The end to Daylight Saving Time marks the start of Seasonal Affective Disorder

As you know, this weekend we'll be turning our clocks back, marking an end to daylight saving time. So losing that extra hour of daylight can also affect our moods. Margo Hill, clinical services manager at Starfish Family Services, here to really break down the impact. Because I feel like, Margo, once the clocks go back, the sun dwindles away, seasonal depression, winter blues, when there's a difference. We'll get into that. But I feel like once it hits, it's kind of hard to tell or you don't really know until it's slapdab and it's reality. Yeah, so a lot of us Michiganders always experience the winter blues when colder days, darker days, you know, less sunlight. Winter blues are more of the less motivation, low energy, want to stay in bed. but it's not really fully impacting our daily lives or stopping us from actually getting up, going to work, going to school, doing what we need to do. When it's a little bit more persistent, you definitely not getting out of bed. It is impacting your functionality and your daily routine that turns into that seasonal depression space and impacts you a little bit more than just tired. Right. Cause we, I mean, we have like those bad, you know, and down days all the time, But talk about some of those symptoms. How do you know if you are truly in a seasonal depressive state? If it's happening over the course of weeks. So winter blues is more like maybe one or two days. Something that's happening over the course of weeks or months is more of the severe depression space that the seasonal depression lands you in. Got it. We have some of those symptoms on the screen there. So take a look because, again, it creeps in. And we were talking to, you know, melanated folks, you know, those of color. that affects us too you know a lot more vitamin d intake right definitely we need a lot more vitamin d so in those moments of we're going pushing the clocks back so we're losing even more daylight if you have the opportunity get out in the sun when the when the sun is out when it is daytime get out do some walking do some movement things like that stay consistent in your schedule make sure your routines don't change too much um but when you are feeling that low space where you can't get up, can't get out, not motivated to do anything, it is okay to seek help. It is okay to reach out for that support and resources. And talk about that because I mean, I feel like there's always the stigma. It's always hard you know asking saying, hey, I need help, something's going on. And again, you may not know what is going on. Absolutely. So talk about just that outreach and that relationship. That alone, just realizing is showing that there is some resilience, there is some strength. And not only just the strength, there's awareness, right? You realize something internally is happening to you that typically wouldn't happen or that you're noticing doesn't happen all the time. It's okay to reach out. It's okay to ask for help, calling your doctor, getting a referral, reaching out Starfish Family Services. We provide support across the entire lifespan age. So youth, adolescents, teens, adults, well into adulthood and providing care and support. do you guys prepare going into what I imagine is a very busy and demanding season for you guys as well? Yes, self care is important, right? We preach to our clinicians and our staff at Starfish that in order to care for others, you have to be able to care for yourself. It's like being in the airplane, the flight attendant is telling you, you gotta put your mask on first. So you have to you know get yourself hyped up first, do what you need to energize yourself because you are taking on other people's life's concerns and problems and helping navigate those spaces with them. So you have to be able to find ways to care for yourself. Stay connected with your close friends, your family, get out, get physical, do some activities. I think that's the big thing too. You're not alone in this at all. There is help. You can scan that QR code, by the way, to donate just to this cause and Starfish Family Services as the need continues. Absolutely. And we all take care of ourselves. We do. Thank you. All right.