Seasonal blues manageable

By Scott D’Amico, Staff Writer

The holiday season can bring end-of- the-semester elation and holiday cheer, but it also can bring feelings of sadness and loneliness.

Those feelings during the holiday season may be seen as depression, but one OCCC psychology professor doesn’t think that’s entirely true.

“I think people around this time of year are probably talking about sadness,” said Yuthika Kim.

“So they could have a sense of probably loneliness but that wouldn’t be depression within itself.”

Kim said one ailment that might affect people at this time of the year is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, SAD is a form of depression that can affect people in either the summer or winter.

However, the site reports SAD is more prevalent during the winter than the summer.

According to the National Mental Health Disorders Association, the average onset age for SAD is 23.

They also report that approximately 10 to 20 percent of the population suffers from some degree of SAD during the winter.

“You might see [SAD] more often during the wintertime here than at any other time of the year,” Kim said.

He said this disorder is seen more in the north, but that it is something seen in this region of the country, as well.

Kim said the loss of daylight during this time of the year is one factor that can cause SAD.

“The person isn’t exposed to as much sunlight as he or she may need, and that’s actually one of the theories to it,” Kim said when asked what caused the disorder.

“And there’s less outside engagement [than] there is during the summertime or spring.”

Kim said it’s important to stay vigilant about symptoms that can occur when a person is feeling sad or lonely at this time of year, especially when that person could be experiencing some form of depression.

Some of those symptoms include: a depressed mood, problems concentrating, changes in sleeping habits, preoccupation with thoughts of death or suicide, or feelings of guilt and hopelessness.

“It’s actually a paradox,” Kim said.

“One of the things that a person who is clinically depressed will [do is] push away. But what they actually need the most is social connections and a social network.”

Kim said people who are depressed will commonly avoid people they are close to.

“They generally put up a wall and they wear a façade, a mask, and pretend everything is OK and things aren’t,” he said.

That paradox can be a hard wall to push down, but, Kim said, if you truly care about that person, it’s important to keep trying to break that wall down.

“If you truly love this person, it’s important to be persistent,” he said. “This person is only going to help themselves, but when they are ready you need to be there.”

Mary Turner, Student Development Counselor, said the school itself doesn’t provide therapy for students.

However, she said, they do refer students for help dependent upon factors such as the student’s location and whether or not they have health insurance.

She said the counselors have referral guides to help them point students in the right direction for help if counselors believe students are exhibiting signs of a depressive disorder.

Staff Writer Scott D’Amico can be reached at onlineeditor@occc.edu.