It’s the middle of December, and for many, that means that now is the time when you’re struggling with seasonal affective disorder.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), often referred to as seasonal depression, is a type of depression that typically emerges during specific times of the year, most commonly in the late fall and winter. The cause of this depression varies, but is linked to a combination of a lack of sunlight, changes in social and physical behavior, and potentially stress over the holidays.
It should first be noted that seasonal depression should be treated. Depression is life altering, and even in situations where depression is seasonal, that is not only a lot of months that are spent with depression, but also the impact of those months can lead to further challenges. However, because seasonal depression has a tendency to mostly “go away” when the season changes, many people choose not to treat their seasonal depression and simply hope to wait it out.
But there’s another problem with this approach: there is no guarantee that the depression you experienced before is the same severity as the depression that you’ll experience now. Not only can the symptoms of seasonal depression cause issues even after the seasons change, but seasonal depression can also become worse in certain situations.
Why Would Seasonal Depression Get Worse?
Seasonal depression is not necessarily going to be of the same severity each and every time it is experienced. It can get worse for a variety of reasons, including:
Reduced Exposure to Natural Light
One of the primary causes of seasonal depression is the lack of sunlight during shorter days. This reduction in light can disrupt your circadian rhythm and lower serotonin levels, contributing to feelings of sadness or lethargy. Worsening symptoms might occur due to:
Spending most of your time indoors.
Cloudy or stormy weather further reducing natural light exposure.
Not using light therapy consistently.
This article that you’re reading right now is being written at 12:40am, when it’s currently 20 degrees. Next week it’s going to be freezing and raining. It would not be a surprised if you’re spending more time indoors, which could make symptoms worse.
Another thing to keep in mind that is that many of us spend more and more time on our phones, so even when we can go outside, we spend more time inside away from sunlight.
Heightened Stress Levels
Stress can exacerbate symptoms of depression, and the winter months often bring additional stressors, such as:
Holiday planning or family obligations.
Financial strain from holiday spending or heating costs.
Deadlines or work pressures at the end of the year.
Stress may intensify feelings of hopelessness or overwhelm, particularly for individuals already managing SAD.
Social Isolation
The colder months can limit social opportunities, particularly when combined with shorter days and bad weather. Increased isolation can worsen symptoms of seasonal depression, leading to:
A sense of loneliness or disconnection from others.
Less motivation to seek out support or interact socially.
Greater time spent dwelling on negative thoughts.
Many of us are spending a lot of time indoors now, even more so than usual, so it’s possible that we’re socially isolating ourselves in ways that make seasonal depression worse.
Lifestyle Changes and Habits
Certain lifestyle changes in winter can inadvertently worsen seasonal depression, such as:
A lack of physical activity, which can decrease endorphins and energy levels.
Changes in diet, such as consuming more high-carb or sugary foods, which may cause energy crashes.
Irregular sleep patterns, such as oversleeping or inconsistent bedtimes.
For individuals already managing anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges, the added burden of seasonal depression can intensify symptoms. This may include:
Greater difficulty managing emotions.
Increased feelings of guilt or self-criticism.
Reduced resilience to everyday stressors.
This year is a good example of this. Imagine you were anxious or stressed in the days leading up to the election. You’re going through those emotions right as your seasonal depression is kicking in. Because you’re already stressed and anxious, your chances of a more severe seasonal depression could increase.
Hormonal Changes
Seasonal changes can influence the body’s production of melatonin and serotonin, which regulate sleep and mood. Worsening symptoms may result from:
Decreased serotonin activity, leading to greater sadness or irritability.
In addition, women that are already experiencing hormonal changes, such as perimenopause, might find that these changes make their seasonal depression worse.
No Reason at All
Depression is an emotionally heavy condition, and if it goes untreated, it may simply get worse for no clear reason at all. There may be an underlying reason that we discover in therapy, but sometimes, simply the act of having seasonal depression over and over again is enough to make it feel worse at times. Sometimes, even the stress of knowing that you have seasonal depression is enough to make it worse.
Managing Worsening Symptoms of Seasonal Depression
If you’re experiencing a worsening of seasonal depression, there are steps you can take to manage your symptoms.
You will need to maximize light exposure, spending more time outdoors and utilizing a light box if possible. You will want to exercise and stay engaged, trying to spend more time with people in your life if possible. You also need to consider seeking out professional help. Experienced therapists, like our team here at Flourish Psychology, know how to help with seasonal depression and even the lingering feelings of stress and depression that may occur afterwards.
Finding Relief
Seasonal depression doesn’t have to take over your life. Identifying the factors that worsen symptoms and taking proactive steps to address them can make a significant difference in how you feel throughout the season. If your symptoms are intensifying or becoming unmanageable, reaching out to a mental health professional can help you find effective solutions and support.
Typically, when we talk about depression, we discuss the feelings of being “low.” We talk about the hopelessness, and the ideations, and possibly the sadness and emptiness that are hallmarks of the condition. But depression is much more than that, and it is often important for individuals struggling with depression – and their loved ones – to recognize not only what these other symptoms are, but also why they’re occurring.
One such example is hypersomnia.
What is Hypersomnia?
Hypersomnia, or excessive sleepiness, is a common symptom of depression that can be challenging to manage. Unlike insomnia, which involves difficulty falling or staying asleep, hypersomnia causes a person to feel overly tired despite sleeping for long periods.
When someone experiences hypersomnia, they can sleep for well over 8+ hours and still be tired enough to fall asleep when they’re woken up. Depression doesn’t always cause hypersomnia, but when it does, many of those individuals have periods of 12+ hours of sleep or more on a regular basis, missing out on much of the day.
Hypersomnia can be partially behavioral (when you’re feeling down/empty, you may not want to get up), but it also has to do with the way depression affects the brain. Several interconnected biological factors can contribute to hypersomnia in depression, including:
Imbalances in Neurotransmitters – Depression is often associated with changes in the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These chemicals regulate mood and energy. A reduction in their availability can disrupt normal sleep-wake cycles, leading to prolonged feelings of tiredness.
Dysregulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis – The HPA axis is involved in the body’s stress response and also influences sleep. Chronic stress or depression can dysregulate this system, causing abnormal cortisol levels that impact the quality of sleep and result in persistent fatigue.
Inflammation and Immune System Activity – Emerging research suggests that depression may be linked to increased levels of inflammatory markers in the body. Inflammation can influence the brain’s sleep centers, causing excessive sleepiness and fatigue.
Melatonin and Circadian Rhythm Disruption – Depression often disrupts the circadian rhythm, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Abnormal melatonin secretion, which controls sleep timing, may cause individuals to feel sleepy at unusual times or sleep excessively.
Thalamus and Prefrontal Cortex Dysregulation – Depression can reduce activity in these regions, which are crucial for maintaining alertness and concentration. This diminished activity may explain why individuals with depression struggle to stay awake and alert during the day.
Reduced Orexin Levels – Orexins are neuropeptides that promote wakefulness. Studies suggest that people with depression and hypersomnia may have lower orexin levels, further contributing to excessive sleepiness.
It may be one factor or many. Some people also go through periods of insomnia, which can be followed by excessive sleepiness as a person tries to “make up” for lost sleep. The exact cause may never be known, but all of these are evidence that any excessive sleepiness is something a person may not be able to control on their own.
Why Hypersomnia Matters in Depression Management
Hypersomnia isn’t just inconvenient. It can make depression management more difficult. Hypersomnia can create a cycle of reduced energy, lower productivity, and greater feelings of hopelessness, compounding depressive symptoms. Addressing hypersomnia isn’t just about improving sleep – it’s an important part of treating the underlying depression.
Managing hypersomnia in depression requires addressing both the underlying depressive symptoms and the biological mechanisms that cause excessive sleepiness. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, reach out to Flourish Psychology today for more information about our depression treatment options.
Health anxiety, also known as illness anxiety disorder or hypochondria, is anxiety that is specifically about one’s health. Someone with health anxiety may find they struggle with moderate to severe anxiety that something is or will be wrong with their health. For example:
They may worry that they have an undiagnosed cancer.
They may worry that a mild illness is really a more serious illness.
They may worry that that a “normal” sensation is a sign of a larger problem.
People with panic attacks often struggle with this type of thinking. They may have chest pain caused by their panic attacks, but worry that their chest pain (and panic attacks!) are actually caused by a heart issue – either one that hasn’t been diagnosed or one that is likely to cause them a major medical event.
Many, many people struggle with illness anxiety disorder. Some people put the exact percentage at anywhere from 5% to 15%, and even that may be an undercount if we include people that have more mild health anxiety issues.
We can – and will! – continue to talk about health anxiety at length, but one interesting thing to think about is the way that health anxiety may have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic first started.
Currently, there is no science about this, so this is solely a thought exercise.
Health anxiety covers any anxiety over one’s health. It doesn’t if the person fears the idea of illness or fears they already have one – all of these can be found under the umbrella of Health Anxiety.
Health anxiety also likely increased in frequency given the availability of information online on websites like WebMD. People were taking symptoms they were experiencing, such as knee pain, and self-diagnosing a more serious condition rather than the simpler, less dangerous explanation. Many doctors have reported that patients come in asking about rare conditions only to find out that either nothing is wrong, or that they have a much more mild and more common issue instead.
Since the pandemic, many people worry that more mild, more common colds and flus could actually be COVID-19, which overall is a much more dangerous condition. It’s difficult to truly fault this fear since COVID-19 has similar symptoms in its mild form and is common, but it can cause anxiety nonetheless.
However, one thing that does appear to be an interesting change since COVID-19 is the fear of catching illness from others. Typically, those that were afraid of “Contamination” were more likely to be struggling from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and their fear of contamination was considered irrational.
Now, there are many people that live in fear of catching COVID to a degree where they fear coughing, fear the sounds of sniffling, and fear any news that someone at an event they went to found out they were sick.
In some ways, this fear can be considered justifiable given the dangers of catching COVID-19. But still, living in fear of others spreading disease to us is certainly a different presentation of health anxiety. It’s also one that is partially rational, which can make it harder to overcome.
If you struggle with health anxiety, no matter how it manifests, reach out to Flourish Psychology, today. We are here to talk to you about your illness anxiety challenges, and determine the best way to reduce your fears.
We live immensely busy lives. Not only are we busy with work, kids, and more, but even our relaxation activities tend to be more stressful now than before. There is a lot less quiet reading of books, for example, and our endless distractions (phone, TV, etc.) mean that we’re always feeling behind and always have more to do.
So what happens?
There’s a term called “Revenge Bedtime Procrastination” that encompasses what happens to many people that are struggling with this. The term “revenge” in this context reflects the subconscious motivation to take back control of one’s schedule. This phenomenon, commonly associated with people who have demanding schedules or lack control over their daytime hours, is increasingly recognized as a form of self-compensation for missed leisure time.
Revenge bedtime procrastination is where individuals “steal” time late at night for activities like watching TV, scrolling through social media, or reading, *despite* understanding the consequences of reduced sleep. Instead of going to bed as they should, they stay up very late at night and then still have to wake up the next morning, leading to extreme tiredness and the challenges they entail.
Why Does Revenge Bedtime Procrastination Happen?
Revenge bedtime procrastination occurs for a variety of reasons. Several psychological and lifestyle factors contribute to revenge bedtime procrastination. Common causes include:
Lack of Daytime Autonomy – People with busy schedules, demanding jobs, or caretaking responsibilities may have limited time for personal relaxation. Late-night hours become a way to reclaim freedom and control over personal time.
Desire for Leisure and Escape – Many use this time to engage in enjoyable activities as a counterbalance to a day filled with responsibilities. This form of escapism often feels necessary for mental well-being.
Poor Sleep Habits – Some individuals struggle with establishing consistent sleep routines. Without a structured bedtime, it becomes easier to drift into nighttime activities that delay sleep.
Stress and Anxiety – The emotional toll of high-stress days can make winding down challenging, leading people to delay bedtime rather than face the pressures of the next day.
Relaxation Habits Not Working – Lastly, it should be noted that the activities we engage in to experience this “revenge bedtime procrastination” also do not really work that well, which means that the time you’re spending taking your time back isn’t necessarily time well spent. This means that you might be staying up later because you weren’t relaxing in the time you have.
All of these are some of the many possible reasons that people may struggle with revenge bedtime procrastination. Other people may have more personal reasons as well.
Effects of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination
Part of us feels like this is self-care. We feel like taking this time back is helpful for us to feel like we’re doing something for ourselves. But while it may feel that way at times, it tends to have problematic effects, including:
Sleep Deprivation – Chronic sleep deprivation leads to reduced cognitive performance, impaired memory, mood swings, and a heightened risk for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Physical Health Consequences – Lack of sleep is linked to a higher risk of chronic conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and immune system dysfunction.
Reduced Daytime Productivity – Ironically, staying up late to gain personal time can lead to fatigue that impairs productivity and enjoyment the following day, potentially creating a cycle of stress and continued bedtime procrastination.
This can also be quite cyclical. When you are stressed, you feel like you need more time to relax. When you are not as productive, you stay busier. When you’re overtired, you more trouble sleeping, and when you can’t sleep, you may do activities that keep you up even later.
How to Manage Revenge Bedtime Procrastination
For those experiencing revenge bedtime procrastination, developing strategies to improve sleep habits and regain balance is essential. Helpful approaches include:
Setting a Consistent Bedtime Routine – Sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time, even on weekends, can establish a natural sleep rhythm and reduce the urge to delay sleep.
Scheduling Personal Time During the Day – Allocating time for breaks or brief leisure activities throughout the day can help individuals feel less deprived of personal time at night.
Using Calming Pre-Sleep Activities – Engaging in relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or light reading can help the mind and body wind down for bed.
Limiting Screen Time – Reducing exposure to screens before bed can prevent overstimulation and make it easier to feel sleepy.
It’s also important to remember that the act of sleeping can help someone feel so much more rested and comfortable that they are able to get more personal time and self-care time in during the day. Trying it for an extended period of time can thus be immensely beneficial.
Finding Balance Between Personal Time and Rest
While revenge bedtime procrastination stems from a natural desire for autonomy and relaxation, prioritizing adequate rest is essential for mental and physical health. By finding ways to incorporate self-care and relaxation into daily routines, individuals can reduce the tendency to delay sleep and achieve a healthier balance.
If you’re interested in learning more about revenge bed time procrastination, contact Flourish Psychology, today.
There are many psychological struggles that can come up in a person’s life. Some people struggle with depression. Others struggle with ADHD. Others struggle with issues related to trauma. These issues can be so overwhelming that they become unmanageable.
Anxiety can be a little different. Severe anxiety and panic attacks can certainly be unmanageable as well. Many people struggle with anxiety that can be debilitating and dramatically impact a person’s life. But there are others that have a more generalized anxiety that is upsetting, disruptive, and uncomfortable, but on a day to day basis they can manage it.
But should you?
Benefits of Treating Anxiety
Many people live with anxiety without seeing a therapist because they can “manage it.” Despite feeling symptomatic of anxiety on the day to day, they are still able to do their jobs, spend time with their family, laugh, engage in a social life of some kind, and otherwise live what they view as a “normal” life.
Still, what you’re struggling with is not “normal.” You are living with and managing anxiety. It is affecting how you feel, your health, your ability to cope with things, and much more.
You deserve to live your *best* possible life – not just one that feels normal to you. Anxiety of all kinds can affect that. Treating that anxiety can help you:
Feel Healthier – Anxiety causes issues like upset stomach, headaches, even random aches like eye pain. If you have anxiety, chances are you do not feel your best, and that’s something that you can improve by learning to control and reduce anxiety through therapy.
Stress Management – Sometimes, we do not realize how our emotions are affected by our mental health. If you have anxiety, your mind and body are under constant stress. If you’re ever feel easily upset, overwhelmed, irritable, angry, or other negative emotions, it may be because you are already under constant stress from anxiety.
Memory and Happiness – Anxiety, quite literally, has an effect on our memory. We are less likely to remember the enjoyable activities we completed and less likely to form memories. When treat anxiety, we can feel happier, experience happiness for longer, and remember more happy memories in the future.
Better Sleep – When we have less anxiety, we tend to fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer. This is important not only for our physical health, but our mental health as well, as it reduces anxiety symptoms and makes it easier to cope with stress.
Prevention of Worsening Anxiety – It’s a good thing that your anxiety is manageable now. But psychological health is not static. It can change depending on experiences, health, and things like sleep. Learning to cope with your “manageable” anxiety can make it less likely your anxiety will get worse in the future.
Above all, even if you *can* live with your anxiety, you should not have to. Anxiety does not have to be something you live with. There are many mental health strategies that we can implement together to help improve the quality of your life and your overall psychological health.
Start Today – Learn More About Managing Anxiety
Anxiety is not destiny. There are many effective mental health tools that we have available to address and reduce anxiety. If you feel like you’re struggling with anxiety symptoms and want to learn more about how we can provide you with effective treatments, please reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.
Experiencing a panic attack can be an intensely overwhelming and distressing event. While panic attacks are psychological events that can often be addressed with therapy, the effect they have on the body can not only feel very physical, but actually have physiological and psychological consequences beyond the attack itself.
One example is memory loss. Though severe memory loss is rare, partial memory loss is a common issue for those with panic attacks, from basic forgetfulness to missing or inaccessible memories.
What Causes Memory Loss?
There are actually several mechanisms for memory loss in those that struggle with panic attacks, increasing the risk in those that struggle with them. These include the following.
Acute Stress Response and Memory Function
The body’s acute stress response, often referred to as the “fight or flight” response, plays a significant role in the onset of a panic attack. This response involves a surge of adrenaline and other stress hormones, such as cortisol, which prepare the body to face an immediate threat. While this response is essential for survival, it can adversely affect brain regions involved in memory processing, such as the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.
Hippocampal Function – The hippocampus is crucial for forming new memories and retrieving existing ones. High levels of cortisol, released during a panic attack, can impair hippocampal function, leading to difficulties in forming new memories and retrieving existing ones.
Prefrontal Cortex Function – The prefrontal cortex is involved in working memory and executive functions. During a panic attack, the overwhelming stress can disrupt the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, leading to issues with attention, decision-making, and memory retrieval.
In theory, those that experience more severe or more frequent panic attacks could also be more at risk for these issues.
Emotional Overload and Memory Encoding
Panic attacks are characterized by intense emotional experiences, including fear, anxiety, and a sense of impending doom. The emotional overload can interfere with the process of memory encoding, which is the initial step in creating new memories.
Attentional Narrowing – During a panic attack, the individual’s focus narrows to the source of threat or discomfort, leading to a phenomenon known as attentional narrowing. This focus shift can result in a lack of attention to other details and experiences, making it difficult to encode these into memory.
Emotional Hijacking – The amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional processing, becomes hyperactive during a panic attack. This hyperactivity can “hijack” cognitive resources needed for memory encoding, leading to gaps in memory for events occurring during or around the time of the attack.
When someone struggles with a panic attack, their thoughts, feelings, and more are all focused on the experience of the panic attack and its aftermath. While some people may still be able to function and pay some attention to the world around them, that attention may not be enough to encode into memory.
Sleep Disruption and Memory Consolidation
Quality sleep is vital for memory consolidation, the process by which short-term memories are stabilized into long-term storage. Panic attacks, especially those occurring at night, can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to insufficient REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, where significant memory consolidation occurs.
Sleep Architecture Changes – Panic attacks can alter the architecture of sleep, reducing the duration and quality of REM sleep. This disruption can impair the consolidation of memories formed during the day, leading to difficulties in recalling these memories later.
Anxiety and Rumination – The anxiety and rumination that often follow a panic attack can further interfere with sleep quality, compounding the effects on memory consolidation. The cyclical nature of anxiety, sleep disruption, and memory impairment can create a challenging pattern to break.
The mechanisms contributing to memory loss in individuals experiencing panic attacks are multifaceted, involving acute stress responses, emotional overload, and sleep disruption. These factors can impair memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, leading to gaps in memory and difficulties in recalling events related to or occurring during a panic attack.
However, it should be noted that memory loss of any kind could also be due to other factors. It is important to always seek out advice from specialists to determine the cause of any memory loss, and what the best approach is to address it. For help with anxiety and panic attacks, please reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.
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