Succeeding with SAD: Reach Out Together's Profiles of Seasonal Mental Health Struggles

Toronto, Canada, December 31, 2020 --(PR.com)-- As the world emerges from a socially distanced holiday season, Reach Out Together's focus for this month has been on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For their ongoing Mental Health Impact Series, Reach Out Together spoke to three community leaders about their experiences and coping strategies.

For some people, seasonal changes mean feeling under the weather; sleeping too much or too little, a change in eating habits, or an overall depressed or dejected mood. When this is persistent for a season, across multiple years, and it becomes disruptive to a person’s daily living, it can indicate Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Research suggests that two to three per cent of Canadians will experience SAD, and another 15 per cent will experience a milder form sometimes known as "winter blues." However, it is a myth that SAD is winter-exclusive. It can also occur in the summer. The risk of SAD decreases with age and it is more common in women and those living in warmer climates. But nobody is immune. This month, Reach Out Together spoke to community leaders about what this means and how they strive for success while living with SAD.

Ankita Paryani, a fashion enthusiast and young professional who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, describes the impact of a change in climate, both of weather and of culture, on her state of mind after moving to the U.K.

Her advice to those living with SAD is direct: “Build your community. Be close to nature.”

She recounts an experience from her time in Lester, U.K., when a neighbour living with a mental illness knocked on her door and threatened to kill her.

At the time, her reaction was to turn inward.

“I knew people were there for me, but I wasn’t ready for that,” she says.

Paryani recalls ongoing episodes of self-isolation and loss of appetite, which she connects partly to not being adjusted to the climate, as well as to a lack of sunlight, as she coped with her experience.

She ultimately turned to online therapy, journaling, and meditation, while surrounding herself with nature.

Paryani credits this change to her environment as the major step in getting to a point of being able to talk with others about mental health.

“The worst thing that you can do to yourself is know that something’s wrong and just live like that...Your intuition doesn’t lie. When you feel that something’s wrong...reach out and talk about it,” she says.

Yogita Manchanda, an undergraduate psychology student at McMaster University, says it’s not necessarily the weather in itself, but how we relate to our environment, that matters most for our mental health outcomes.

She says the struggle isn't just about "gray days." There have been warm, sunny days when she has struggled to leave her room. Her experience reflects that of others living with summertime SAD, busting the myth that it is only a winter condition.

Manchanda has not only found her own motivation to go for walks, but encouraged others to do so for their own mental health. As Miss Brampton World 2020, she organized a Walk Across Brampton to raise mental health awareness, in which Reach Out Together founder, Aanchal Vashistha, took part.

She says people need to be more educated about mental health, from an earlier age, with the understanding that we each have our own experiences with it, and that relating them helps each of us.

“If a person’s struggling, give them some time, show that you’re there for them...and see what works for them.”

Akiem Ra-zhi, a Toronto-based entrepreneur and martial artist, has a take-charge approach towards coping with the season. What he calls "self"-defense refers to protecting ourselves from our own negative thoughts.

He describes a personal event in 2006, when after a Taekwondo sparring tournament, he went immediately to the hospital with both legs injured. His doctor gave him crutches and advised he wouldn’t be able to walk for three months. In spite of this, he soon after incorporated walking into his routine, and within that month, Akiem says, he was “back to kicking.”

This event informs his perspective on mental health, including SAD.

“There are so many factors that play into how we perceive things,” he says. “My philosophy surrounding weather is [it’s] out of my control. Things that I can control are how I respond, and what I choose to do with my day.”

Akiem does, however, believe a strong support network can make a difference.

“Words are very powerful and I believe we should be mindful of how we think and speak to each other,” he says.

For each of these young professionals, coping with SAD means building a positive environment through practicing self-care and maintaining a strong support network.

Reach Out Together encourages everyone to keep these ideas in mind for a new year of conversations and of healing.