The clocks fall back on Sunday, November 1, and for a lot of people that’s when the afternoons start to feel short and the evenings start to feel endless. You might be sleeping more and still waking up tired, skipping plans you’d normally look forward to, or reaching for comfort food in a way that feels different from the rest of the year. If that pattern shows up every fall, it may be seasonal depression, and it’s something the team at DBT of South Jersey helps people work through.
Seasonal depression is common and treatable, and you don’t have to wait until spring to start feeling better. This post covers what it looks like, what the research says helps, and how therapy for low mood and depression in South Jersey can make the darker months more manageable.
What Seasonal Depression Is
Seasonal affective disorder, often called SAD or seasonal depression, is a type of depression that follows a recurring seasonal pattern, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. For most people it starts in late fall or early winter and lifts in the spring, with symptoms lasting about four to five months. A diagnosis requires that pattern to show up for at least two years in a row, which is part of what separates it from one rough week in November.
The winter blues and seasonal depression can feel alike at first, and the difference comes down to how much it gets in the way. Feeling a little slower when it’s dark before 5:00 is common. Pulling away from people you love, falling behind at work or school, or feeling hopeless for weeks at a time deserves attention and support.
Signs of Seasonal Depression to Watch For
Seasonal depression includes the usual symptoms of depression, plus a few that tend to show up in the fall and winter specifically:
- Sleeping more than usual and still feeling tired
- Craving carbohydrates and eating more than usual
- Pulling back from people, which some people describe as hibernating
- Losing interest in things that usually bring you joy
- Low energy, trouble concentrating, or feeling heavy and slowed down
- Feeling hopeless, worthless, or stuck
In teens it can look more like irritability, slipping grades, or spending every free hour alone in their room. If your teen seems to disappear every winter, therapy for children and teens can help you sort out what’s seasonal and what needs more support.
“You don’t have to wait until spring to start feeling better.”
What the Research Says Helps
Seasonal depression responds to treatment, and NIMH names four main options:
- Light therapy, which uses a bright light box for a set amount of time each morning
- Psychotherapy, including a version of cognitive behavioral therapy adapted for seasonal depression (CBT-SAD), which research suggests works about as well as light therapy and may last longer
- Antidepressant medication, prescribed and monitored by a medical provider
- Vitamin D, which helps some people, though study results are mixed
Light boxes and medication are worth a conversation with your doctor before you start, especially if you have a history of bipolar disorder. CBT-SAD focuses on scheduling activities that bring your energy back and working with the thoughts that pile up in the dark months. DBT wasn’t designed specifically for seasonal depression, though many of its skills target those same patterns, which is why they fit well alongside the other options.
DBT Skills for the Darker Months
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) gives you concrete skills for the hard days, and a few of them are especially useful this time of year.
Cope Ahead
Seasonal depression is predictable, which makes it a good fit for Cope Ahead. You picture the hard moment before it arrives, like the first dark evening after the time change or the gray stretch of January, and rehearse exactly what you’ll do. We shared one winter plan in Cope Ahead for Winter Blues, and our free Cope Ahead Planner walks you through building your own.
Opposite Action
Depression pulls you toward bed, the couch, and canceled plans. Opposite Action means gently and deliberately doing the opposite of what the emotion urges, like a ten-minute walk at lunch while it’s still light out, a text back to a friend, or a shower and real clothes on a Saturday.
PLEASE Skills
The PLEASE skills ask you to care for the body that’s carrying your mood: treat physical illness, eat balanced meals, avoid mood-altering substances, keep sleep balanced, and get some exercise. Sleep matters a lot with seasonal depression, since oversleeping can make the heaviness worse, and keeping a steady wake time on weekends too gives your body a clearer signal that the day has started.
Accumulating Positives
When the days are short, pleasant moments don’t happen by accident as often. Accumulating Positives means scheduling them on purpose, like a standing coffee with a friend or a favorite show you save for Thursday nights. Small and regular tends to help more than big and rare.
When to Reach Out for Support
Skills help, and sometimes they aren’t enough on their own. It’s a good time to reach out if:
- Your symptoms have lasted more than two weeks
- Work, school, or relationships are starting to suffer
- You notice the same pattern year after year and want to get ahead of it this time
If you’re not sure what that first conversation involves, our post on what to expect at your first consultation covers it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Seasonal Depression
Is seasonal depression a real type of depression?
Yes. The National Institute of Mental Health describes seasonal affective disorder as a type of depression with a recurring seasonal pattern. It’s diagnosed when depressive episodes show up in the same season for at least two years in a row.
Can kids and teens have seasonal depression?
It can happen. Seasonal depression most often begins in young adulthood, but teens can experience it too, and in younger people it often shows up as irritability, withdrawal, or slipping grades more than obvious sadness.
Does therapy help seasonal depression?
Yes. Research on CBT adapted for seasonal depression shows it works about as well as light therapy, with benefits that may last longer. DBT skills like Cope Ahead, Opposite Action, and PLEASE target many of the same patterns.
When does seasonal depression usually start?
For most people, symptoms begin in late fall or early winter and ease in the spring. That timing often lines up with the shorter days that follow the end of daylight saving time in early November.
If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.
Start Therapy in Moorestown or Voorhees, NJ
If the darker months tend to pull you under, you don’t have to wait until spring, or until it gets worse, to reach out. We offer individual therapy and DBT from both our Moorestown and Voorhees Township offices, in person or virtually, and the first step is a conversation with our Intake Coordinator about what’s going on and what kind of support fits.
- Book a call to speak with our intake coordinator to see if therapy is right for you.
- Begin meeting with a skilled DBT therapist.
- Build the skills you need to thrive!
Other Services Offered at DBT of South Jersey
Care here is built around your whole life, including what brought you in this fall. Specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we help individuals manage intense emotions, build healthy relationships, and develop effective coping strategies.
In addition to supporting you with DBT, we provide individual counseling, therapy for teens and children, therapy for OCD and anxiety, therapy for anxiety, sadness, and self-doubt, as well as couples and family therapy. We are also proud to offer LGBTQIA+ affirmative therapy, holistic healing, Reiki, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to help clients heal from trauma and emotional distress.
Whether seasonal depression is the main reason you’re reaching out or one piece of a larger picture, our compassionate team of expert therapists is here to help you create the life you deserve.