Beating the Winter Blues: Is It Seasonal Affective Disorder or Depression?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can turn Wisconsin’s long, gray winters into months of sadness, low energy, and fatigue. Here’s how to tell if you’re dealing with SAD or major depressive disorder — and what we can do to help.

Shorter days, colder air, and long stretches of gray skies can take a toll on anyone’s mood. For some people, however, winter brings more than just the occasional bad mood. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, often surfacing in late fall and lingering until those first sunny, warm days of spring.

Understanding whether you’re dealing with SAD or a broader depressive disorder can help you get the right type of treatment, a significant consideration for those of us in Wisconsin, where winters can feel exceptionally long.

Sarah Wilczewski, CRNA, APNP, helps patients at Revival Infusion Madison understand the basics of SAD, how it differs from other types of depression, and how ketamine therapy can play a role in helping you finally find relief.

SAD vs. Depression

Because SAD is a type of depression, its symptoms often overlap with those of other depressive disorders, like major depressive disorder. However, some key differences can help you determine which problem you’re dealing with.

The ABCs of SAD

Perhaps the most obvious difference between SAD and major depressive disorder is the seasonal nature of SAD. Experts believe SAD “kicks in” during the fall as your body and brain respond to decreasing levels of natural sunlight.

Reduced daylight disrupts the production of serotonin and melatonin, two chemicals that regulate mood and sleep. People who live in northern states like Wisconsin are more likely to experience SAD, simply because winter days are so brief and sunlight is in such short supply. Genetics, a history of depression, and low vitamin D levels can also play roles.

While fall brings on SAD symptoms, spring typically has the opposite effect: As daylight hours increase, people with SAD experience a decline in their symptoms. In fact, people who have SAD normally find they function well during the summer months, with symptoms remaining at bay until the darker days of fall return. This seasonal aspect plays an essential role in diagnosis.

What to know about depression

While SAD follows a predictable pattern based on the seasons, major depressive disorder is always present. While symptoms can certainly fluctuate throughout the year, they can occur at any time, persisting and even worsening regardless of the season or time of year.

While SAD is influenced mainly by light and its effects on our health, major depressive disorder usually involves factors like ongoing chemical imbalances, past trauma, or even genetic influences.

Because SAD is a subtype of depression, it can share similar symptoms with major depressive disorder, like:

Low mood
Sadness
Fatigue
Problems focusing or concentrating
Loss of interest in activities
Changes in sleep or appetite

Both disorders can cause you to feel overwhelmed by even simple tasks.

Again, the key difference is that people with SAD tend to experience relief from their symptoms when the weather turns warm and sunny. In contrast, people with depression continue to experience symptoms all year round.

How ketamine can help

Traditional treatments for seasonal depression often include antidepressant medication, psychotherapy, and light therapy. While these treatments can be helpful in some circumstances, results may take weeks and don’t always provide complete relief.

What’s more, because SAD symptoms are tied to the seasons, waiting weeks for improvement can feel discouraging: By the time you experience the benefits of treatment, spring could be close at hand.

In recent years, ketamine therapy has emerged as a promising option for SAD treatment — and for major depressive disorder, too. Unlike antidepressants that focus on serotonin or dopamine, ketamine works by stimulating the production of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and emotions. Administered intravenously right in our office, ketamine helps “reset” neural communication pathways affected by depression.

Because ketamine works differently from traditional antidepressants, it’s able to provide faster symptom improvement, sometimes within hours or days. Better still, for many people with any type of depression, ketamine can offer meaningful relief even when antidepressant medications have failed.

Find relief

Seasonal affective disorder can make Wisconsin’s winters feel interminable, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Ketamine infusion therapy could be the solution you need to finally put those symptoms to rest.

Don’t let SAD control your life or your happiness. To learn how ketamine therapy can help, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Revival Infusion Madison in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, today.