Seasonal Depression in NJ: When the Winter Slump Needs Help

By the Nova Mental Health Clinical Team

When the clocks go back in November, New Jersey loses an hour of evening light overnight, and by late December the sun sets before 4:35 p.m. For most people that means a few weeks of feeling slower than usual. For some it means something heavier, and it comes back at the same time every year.

That pattern has a name: seasonal affective disorder, often called seasonal depression. It’s a real, diagnosable form of depression, and it responds to treatment.

What seasonal depression looks like

According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 5% of adults in the U.S. experience seasonal affective disorder, and it typically lasts about 40% of the year. It’s more common in places with less winter daylight.

The winter pattern often includes:

• Feeling low most of the day, most days
• Sleeping much more than usual and still waking up tired
• Craving carbohydrates and gaining weight
• Losing interest in things you normally enjoy
• Pulling back from friends and family
• Trouble concentrating at work or at home

The key difference from ordinary “winter blues” is the pattern and the weight of it: symptoms that start in the fall, ease in the spring, and make daily life noticeably harder while they last.

When it’s more than the season

It’s worth talking to someone if:

• This is the second or third winter in a row you’ve felt this way
• Work, school or family responsibilities are starting to slip
• You’re sleeping, eating or drinking differently to get through the day
• The people close to you have noticed and said something

If you ever have thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 right away, any time of day.

How seasonal depression is treated

The APA describes three main approaches, often used together:

• Talk therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you notice the thoughts and habits that drag the season down and practice different responses.
• Medication. Antidepressants, most commonly SSRIs, are often part of treatment. A prescriber can talk through whether medication makes sense for you.
• Light therapy. Sitting in front of a bright light box for about 20 minutes or more each morning helps many people. Ask your prescriber whether it fits your plan.

Daily structure matters too: regular sleep and wake times, time outside in daylight, movement and staying connected to people.

When weekly therapy isn’t enough

For some people, seasonal depression gets heavy enough that one appointment a week can’t hold the rest of the week together. That’s when a more structured level of care helps. Here is what IOP for depression looks like.

At Nova Mental Health in Fair Lawn, adults can start in Adult Partial Care, five days a week, and step down to IOP and Outpatient care as things steady. Treatment combines group and individual therapy, CBT and DBT skills, and psychiatric evaluation with medication management, and you go home every evening.

Talk to our admissions team

If the darker months hit you harder every year, call (551) 733-2282. Someone from our admissions team will listen to what’s been happening, check your insurance and help you find the right level of care. You can also start with our free mental health assessment.

Source: American Psychiatric Association, “Seasonal Affective Disorder.”