Maanya Parikh and Lillith Dunn
eSomethin Staff
Some people are familiar with the feeling. The sky turns dark, the air turns cold, and then depression kicks in. Seasonal depression, officially known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is similar to any other form of depression, but is specifically caused by a change in seasons.
According to school counselor Alana Stanbery-Sigg, “The disorder comes when there are shifts in the hours of daylight; temperatures will shift and . . . it has an impact on us as humans. . . . We have certain biological triggers and clock systems . . . and when those things change . . .it affects our brains. A lot of mental illness [and] disorders result from chemical imbalances.”
Hope Dangler is Clinical Manager at Harbor, a community mental health clinic. She says that due to SAD, “[Students] might [lose] interest in certain activities; something that they once found really fun, [is] not as fun [anymore].” She also explains that teenagers might feel more irritable, less energetic, and face changes in sleep and appetite. Overeating, undereating, and oversleeping are all common symptoms.
Often, these symptoms disturb a person’s home and school life.
“I would say attendance starts to become a bother, maybe due to lower motivation,” said Stanbery-Sigg.
The good news is that there are ways to combat these symptoms. According to Ashley Cunningham, the high school’s nurse, “Kids who are more active in winter sports are more likely to not feel the effects. They’re not getting the social isolation, they are being active”.
Students who are more active and involved with their friends and the community experience fewer symptoms of SAD.
According to Stanbery-Sigg, “any opportunities where we’re able to gather and really show that camaraderie and that jacket spirit that we have will ultimately be the best way we can fill our cup.”
Attending Perrysburg High School’s Mindfulness Club meeting can also help change the way a person sees things. Mindfulness Club regularly meditates, and does several outreach activities to places like Fort Meigs elementary school and Perrysburg Heights Community Association.
Patrick Murray, advisor of Perrysburg High School’s Mindfulness Club explains that, “meditation is the most powerful way to learn that you have a lot more control over your brain than most people realize.”
Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder can be tough, but it is not impossible. Literature tells us that, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.” -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Other stories on eSomethin:
- Opinion: Is High School Baseball A Dying Sport?
- Are phone policies getting stricter?
- Winter is just around the corner: here is what you need to know about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Perrysburg’s 2024 operating levy has failed – but what does that really mean?
- Girls Tennis Doubles Team Smashes Their Way Into State Tournament
