A Reflection on Healing, Advocacy, and Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) impacts millions each year, yet countless individuals quietly battle its effects, believing their emotional or physical shifts are simply “winter blues.” As a licensed therapist, clinical supervisor, and mental-wellness advocate, I’ve spent years walking alongside clients who experience deep seasonal changes that deserve more understanding, compassion, and intentional care.

I have witnessed high-functioning professionals push through months of emotional heaviness, fatigue, irritability, and isolation, often blaming themselves for symptoms they never caused. SAD is not a personal failure. It is a physiological and psychological response influenced by biology, circadian rhythms, trauma history, and seasonal light exposure.

My advocacy for SAD awareness began by listening closely to clients who couldn’t quite name their internal experience: “I feel flat,” “I don’t feel like myself in the winter,” “My body slows down even though life doesn’t,” “I am exhausted for no reason.” These statements are not exaggerations; they are honest descriptions of seasonal patterns that impact mood, sleep, appetite, focus, and overall well-being.

These patterns are real. They matter. And they deserve to be honored.

Supporting individuals experiencing SAD means helping them recognize symptoms, understand their seasonal triggers, and build intentional practices that help them sustain energy, regulate emotions, and reconnect with themselves during difficult months. Healing is not about forcing productivity. It’s about cultivating gentleness, grounding, and realistic emotional expectations.

My work centers on providing strategies that promote emotional safety and seasonal stability:

• Building personalized SAD wellness routines
• Practicing grounding and rest
• Supporting consistent sleep hygiene
• Increasing access to natural or artificial light
• Encouraging intentional social connection
• Developing nourishing habits that protect mental health
• Integrating therapeutic care and medical support when appropriate

Community is also an essential part of this advocacy. People struggling during seasonal transitions often feel isolated or overlooked, especially when others expect them to “push through it.” Creating spaces for connection where individuals feel validated, supported, and understood can make the difference between surviving and genuinely thriving.

If you or someone you know experiences:

• Low motivation or exhaustion
• Heightened sadness or irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Changes in appetite or sleep
• Increased anxiety
• Emotional numbness
• Withdrawal from social interaction
• A sense of “shutting down” in fall or winter

Know that you are not alone. And more importantly, you are not hopeless.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is treatable, manageable, and understandable. With the right support, people don’t just cope; they grow. They learn to navigate seasonal shifts with awareness and preparation. They reclaim parts of themselves that once felt dimmed by colder months. They move through each season with more grace.

This is the heart of my advocacy: to encourage people to choose themselves, again and again, through every season of their lives.

Choose rest.

Choose grounding.

Choose what nourishes you.

Choose connection.

Choose healing in any weather, in any season.

You were never meant to navigate any of this alone.

 

Patricia Brown, LPC-S, CCTP