If Your SAD Symptoms Aren’t Shifting, Get Distracted

This winter has felt that much worse than ever before. Whether or not it’s true, it seems greyer, colder and the sun is currently only gracing the UK with a brief weekly appearance. I’m not the only one who feels this way — it’s the chat in the office and people are complaining all over my social feed. Although, every late February feels like a drag. Spring can’t come soon enough. Personally, I just need it to be a few degrees warmer so everything feels better — but until then I’ll distract myself. 

One in 20 people in the UK get SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and in the US it’s about 5% of the population with more women than men being susceptible to it. SAD happens during the winter due to reduced daylight, which affects serotonin levels. Even if your feelings aren’t quite bad enough to be considered a form of depression, the winter blues are likely still in full force. It’s never pleasant to wake up in the dark, go to work, then return home in the dark. On top of this, the news cycle is draining. It might seem a little entitled to feel bad because it’s dark and cold, we’re still allowed to be mentally affected by the environment and feel horror at what’s going on outside of us.

Spring is on the way and the days are slowly getting lighter, but it isn’t quite here yet. Mental health advice often recommends mindfulness, a technique of getting into the “here and now”. But what if the here and now feels a bit dire? There’s some merit to distraction. The little and easy task of looking away from the present moment to remember there are better days ahead.

The experts know distraction can serve us — to a point. Caroline Plumer, psychotherapist, says that on the upside, “distraction can be a good way of getting out of a negative spiral or stopping overthinking from worsening”. She calls it a “circuit breaker” and a tool that might be able to “give us hope”, which is something we all could do with. “Distractions are a reminder that we won't always feel so bad, and we do have the capacity to cope,” she adds. “Some people may find that making plans for the future gives them something to look forward to, but others may find focusing on a task is a better distraction”. That might involve baking bread for the first time, decluttering your wardrobe, going to an art gallery and reading all of the information cards, or driving off somewhere with a friend. For a condition like SAD, where the low mood is caused by the environment and lack of daylight, distracting yourself with thoughts of what’s coming ahead in sunnier months can help. Friends are vital too in dark times. “If you want to hang out with friends, remember you are well within your rights to ask that the time isn't spent dwelling on something difficult, but do try not to completely shut people out,” says Plumer. “A balance of having fun and keeping it light and also having those deeper conversations can be just what we need to ride out tough times.”

“Circuit breakers” serve a purpose when managing our wellbeing, but only if we don’t begin indulging in them to the point at which they become a new cycle in themselves. Plumber says: “Any distraction that makes you feel bad afterwards — physically or emotionally — is probably not a good distraction. Equally, something risky or potentially self destructive is best avoided. The reality is that most of us, if we take a second to step back and be really honest with ourselves, know whether what we are doing is healthy for us or if we are being somewhat reckless.” So, that drunken Saturday night out might well be a good distraction one week — a chance to let loose, see friends, dance, and feel free. But if it becomes a crutch to lean on, that kind of distraction opens up a whole new wave of problems. Also, if you’re then spending all of the next day in bed recovering, you’re only going to miss more daylight and opportunities to get outside in nature. “Distracting ourselves constantly may seem like a good idea when we're facing difficult emotions, but if we don't confront what we're feeling at some point, then the likelihood is it will come back later to bite us,” says Plumer. “It's always worth ensuring that we are making time to process our experiences and not just distract ourselves from them.”

Though not extensively researched, one study found that when people are distracted, they generally feel more positive. Even better, they then feel more creative when in that better mood. Being present and sitting with how we feel helps us assess and process our feelings, Plumer explains, but that requires hard work. We also all deserve to feel lightness and have moments of ease, without overly complex thinking going on at the same time. Like all things, a balance of both is needed. Dr Stephanie Minchin, a clinical psychologist and yoga therapist at MoreYoga, says distraction works as a short-term strategy. “If our level of tolerance to distress and discomfort is feeling fragile and we are easily overwhelmed by big emotions, then distraction can be helpful if used in a meaningful way,” says Minchin. “Helpful distraction is about purposefully moving our mind’s attention away from the discomfort and focusing and engaging in another activity which re-engages our mind.”

That’s where distraction gets a bad rap, though. “Many of us will have our unconscious default short-cuts. We’ll take the path of least resistance, chase pleasure and avoid pain,” she says. “This is both understandable and resourceful in the short-term, but it often blocks and numbs the emotions underneath. Inevitably, those undealt with emotions increase and intensify.” No one can throw a margarita, a cat meme, or a new dress at a problem and expect it to go away. SAD is something that people have to wait out, anyway. Distractions are only helpful when seen as a time-limited invitation to put down what feels heavy, knowing we’ll come back to it refreshed and hopefully happier. 

If you’re stuck on how to distract yourself in a healthier way, Minchin suggests changing your environment, getting into nature, moving your body, calling a friend, doing a practical task, connecting to something which makes you laugh or brings joy, and trying something new. If it’s 3 a.m. and you’re spiraling in bed, daydreaming is a distraction, too. Michin recommends the “Safe Space meditation” (a technique from Compassion Focused Therapy). “Create a safe space in your mind (imagined or real) and visualise it in detail, connecting to it through all of your five senses. The brain responds as if you are living that moment here and now and activates the relaxation response.” 

Whether we use the present to ground us, or an imagined future to take the edge off of panic, Minchin reminds us that “everything is about balance”, and extremes take us away from that. “Planning for the future, finding hope and reasons to be joyful is essential,” she says, “and it is also important to gradually and sensitively build resilience with experiencing discomfort in the here and now, turning towards it, so that you can move through it.” For now, we can hold on to the knowledge that brighter days ahead, and symptoms of SAD will fade away.