Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Ross on the News with Gina Hygena. I
always like to make sure to say Hygiena just when
you're taking a drink of water.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And if you cause, you think it's accidental that I
say hi right when you've got your water thing up
to your mouth.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
It is not and high dragon, So it's it's a
little overcast today. But more importantly, I think many folks
will have noticed, as you will have every year, that
as we go into the winter, the days get shorter
and just you know, it's less sunny and less and
even when the sun is up, it's a little lower
in the sky and the sunlight feels a little bit thin,
(00:34):
and that has some real psychological effects for some people.
And I thought, as we're heading into this time of year,
and as we're heading into the holidays as well, I
thought it would be useful for me and for listeners
to learn a little more about this and maybe a
little more about what to do about seasonal effective disorder
(00:57):
SAD joining us to talk about it. Rebecca Richie. She
is the co founder of Solstice Psychology and that is
the website Solstice psychology dot com. Doc thanks for joining
us here on.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
KOA Hey, thanks for having me, ros glad to do it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
So just very very briefly, just to just define describe
sad and then we'll get to really the nuts and
bolts of the conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, that sounds good. So I SAYD stands for seasonal
affect of disorder, which is basically a form of depression
that follows the seasonal life cycle. Like you said, for
a lot of people sometimes kind of start showing up
this time of year, especially you know, the last couple
of weeks after we've had that daylight savings drop, and
so when it's start you know, later in the morning,
and then especially you know, it gets dark at this
(01:44):
time of year around four thirty in the afternoon, and
so it just it feels a little bit not heavier
for a lot of folks.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Doctor, what are some of those symptoms, because how are
you really able to like tell them a part of
oh this is seasonal or oh this is something that
I deal with a lot.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, that's a good question. So, you know, for a
lot of people this time yere, they just feel kind of,
like I said, a little heavier. They feel more tired,
kind of more withdrawn. It almost feels like you want
to hibernate, you want to have more carbs, you want
to sleep some more. You have a harder time focusing,
and just everything feels like it takes a little bit
of extra energy this time of year.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So I know a little bit. I've read a little
bit about it. Some kind of special light you can buy,
maybe you can talk about that a little bit, but
but generally, what is to be done since you know,
you and I are probably unlikely to have much influence
on how many hours the sun is going to be
in the sky.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, it's sad that we don't, isn't it. So you know,
the further we get from the equator, the worst this
gets her folks, And so up here in Denver we
have we have a lot of it, and so nation White,
about one to one to three percent of adults will
suffer from sad but it's way worse for women and
worse for people who are nerded version as well.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And so.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Some things you can do, like you said, you mentioned
the light therapy, that's a very effective treatment. It's a
ten thousand looks light boxes is really helpful, about twenty
thirty minutes a day, typically in the morning, is really
helpful and then for the other strategies that we typically use,
they're going to be the things that you think, right, So,
we're going to encourage you to get a lot of exercise.
We're gonna encourage you to get a stable sleep schedule,
(03:22):
get up at the same time every morning, go to
bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends,
which is no fun. We're gonna, you know, encourage you
to stay connected. Even if you feel like staying at
home and hibernating, don't do that. Go out, have guards
with your friends, you know, be active. And then one
thing that's really unique and for SAD is that a
morning light exposure. And so it's not going to be
(03:43):
helpful in a day like today that's kind of you know,
yucky and overcast. If there's the morning sun, get outside,
no sunglasses and just you know, engage with the sun
for ten minutes in the morning, no sunglasses, no sunglasses,
look at light right into your eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Interesting. Okay, Well, doctor, you talked a little bit about
different states, and it's funny when I hear people talk
about SAD in Colorado, I'm like, well, you didn't live
in Michigan, because Michigan it feels like all the time
it's gray and dreary and cold, and you never see
the sun during the winter months. Do people just go
about their day to day life just dealing with this
or how many people actually do address sad when they're
(04:20):
dealing with it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well, not enough, is the answer. I hear you about Michigan.
I'm originally from Indiana, and it just you know, the
day after Halloween until after Easter is just so so gray.
And so yeah, if you're the kind of person who's
affected by this, don't wait, you know, just go ahead
and get on some of these strategies. But I do
want to say, if you're the kind of person that
(04:42):
has these these symptoms for more than two weeks, if
they're affecting your function and you can't get out of bed,
just go ahead and come on in. You know, we
have therapy that will work for these kind of things.
If it's bad enough. There are some pharmacological tweetments we
can utilize. And so don't don't suffer with this and
don't do it alone.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
We're talking with doctor Rebecca Ritchie from Solstice Psychology, and
you mentioned that sad tends to affect women. I think
you said quite a bit more than men. Is there
an understanding as to why that's the case.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
You know, it's a biological mechanism, and so you know,
this time of year it affects our serotonin and our
dope and reenergic strategies and things like that, and so
you know, women have a lot going on and a
lot of parents, especially moms. Winter piles on extra stress
as less daylight, more logistics like holidays, everybody's stuck indoor.
(05:34):
It's kind of the perfect storm. And so there's a
lot of reasons for it, but especially women out there,
if you're struggling, you know, come on in. Like I said,
there's a lot of things we can do to help out.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Doctor Rebecca Ritchie from Solstice Psychology. That's the website Solstice
Psychology dot com. And as always, just so listeners know,
if you go to my blog at Rosskominsky dot com,
we have a list right there in each day's blog
cast I call it of all the guests and the
links to them. So if you forget doctor Ritchie's website
(06:04):
you want to get some help with this, if you
just go to Rosskominsky dot com you can easily find it.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Doc.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Thanks for making time for us. Really appreciate it's great
an important topic anytime.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Guys, have a great day, Okay,
This is Ross on the News with Gina Hygena. I
always like to make sure to say Hygiena just when
you're taking a drink of water.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And if you cause, you think it's accidental that I
say hi right when you've got your water thing up
to your mouth.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
It is not and high dragon, So it's it's a
little overcast today. But more importantly, I think many folks
will have noticed, as you will have every year, that
as we go into the winter, the days get shorter
and just you know, it's less sunny and less and
even when the sun is up, it's a little lower
in the sky and the sunlight feels a little bit thin,
(00:34):
and that has some real psychological effects for some people.
And I thought, as we're heading into this time of year,
and as we're heading into the holidays as well, I
thought it would be useful for me and for listeners
to learn a little more about this and maybe a
little more about what to do about seasonal effective disorder
(00:57):
SAD joining us to talk about it. Rebecca Richie. She
is the co founder of Solstice Psychology and that is
the website Solstice psychology dot com. Doc thanks for joining
us here on.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
KOA Hey, thanks for having me, ros glad to do it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
So just very very briefly, just to just define describe
sad and then we'll get to really the nuts and
bolts of the conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, that sounds good. So I SAYD stands for seasonal
affect of disorder, which is basically a form of depression
that follows the seasonal life cycle. Like you said, for
a lot of people sometimes kind of start showing up
this time of year, especially you know, the last couple
of weeks after we've had that daylight savings drop, and
so when it's start you know, later in the morning,
and then especially you know, it gets dark at this
(01:44):
time of year around four thirty in the afternoon, and
so it just it feels a little bit not heavier
for a lot of folks.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Doctor, what are some of those symptoms, because how are
you really able to like tell them a part of
oh this is seasonal or oh this is something that
I deal with a lot.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, that's a good question. So, you know, for a
lot of people this time yere, they just feel kind of,
like I said, a little heavier. They feel more tired,
kind of more withdrawn. It almost feels like you want
to hibernate, you want to have more carbs, you want
to sleep some more. You have a harder time focusing,
and just everything feels like it takes a little bit
of extra energy this time of year.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So I know a little bit. I've read a little
bit about it. Some kind of special light you can buy,
maybe you can talk about that a little bit, but
but generally, what is to be done since you know,
you and I are probably unlikely to have much influence
on how many hours the sun is going to be
in the sky.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, it's sad that we don't, isn't it. So you know,
the further we get from the equator, the worst this
gets her folks, And so up here in Denver we
have we have a lot of it, and so nation White,
about one to one to three percent of adults will
suffer from sad but it's way worse for women and
worse for people who are nerded version as well.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And so.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Some things you can do, like you said, you mentioned
the light therapy, that's a very effective treatment. It's a
ten thousand looks light boxes is really helpful, about twenty
thirty minutes a day, typically in the morning, is really
helpful and then for the other strategies that we typically use,
they're going to be the things that you think, right, So,
we're going to encourage you to get a lot of exercise.
We're gonna encourage you to get a stable sleep schedule,
(03:22):
get up at the same time every morning, go to
bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends,
which is no fun. We're gonna, you know, encourage you
to stay connected. Even if you feel like staying at
home and hibernating, don't do that. Go out, have guards
with your friends, you know, be active. And then one
thing that's really unique and for SAD is that a
morning light exposure. And so it's not going to be
(03:43):
helpful in a day like today that's kind of you know,
yucky and overcast. If there's the morning sun, get outside,
no sunglasses and just you know, engage with the sun
for ten minutes in the morning, no sunglasses, no sunglasses,
look at light right into your eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Interesting. Okay, Well, doctor, you talked a little bit about
different states, and it's funny when I hear people talk
about SAD in Colorado, I'm like, well, you didn't live
in Michigan, because Michigan it feels like all the time
it's gray and dreary and cold, and you never see
the sun during the winter months. Do people just go
about their day to day life just dealing with this
or how many people actually do address sad when they're
(04:20):
dealing with it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well, not enough, is the answer. I hear you about Michigan.
I'm originally from Indiana, and it just you know, the
day after Halloween until after Easter is just so so gray.
And so yeah, if you're the kind of person who's
affected by this, don't wait, you know, just go ahead
and get on some of these strategies. But I do
want to say, if you're the kind of person that
(04:42):
has these these symptoms for more than two weeks, if
they're affecting your function and you can't get out of bed,
just go ahead and come on in. You know, we
have therapy that will work for these kind of things.
If it's bad enough. There are some pharmacological tweetments we
can utilize. And so don't don't suffer with this and
don't do it alone.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
We're talking with doctor Rebecca Ritchie from Solstice Psychology, and
you mentioned that sad tends to affect women. I think
you said quite a bit more than men. Is there
an understanding as to why that's the case.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
You know, it's a biological mechanism, and so you know,
this time of year it affects our serotonin and our
dope and reenergic strategies and things like that, and so
you know, women have a lot going on and a
lot of parents, especially moms. Winter piles on extra stress
as less daylight, more logistics like holidays, everybody's stuck indoor.
(05:34):
It's kind of the perfect storm. And so there's a
lot of reasons for it, but especially women out there,
if you're struggling, you know, come on in. Like I said,
there's a lot of things we can do to help out.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Doctor Rebecca Ritchie from Solstice Psychology. That's the website Solstice
Psychology dot com. And as always, just so listeners know,
if you go to my blog at Rosskominsky dot com,
we have a list right there in each day's blog
cast I call it of all the guests and the
links to them. So if you forget doctor Ritchie's website
(06:04):
you want to get some help with this, if you
just go to Rosskominsky dot com you can easily find it.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Doc.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Thanks for making time for us. Really appreciate it's great
an important topic anytime.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Guys, have a great day, Okay,
The Ross Kaminsky Show News
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