Understanding Depression: Navigating the Darkness of Winter, by Dayna Johnson, AMFT

As the days get shorter and the cold settles in, many people feel more down than usual. Many of my clients have been discussing with me their depressive symptoms and how it just feels harder to get things done during this time. For some, these winter blues are a sign of a deeper struggle: depression. Understanding depression, especially in the context of winter, is crucial to finding ways to cope and thrive even in the darkest months.

Depression is more than just feeling sad or having a bad day. It is a medical condition that affects how you feel, think, and handle daily activities.

Symptoms can include:

• Persistent sadness or emptiness

• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed

• Changes in appetite or weight

• Trouble sleeping or oversleeping

• Fatigue or lack of energy

• Difficulty concentrating

• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt

• Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression is not a sign of weakness, and it is not something you can simply “snap out of”. It’s a condition that often requires professional help, along with self-care and support from loved ones.

Biological Perspectives on Depression:

Depression has a significant biological basis. Research has shown that changes in brain chemistry and structure play a key role in its development. I have found that understanding depression from a biological point of view can help reduce the stigma surrounding it.

Here are some key biological factors

Neurotransmitters:

Imbalances in brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine are strongly linked to mood regulation. Lower levels of these chemicals can contribute to depressive symptoms.

Brain Structure and Function:

Studies suggest that people with depression often show changes in specific brain regions, such as reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (associated with decision-making and emotional regulation) and heightened activity in the amygdala (linked to processing emotions).

Hormonal Influences:

Hormonal changes, such as those involving cortisol (the stress hormone), can contribute to the onset of depression. Chronic stress often leads to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, further exacerbating symptoms.

Genetic Perspectives on Depression:

Genetics also play an important role in depression. While no single gene causes the condition, research has identified several genes that may increase susceptibility:

Family Studies:

Depression tends to run in families. If a close relative has experienced
depression, the likelihood of developing it increases.

Gene-Environment Interaction:

Genetic predisposition interacts with environmental factors, such as trauma or chronic stress, to trigger depression. For instance, individuals with certain genetic markers may be more vulnerable to the effects of adverse life
events.

Epigenetics:

Emerging research suggests that environmental factors can influence how
genes related to depression are expressed, further highlighting the complexity of genetic contributions.

Evolutionary Psychology Perspectives on Depression

From an evolutionary standpoint, depression may have developed as an adaptive response to certain environmental or social conditions. While this perspective is still debated, several theories offer insights:

• Conservation of Energy: Depression may have evolved to encourage withdrawal from stressful or harmful situations, allowing individuals to conserve energy and recover.

• Social Signaling: Some researchers suggest that depressive symptoms like withdrawal or low mood may serve as signals to others in a community, eliciting support and fostering social bonding.

• Problem-Solving Focus: Rumination, a common feature of depression, might have evolved as a way to intensely focus on problems or challenges to find solutions, although it can become maladaptive in chronic cases.

Insights from “The New CBT”; According to The New CBT, depressive symptoms may serve as a mechanism to promote self-reflection and reassessment of goals. This perspective emphasizes that depression, while painful, can push individuals to pause and evaluate aspects of their lives that are not aligned with their core needs or values. For example, the withdrawal and introspection seen in depression might have historically allowed individuals to reevaluate their social roles, relationships, or
environmental conditions to make necessary adjustments for long-term survival and well-being.

Why Is Depression Worse in Winter?

Winter can exacerbate depressive symptoms due to several factors:

• Lack of Sunlight: Reduced exposure to natural light can disrupt your body’s internal clock and lower serotonin levels, which affect mood.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): For some, winter depression manifests as a subtype of depression linked to the season.

• Isolation: Shorter days and colder weather can lead to spending more time indoors, increasing feelings of loneliness and isolation.

• Holiday Stress: Financial pressures, family tensions, or the emotional weight of the holidays can intensify feelings of sadness.

Coping with Winter Depression

While winter presents unique challenges, there are effective strategies for managing depression during this time of year:

• Embrace Light

• Spend time outside during daylight hours, even if it’s cloudy.

• Use light therapy lamps designed to mimic natural sunlight.

• Keep your home well-lit to create a sense of brightness and warmth.

• Stay Active Exercise regularly, even if it’s just a walk around the block. Physical activity boosts endorphins and improves mood.

• Try winter sports or indoor activities like yoga or dance to stay engaged.

• Connect with Others. Reach out to friends and family for support, even if it’s through a phone call or video chat.

• Join a support group or engage in community activities to combat isolation

• Prioritize Self-Care

• Stick to a consistent sleep schedule to regulate your body’s internal clock.

• Eat a balanced diet rich in nutrients that support mental health, like omega-3 fatty acids and whole grains.

• Practice relaxation techniques like mindfulness or meditation.

Seek Professional Help:

- If your symptoms persist or worsen, reach out to a mental health professional. Consider therapy, medication, or a combination of both, if recommended.

Finding Hope in the Winter Months:

It’s important to remember that depression, whether seasonal or year-round, is treatable. You don’t have to navigate it alone. By understanding the unique challenges winter brings and taking proactive steps to care for your mental health, you can find light even in the darkest season.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, know that help is available. Reach out to a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional. You are not alone, and brighter days are ahead—even in winter.

Dayna is currently accepting new clients. Please contact our admin Tracy to schedule or gain more information at 619-272-6858, info@anxietytraumatherapy.com . You may also contact Dayna directly at 619-272-6858 x712 or dayna@anxietytraumatherapy.com

Showing Up With Compassion, By Dayna Johnson, AMFT

Recently, I had a client of mine reenter rehab. I hadn’t known this client long, so I had minimal context to determine his process in making this decision for himself. However, I am always pleased to hear a client tending to their needs and acting out of autonomy. Addiction is a specific area of my field that I have grown to love, and upon hearing the news from my client, I began to reflect on how addicts view themselves in society. Often, we hear the classic tale that addiction is a disease that needs to be "cured" or tended to through 12-step programs, and it requires the addict to admit to themselves and others the things that were done during addiction. 12-step programs have been used since AA was created in the 1930s, and the same model has been used in different areas since, including NA (Narcotics Anonymous), SLAA (Sex and Love Addictions Anonymous), and MAA (Marijuana Addiction Anonymous). The list continues as we now see addiction groups for things like video games, phones, workaholics, and eating disorders. As the list grows, so does our understanding of addictions, and what we see behaviorally is that we all find addiction in some form as human beings.

Some people most certainly will experience addictive behavior as a theme for their lives more so than others. They may resolve alcohol concerns, but find they now have trouble with cannabis addiction. That becomes resolved, but they now have shopping addictions that arise as new concerns, and the cycle may continue until the root cause is identified. When we see someone addicted to alcohol, however, it is met with a very different response from society than someone would receive who is addicted to shopping or food. Someone with an eating disorder is usually approached with more compassion because we have a basic understanding that if someone is over or under-eating, they must be in pain, but someone with alcohol dependency is labeled so quickly as a diseased addict and often does not get approached with the same perspective.

The truth about addiction is that, in all forms, it will be used as a method to distract and shut down our most wounded parts. Those who struggle with addiction have usually experienced trauma in their lives that has led to this mode of expression and release. The polarized perspectives taken on substance abuse could be partially due to the bias held that most of those with addiction (particularly alcohol addiction) are men. Little boys were taught that being masculine meant diluting vulnerability. The message that society gives men, “Man up, get it together,” is the same message being sent to the addict, “admit that you messed up and fix the problem.” Both of these statements convey the same sentiment, which is, “This problem is your fault, and you have to solve it alone.”

My point in writing this today is to share an alternative message. In the book No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz, he speaks about his model called Internal Family Systems (IFS). We are all familiar with phrases like, “part of myself really wants to, but another part of me doesn’t”  IFS uses this language and expounds on it, describing our internal world as being made of different parts that interact with one another. Schwartz asserts that we can access these different parts and communicate with them directly as a means of understanding what need is asking to be filled. For example, he highlights how addiction is a protective part that is being upheld because the other wounded parts are not safe to exist authentically. Below is an excerpt from the book and chart explaining the “personalities” outlined in the theory.

“Jonathan Van Ness tried and failed at drug rehab several times.
“Growing up around so much 12-Step, and seeing so much abstinence
preached in rehab and in church, I started to take on an idea that healing had
to be all or nothing, which has really not been my truth. I was trying to
untangle sexual abuse, drug abuse, and PTSD, and it was something that for
me wasn’t conducive to a never-ever-smoking-weed-again approach.... I
don’t believe that once an addict, always an addict. I don’t believe that
addiction is a disease that warrants a life sentence.... If you ever mess up or
can’t string a couple of months together without a slipup, you’re not
ruined.” There are 12-Step approaches that aren’t so locked in to the rigid beliefs
that Van Ness encountered, and the groups can be a wonderful context for
people to be vulnerable and receive support. Also, the 12-Step admonition to
give everything up to a higher power can often help inner drill instructors
lighten up or even surrender. The larger point I want to make here is that any
approach that increases your inner drill sergeant’s impulse to shame you into
behaving (and make you feel like a failure if you can’t) will do no better in
internal families than it does in external ones in which parents adopt
shaming tactics to control their children.
Don’t think that this critique of willpower reveals that there’s no room
for inner discipline in IFS. Like children in external families, we each have
parts that want things that aren’t good for them or for the rest of the system.
The difference here is that the Self says no to impulsive parts firmly but
from a place of love and patience, in just the same way an ideal parent
would. Additionally, in IFS, when parts do take over, we don’t shame them.
Instead, we get curious and use the part’s impulse as a trailhead to find what
is driving it that needs to be healed.”

Dayna Johnson, AMFT is now accepting new clients. Call 619-272-6858 to schedule an appointment or email us at info@anxietytraumatherapy.com