Why does my mood crash every winter?
Your mood crashes every winter because shorter days shift the body clock and starve the brain of morning light. In susceptible people that lands as seasonal low mood: oversleeping, carb cravings, heaviness and withdrawal each winter, lifting in spring.
The best-proven fix is bright light within an hour of waking, a 10,000 lux lamp for twenty to thirty minutes daily from autumn, plus daylight walks and keeping exercise alive through the dark months.
When winters bring true depression, hopelessness, or thoughts of self-harm, that deserves professional treatment, which works as well for the seasonal kind as any other.
Source: NHS, seasonal affective disorder
See a doctor promptly if
- Any thoughts of suicide, of being better off dead, or of harming yourself. Call or text 988 in the US, any hour, free
- Feeling unable to keep yourself safe, or making any preparation to act on such thoughts. Go to an emergency department or call your local emergency number (911 in the US)
- Being unable to eat, drink, get out of bed or care for yourself for days
- Hearing voices, or fixed beliefs that others say are not real, alongside low mood
- A sudden switch to unusually high energy, little need for sleep and racing ideas. This needs prompt medical review
Try the mood check2 min, free, nothing to installThe PHQ-9 and GAD-7, the two questionnaires doctors screen low mood and anxiety with, scored privately on your device.
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
For dry or itchy skin
Doctors reach for plain, fragrance-free creams like CeraVe or Cetaphil, not fancy actives. A thicker cream beats lotion, applied within minutes of washing while skin is still damp.
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