Seasonal depression in Norway
Today I am going to talk about a topic that has touched me in these last two years which is seasonal affective disorder. I have to say that, this topic was almost inexistent for me while living in a eastern-European city, ranked among top 10 Sunniest European Cities, and being surrounded by friends and family all the time. Certainly I had experienced low moments in the past, but never in continuation or that could effect my daily life. The peak of these low moments came while living far away from home, in a northen country in the world, Norway.
For information: In the first city that I lived in Norway, Trondheim, the darkest period in December had: sunrise at 10:00 am and sunset 2:30 pm, while the other city that I lived, Stavanger: sunrise 9:10 am and sunset 3:30 pm. The norther places in Norway, do not have sunset and sunrise at all during the winter period, while it is the opposite during summer. In addition to daylight, it is also the grayness of weather which is pretty common. On average there are 221 days of rainfall per year in Stavanger, and Trondheim experiences snowfall from November to March.
Having lack of sun during winter, which is one of the sources that we get vitamin D in our body, for a full season, sent me towards the signs of falling low emotionally. Never had I thought that sun and daylight would have so much impact in me. Nerveless, was not aware that this phenomena had a scientific name (SAD) or that it could be treated. I had been warned before moving here, to not forget to drink Vitamin D supplements and Omega 3 every day when it starts to become dark in Norway, but being a positive and happy nature, and having the excuse that I come from a country with average sunny days made me neglect it during the first year that I lived here. Initially, my first winter months in Norway passed normal. I was a student living abroad for the first time and my intent to prevent any point of home-sickness was be being engaged in many volunteering groups, studying and having a stable social life. And this strategy actually worked for most the part of the winter. When it started to get darker and snowy, I would sometimes go for a short walk around the area and pass it. The first moment that I really felt the effect of darkness and weather of Norway was in February. Hence, it was the period that the daylight was taking more from the darkness, and it was not being as bad as before. Nonetheless, the grayness of the weather and snow was still continuing. I started to feel sluggish, not in the mood to be that social anymore, not eating properly, and down emotionally.
There was a point after those months, when I was looking in internet stories, reading to the symptoms (which is not recommended for you to do :) )and I realized that yes: Herda you suffering from depression. It was hard for me to accept that in that moment, because it made me feel less strong about myself. However, accepting this condition about myself was the first step to solve the problem. I started reading more, asking for help towards my friends, family. To my surprise, my friends in Norway were feeling this part too. Sharing experiences and talking it out loud worked as a therapy to me. Additionally, keeping myself busy and listening to inspirational audiobooks was my way of overcoming all this deep hole I was in. In the moment that I thought I had overcome it and worked with myself towards improvement, the next winter comes in Norway and milder sings if it appear again. There I understood that it was being seasonal.
I am in no position of giving advices or terms through psychology of this phenomena, and if you are suffering from depression only a therapist can help you go through it. However, I am positive about sharing my own experience while living in a norther place which was an unusual thing for me. I like to suggest to the other expats or even locals to talk to people around your workplace, social groups, classmates. Support them, send them a message, keep in touch, especially in winter time because people might be going through circumstances that they never share, and all what they could need on those moments is closure, support and understanding that they are not all alone in this.
