As the seasons pass, I find the fall triggers mental fatigue. The change of seasons can be exhausting. Life’s balance becomes harder to find as the days grow shorter, colder, and darker. Shifting from summer strips away your freedom as school is added to the mix. I want to throw myself into Harry Potter marathons with a pumpkin spice latte in hand. I want to embrace the aesthetic and crunch leaves on fall forest walks. I find myself struck down with heaps of work but zero drive to do it, yet time keeps fleeting. It becomes cyclical — too much to do, so little time, even less motivation.
To those who feel the effects of nature’s punches and are struggling with their mental health as we roll into autumn and the upcoming winter months, this one’s for you.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of clinical depression and needs to be handled with care. This is more than occasional sadness: it follows a seasonal pattern and escalates as it impacts a person’s everyday functionality.
A lesser form of SAD is known as the winter blues. Winter blues are a more subtle change in mood that you may not deem severe enough to seek professional help. These effects of seasonality are thought of as a dimension, or a spectrum. Knowing and recognizing the winter blues has brought me a sense of comfort as it gives a label to the “less severe” while providing validity to the internal struggle.
I feel very passionately about recognizing and combating these mental health issues in my life and the lives of others. So, for you, I share my mini list of motivations.
Embrace the aesthetic of it all: I know this is way easier said than done, but there is a certain magic in these seasons and their festivities that make them so special, which makes me loathe the plummeting mental health realities we must brave in the face of Halloween movie nights and Christmas markets. When you feel up to it, it’s wonderfully important to embrace aesthetics and festivities. You deserve to celebrate the season!
Glorify studying: I like to play pretend during these months, acting the part of a dashing British scholar who’s doing a literature degree at Oxford. To make studying a bit of fun I work to actively fall in love with the aesthetic — this is not always successful, but when it is, it is extremely fulfilling. I pretend I am in a world of dark academia as I crack my window to hear the rain and light my candle for some soft lighting. So my advice is to play pretend! Embrace studying; it makes you look cool (right?).
Dopamine menu: There is a TikTok trend happening right now — the dopamine menu. I got curious and found a podcast that laid it all out. Note to Self podcast host Payton Sartain did an episode on dopamine menus where she discusses her personal menu and how she created it. Basically, you compile a list of productive activities that provide you with a dopamine boost. You then section these off into menu categories: appetizers are 5-10 minute activities that give you a boost in between more mundane tasks like homework or chores. Main courses are bigger activities that take 45 minutes or more to achieve but help you decompress and bring you joy, providing you with a dopamine surge. Sides are things you do while completing necessities, like listening to a podcast while doing the laundry. Finally, desserts are indulgent activities used to reward yourself! All these menu items are to be used at your own discretion to take charge of your mental health while still completing the more mundane tasks of life.
Take it day by day: A cliché at best, but an honest piece of advice to its core. Be kind to yourself. Today is not tomorrow, and yesterday does not dictate the future. With love, you got this.
If you have noticed an extreme and constant change in mood, please seek help. UFV has counselling resources to support you through anything you may be dealing with. Seeking help is hard, but necessary when you are feeling the effects of SAD. SAD is clinical and out of a person’s control, but these feelings are very real and need to be treated as such. My main preach is that you are not alone even when it feels its worst. Reach out, and be kind to yourself; we can brave these seasons.
