CMHA Sees Recent Increase in People Needing Support with Seasonal Affective Disorder – Saskatoon | The Canadian News

You may have heard of the “ winter blues, ” but in the midst of a pandemic, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) said it is seeing an increase in people seeking help.

There is no textbook way to pinpoint why someone experiences a mental health conflict because every circumstance is different.

However, the CMHA mentioned that Canadians have a specific disadvantage.

The winter months come with cold and dark days, which can be frightening.

CMHA’s Faith Bodner said January is notably the worst month for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression.

“That less exposure to natural sunlight can affect our brain chemicals, particularly melatonin, and we can overproduce that and become lethargic,” Bodner said.

He added that there was a large increase in people seeking help and resources at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the addition of a snowy winter, the numbers of inquiries continued to increase.

“We saw a quadruple of customer contacts from the first year of COVID to the second year and we have also had people who have never approached before during COVID and that is actually five and six times greater than it was. before, ”Bodner said.

Some symptoms to look out for may be sleeping excessively, eating less, withdrawing from social activities, or worsening hygiene.

Most cases of SAD are undocumented, according to Bodner.

For anyone who needs support or wants to know more about SAD, there is more in the CMHA website.