Lions' Digest Winter Issue 03 2020

Over the past few months,
I’ve spent a lot of time
thinking about what life was
like before the pandemic. There
were so many days I chose to
spend my time at home when
I could have been out with my
friends-- oh the irony. While I
OP-ED
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE
DISORDER: HOW TO COPE
DURING A PANDEMIC
BY GRACE JONES
was stuck at home and trying to
figure out how to adapt to this
new reality, I learned two things:
how much I depend on my
friends and how FaceTime can’t
compare to seeing someone in
person. The pandemic has taken
away moments we once took
for granted, and for those who
thrive off human connection,
digital substitutes can’t compare
to these lost moments. Still,
where there is darkness, there is
light. For many, the outdoors
have been a place of solace
throughout these difficult times,
and the changing of seasons
threatens the addition of new
problems.
Each year when the days
begin to get shorter, the weather
starts to get colder, and nightfall
comes earlier and earlier, there’s
always a dark cloud hovering
over people affected by Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD).
Despite SAD affecting 5% of
the U.S. adult population, it
is still a misunderstood and
misinterpreted condition. While
it shares certain similarities with
depression, seasonal depression
differs in two main aspects:
it occurs at the same time
every year and is most directly
affected by the weather. For
people suffering from SAD,
social interaction is important
in navigating the additional
stressors put on them during this
time of year.
Junior Anastasia Figart has
experienced SAD firsthand and
found that the main thing that
helped her through was being
with her friends.
“They remind me that even
though it may be gloomy, these
days are exactly like the rest and
I shouldn’t let these shadows
hold me,” Figart said.
For her and the thousands
of people that are experiencing
SAD right now, this option has