Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): A Personal Journey & Practical Tips

Sarah Restall works as Head of Strategy and Operations for Smart About Health from Margate, in the UK. She shares her experience of Seasonal Affective Disorder and speaks candidly about the challenges she faces in winter as we approach the cold dark months.

​Hi, my name is Sarah Restall and I have been a member of the Let’s Improve Workplace Wellbeing Leadership team for almost four years now.

When I joined, my focus was to improve mental health in the workplace, with a vision that we could create psychologically safe spaces for all people in all workplaces. Why? Because too many people fail to seek help due to the stigma attached to speaking about mental health problems.

I would love a world where we can understand each other, knowing that bringing our whole selves to work is unavoidable – we are all humans after all!

I currently work as Head of Strategy and Operations at Smart About Health. We deliver education sessions, training, and resources to build healthy workplaces designed and delivered by world-leading doctors and specialists. Smart About Health is also a workplace where we can speak openly about our own physical and mental health experiences and know we will be listened to and that where possible, adjustments will be made.

Today, I want to share one of the challenges I experience every year; Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I hope to be able to shed some light on how to speak about this with your own managers or employers, as well as offer an insight into my experience of SAD to support your understanding of others.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and how does it impact mental health, particularly during the winter months?
SAD can also be known as ‘winter depression’ and for me, it presents itself as early as the beginning of November. It generally lasts until about March. I often think that it is not about the cold, but actually about the loss of daylight hours.
Symptoms for me include a persistent low mood that begins as soon as I wake up. I am generally a perky morning person, so I notice the difference right away. I will wake up feeling almost hungover, a sense of dread and a feeling of heaviness in my limbs. I will often feel tearful for no reason. This feeling can be anywhere from a dark but manageable mood to an all-encompassing and debilitating heaviness that requires me to lie down.

What strategies and tools can be effective for managing SAD and anxiety during this time of year?
One of the most important strategies I use is having the confidence to explain how I feel to family, friends and colleagues. I have been known to discuss this even at job interview stage. Letting people know that you may struggle and asking for help through understanding can ease the burden of carrying on alone.
A great way to frame this is to speak about how it can manifest when you start to experience SAD, framing this as an experience you manage yourself and showing others how they can support you when you experience this. For example, I will ask for meetings to start later in the day. I believe my organisation and my clients deserve me at my best, I know they will get the full and glorious experience of me if we have meetings between 10am and 4pm.

Another important strategy for me is to spend time in daylight. This can mean walking meetings and a lunch break that leaves time for me to either get to the gym or get outside for a walk.

I also make lifestyle changes to my diet, sleep routine, and physical activity, during the winter months. I happily confess to enjoying a wine or two every now and then, however, in order to improve my sleep, I will often avoid any alcohol during the week. I also have switched to decaf coffee and tea in the afternoons. Taking care of how you sleep can dramatically improve SAD. I try to exercise regularly, either at the gym or out on walks. I try and reframe why I am exercising and see it as a gift of getting blood around my body instead of to get muscly or fit.

I have also been cold swimming and partaking in saunas and cold dips over the past few years. As someone who probably used to cast that off as ‘woo-woo,’ I can tell you I am a convert. It genuinely makes me feel fantastic and changes how I feel immediately!
I have also taken medication prescribed by my doctor in the past. A low dose of Sertraline has helped me through the months, it is important to speak to your doctor when going on or coming off medication to make sure you are doing the best thing for your body.

​What advice would you offer to someone struggling with SAD?
Speak to your GP about how you are feeling. SAD is similar to depression, so it is important to get a professional to support you with understanding what you are experiencing. Medication may be helpful for some, for example.
It can help to know that this is a finite feeling. The horrible weight of SAD generally only occurs for a short period each day. Try to find methods to support you getting through the hard part of the day. It may be that you can use a SAD lamp (these are light boxes are designed to deliver a therapeutic dose of bright light), that you can negotiate flexible working hours over the winter months or that a change in your diet could help you.

Speak to your friends, family and colleagues to let them know how you are feeling, it can really ease the burden when you know you have people in your corner. 

Feel free to reach out to me for a chat and to swap stories as I am always happy to help!
Email; sarah.restall@smartabouthealth or connect with me on Linkedin.

​For more information;
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/overview/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/about-sad/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder