As Seen on KING 5 HealthLink: How to Deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder

The darkest days—meteorologically speaking—may be behind us, but this time of year is when the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) have set in for so many people who struggle with the impacts of short days, intense cloud cover, colder temperatures and more time spent indoors.

These symptoms include prolonged feelings of sadness, feeling sluggish, difficulty concentrating and more. However, there are several ways to combat SAD and push through to the warmer, sunnier days that lie ahead in the new year.

Darcy Newby, MA, LMFT, CMHS, AT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, children’s mental health specialist and school counselor at the Overlake Specialty School with over 23 years of professional experience in these fields. She shared a variety of tips on how people can cope with the symptoms of SAD, as well as when to seek out additional help, during an interview with KING 5 HealthLink reporter, Christine Pae.