That Time of Year for Seasonal Affective Disorder

Late December and early January are often the darkest days of year with little sunlight during the day and some people can be impacted, particularly if they have season affective disorder, or SAD.

Dr. Megan Feng, a primary care doctor at the UW Medicine's South Lake Union clinic.

"It’s hard because a lot of times you wake up in the morning and it’s dark, you come home in the afternoon and it’s still dark and then in between it’s kind of gloomy and gray a lot of times. a lot of
people come in with concerns about feeling a little bit down, worried about depression or anxiety."

Dr. Feng says there are strategies to combat these feelings.

"Things like sleep, things like physical activity, making sure that you’re eating healthy foods, trying to keep up with some social activities and having that interaction with people – none of these things are medications but can also really affect your mood and are all different tools you should consider when trying to treat anxiety and depression."

Dr. Feng says a light therapy device can also help with the darker days and colder months.