18, “I don’t know if it means everyone has seasonal depression, but there is definitely a change in attitudes.” He adds that snow can brighten some of the sadness because it makes winter exciting and enjoyable. “I just get angry when I don’t see the sun for seven days,” says Graham. “If there were snow on the ground it’d be different, but when it’s dark and grey it’s hard to be happy.”
“Winters in Canton are hard for me,” says Maggie Roberts ’17. “I don’t feel like myself during the winters here. I get lazy and tired more often and it’s just not a really fun time for me.” Like many other students, Roberts finds it hard to stay motivated and upbeat in this dark, cold time.
SLU has a light therapy lamp in the health center that “gives off a little bit of warmth, but is more for creating a type of light that stimulates the suns rays,” says Clinical Director of Health Services, Darlene Dunn. Using this lamp is one way to combat feeling blue in the winter, as well as keeping active, having friends to talk to, getting outside more, and getting more vitamin D3, she says. It is very important to follow these tips, because if not addressed, seasonal depression can spiral into a bigger and more cumbersome mental illness.
“SAD can turn into clinical depression at worst, and also self- dislike or even loathing [which stems from] feeling lazy, gaining weight, lacking energy to do homework. This results in poor or failing grades, and even a loss of friends,” says psychologist Dr. Ellen Cole.
People cope with winters in their own way – for Roberts it is cuddling up and watching movies with candles lit and hot cocoa in her hands and for Graham it is enjoying skiing or other winter sports. Remembering the things we’re passionate about or spending time with the people who care about may be the best defense mechanism in the battle against SAD.