University of Oregon students are not strangers to the endorphin depletion that comes with the Eugene gloom. Seasonal Affective Disorder is basically a rite of passage for residents of the coastal Pacific Northwest. To harshen the blow, daylight saving time comes rolling around each year around the same time as the clouds.
“I was doing fine and feeling good thinking to myself, ‘maybe seasonal depression isn’t gonna hit this year.’ Then daylight saving hit, and I literally have not left my house to do functional human things since, it knocked me down,” Jensen Cunz, a sophomore at UO, said.
Aidan Ramsthel, a sophomore at UO, also reports experiencing the effects of SAD in the last month.
“I don’t necessarily feel sad. I just get apathetic toward anything I have to do. I wake up thinking, ‘I’m not gonna get anything done anyway so why even try to make it a day,’” Ramsthel said. “It all feels very pointless and makes anything I’m anxious about overwhelmingly worse.”
Mental Health America reports that SAD affects around 5% of Americans, the bulk of them being women. Symptoms of SAD range in severity and include depression, anxiety, mood changes, sleep problems, lethargy, overeating, social and sexual problems.
“Day to day my mood and general motivation levels are definitely affected by SAD,” Pazi Greenberg, a sophomore at UO said. “It affects my sleep pattern. It affects how much effort I put into my homework. It affects how I take care of myself. When I’m not motivated I’ll half ass things just to get them done so I can lay in bed and be unhappy by myself.”
The most common form of SAD correlates with those darker winter months after daylight saving time. This is no coincidence, as UV radiation releases endorphins into the brain, humans become addicted to the sun. Those suffering from a decreased mood could be experiencing withdrawal.
“When I lived at home in Bend, Oregon, it snowed most winters,” Ramsthel said. “The light that would reflect off the snow made it so bright all winter that I didn’t ever really experience seasonal depression.”
Bad news: there is little to no hope of coaxing the sun from behind Eugene’s pervasive rain cloud. But there are some smaller solutions for dealing with the dark. Mayo Clinic recommends light therapy as the number one treatment for SAD. Light therapy can be as simple as purchasing a Happy Lamp online for $30 to use for anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours a day.
“I definitely notice energy coming from the lamp,” Ramsthel said. “It’s similar to when you look at the sun; it hurts your eyes but also shocks you awake. When I feel more awake I actually feel driven to do something with my day.”
While the purchase of a $30 lamp can alleviate some of the doom and gloom of the season, those on a broke college student budget might consider switching up their sleep schedule. An early to bed early to rise mindset can increase one’s daily sun intake no matter the weather forecast.
Fortunately for the night owls, there are other activities that mimic the feel-good hormone release of sun exposure. One of the bigger promoters of endorphins is physical activity. Great news University of Oregon students, your $50 million recreation center now has a greater purpose. For those without the thirst for exercise, a sunny walk outside kills two birds with one stone. Even your hurried bike ride to class can help alleviate a funk.
“Exercise definitely helps; it’s like a 180,” Cunz said. “I will be having what feels like the worst day ever, and then I will decide to just go to yoga or workout. I’ll come home after and do all the things I’ve been procrastinating all day in five minutes.”
Unsurprisingly, the easiest way to brighten the mood is doing things of enjoyment. Laughing with a friend, listening to a good song, eating your favorite meal or simply doing a fun activity are all pastimes that release endorphins.
“Spending time with my friends definitely helps,” Greenberg said. “Just interacting with people that I love and feel love back from, even when we’re doing an activity inside, makes me feel better.”
It is important to understand the origin of emotions and how to combat them, but sometimes struggle is inevitable. UO offers free mental health counseling services in person and virtually. One can find other mental health resources such as podcasts, blogs, support lines and articles under the self-care link on the counseling service page. https://counseling.uoregon.edu
