There's a familiar shift that happens in the Pacific Northwest around October.
The days grow shorter, the rain returns, and suddenly you're driving home from work in the dark. Your evening walk becomes harder to fit in, and you're looking ahead to months of gray skies.
And just as your energy begins to dip, the holidays arrive with a season filled with preparations, expectations, and memories.
When the Change in Seasons Changes How You Feel
For some people, the darker months bring more than a dislike of rainy weather.
You may sleep more but still feel tired. Motivation takes more effort. You're less interested in activities you usually enjoy, or you find yourself withdrawing from friends and family, wanting more alone time.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that follows a recurring seasonal pattern, most often beginning in fall or winter and improving as daylight returns.
Reduced daylight can affect the body's internal clock and systems involved in sleep and mood regulation. Not everyone who feels weighed down by winter has SAD, but changes in daylight and routine can still affect how we feel.
It's Okay to Complain About the Weather
Let's be fair. Sometimes the weather really is miserable.
When it's cold, wet, and dark by late afternoon, it's understandable to feel frustrated. You may miss being outdoors, making spontaneous plans, or simply having more energy.
There's nothing wrong with acknowledging what you've lost as the seasons change.
After giving ourselves room to complain, what if we became curious about what else this season might offer?
Maybe we have more choices than we realize about how we move through the season, even when we can't change the weather.
What If This Season Has Something Different to Offer?
Spring and summer often invite activity, movement, and being out in the world. The darker months can invite something different.
More reflection. Quieter evenings. Time to restore energy rather than continually expend it.
This can be an opportunity to write a letter to someone you've been thinking about, reconnect with a friend, return to a neglected interest, or enjoy an evening without feeling you should be doing something more productive.
And maybe it means finding new ways to care for yourself when familiar routines aren't available.
If walking after work helps you feel grounded, losing those daylight hours is a real adjustment. You might try a lunchtime walk, indoor movement, or getting outside earlier when you can.
These aren't replacements for everything you miss. They're ways of asking, What do I need in this season, and how might I make room for it?
Finding Support When Seasonal Depression Feels Heavy
Of course, appreciating the quieter months doesn't mean depression disappears.
You can find value in slowing down and still struggle with fatigue, low motivation, sadness, or heaviness.
Seasonal depression deserves attention, particularly when it affects your relationships, work, or ability to enjoy life.
Treatments such as light therapy, psychotherapy, and sometimes medication can help. Getting daylight when possible and maintaining supportive routines can also make a difference.
In my practice, I use Lifespan Integration, a gentle approach that aims to help people experience shifts in longstanding emotional and nervous-system patterns. While it isn't an established treatment specifically for SAD, it can support the broader work of developing emotional flexibility, self-compassion, and new ways of responding when life feels difficult.
Sometimes finding a way through isn't about trying harder to feel better. It's about discovering more room to respond differently.
You Don't Have to Wait for Spring to Feel Hopeful
The gray skies may stay, and the holidays may bring their own complicated emotions.
But those realities don't have to define your entire experience of the months ahead.
Perhaps the invitation isn't to stop missing the sunlight, but to recognize what nourishes you now. To make room for rest, connection, movement, and whatever helps you feel more like yourself.
You can acknowledge the weight of the season while still discovering something worthwhile within it.
And if depression makes that difficult to access, you don't have to find your way through alone.
I offer Depression Therapy in Renton and online throughout Washington State.
With care and compassion,
Jacquelyn
Written by Jacquelyn Baker
Space for Grief — Renton, WA
In-person & online therapy across Washington
