WARSAW — As the winds grow frosty and daylight shortens, some people may not be cheerful and jolly as the holiday season approaches. While winter is beautiful in its cold harsh way the changing of seasons causes people to experience seasonal affective disorder, more commonly known as seasonal depression.

Unlike clinical depression, which hangs on all year round, SAD comes seasonally. It’s a part of depression where the person may experience fatigue, irritability, loss of enjoyment in things they typically enjoy and even suffer physical pains such as headaches. Much of that can be linked to the lack of light, which impacts and balances chemicals in the brain.

“The trigger for people who have SAD is that there’s less light and less warmth,” informed Nancy Helstern, clinical social worker at McArthur Counseling Center in Warsaw. “It’s probably a pretty mild case in November but by the time January comes it might be much worse if they haven’t done anything. The big thing for SAD is light. I recommend people getting a high quality light source. It sounds weird and strange, but that’s what it comes from.”

It won’t disappear with a snap of the fingers, but it can be handled. No one has to labor through it at risk of hurting themselves. Lack of light source is the main cause of SAD but there are many other ways to balance out the symptoms. Physical activity releases endorphins, creating a positive feeling in the body, and dopamine, which is released through non-strenuous exercises. Whether it’s going for a walk or stretching getting some form of movement in helps in numerous ways.

“Relaxation, mindfulness and guided imagery exercises are all things that we do with people who have depression,” continued Helstern. “Mindfulness is all about being in the moment and being non judgemental in that moment, inducing the five senses that you have.”

Thoughts can be so overwhelming that people often forget to be present in the moment. Their mind is too busy thinking about what they have to do today or things they need to do. Taking a few personal moments in the day to be present and connected with surroundings can ease some of the stress that comes with SAD.

Sometimes there may be seemingly irrelevant thoughts that contribute to SAD, which may require the person to attend counseling so they can learn how to control those thoughts. Other times medication may be needed for the person to function. Much like clinical depression SAD impacts people in a variety of ways. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Some people will go to their family doctors to start on medication because they know they have this and they’re going to start feeling it every November or December.” Helstern said. “If you don’t recognize what this is or, you don’t know to do that. The sooner it’s recognized for what it is, the sooner people can start some of these modifications and the better it’s going to be.

“It’s not a bad thing. There’s still that mental health stigma that people are crazy if they come to counseling; that’s not what it is and they may never need that. Some just might need to come to a counselor so I can tell them to try some exercises and techniques.”