WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: What actually causes seasonal depression?<\/p>\n
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n The clinical term for seasonal depression<\/a> is seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and it impacts anywhere between 0.3 per cent and 5 per cent of Australians.<\/p>\n SAD symptoms are very similar to typical forms of depression<\/a> but differ in that they only present at a certain time of year \u2014 generally in autumn and winter, Strategic Psychology managing director Nesh Nikolic told 7NEWS.com.au.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s basically a persistent low mood or a loss of interest in activities, fatigue, low energy, potentially oversleeping, difficulty concentrating, obviously low mood, hopelessness, worthlessness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll those common attributes that we would see with a depression.\u201d<\/p>\n While hard to point to a direct cause, less time spent in direct sunlight is believed to be a major factor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt disrupts the circadian rhythm and we tend to spend a lot more hours in the dark during our personal time while the daylight hours would be at work,\u201d Nikolic said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat in of itself could be a little bit depressing. Not everyone\u2019s affected equally but it could act as a little bit of a trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n Fewer opportunities to socialise and less exercise could also play a role, Nikolic added.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those combined factors just mean that there might be a little bit of a prevalence to feeling flatter during those cooler months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Seasonal depression misconceptions <\/p>\n While it\u2019s a good thing the general term of seasonal depression is being spoken about, mostly online, Nikolic says it\u2019s meant some misconceptions have also been spread.<\/p>\n He said the main issue was people not understanding the difference between SAD and simply feeling flat during the colder months.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly feel these effects but we all don\u2019t meet the criteria of SAD,\u201d Nikolic said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all tend to feel flatter and the like, but whether it meets that (SAD) criteria it is a very different space and that\u2019s a fairly important consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n The main difference between the two is whether or not it has a significant impact, or \u201cimpairment\u201d, on someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n \u201cImpairment usually means that it is considerably affecting work, social or educational activities,\u201d Nikolic said.<\/p>\n He added psychologists will specifically look to see if those impacts are only felt during a seasonal change, a point where \u201cmost people\u201d usually fail to meet the criteria for SAD.<\/p>\n The misconception has also led to a number of people falsely claiming they have the clinical diagnosis in research efforts.<\/p>\n This means estimations as to how many people are affected range wildly between 80,000 and 1.3 million Australians.<\/p>\n The general advice from Nikolic for those feeling more flat during the colder months to do \u201cthe opposite of what that season does\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re wanting to increase our natural light exposure and stay active, whether that\u2019s regular exercise, taking a walk, or yoga, just physical movement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201c(Continue) healthy routines rather than changing them in a different season … social connection, I think is also quite huge.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably some of the holy grail in psychology across the board, being connected and bonded with others.\u201d<\/p>\n For more serious cases, Nikolic said there are treatments available such as light therapy but urged people to see a psychologist if they\u2019re struggling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How a young man escaped the manosphere and is now helping teens<\/p>\n 4 min read<\/p>\n![\"While](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8170a24dbea125ae271848a208d4765316793b8a.jpg\")
While seasonal depression is a phrase thrown around as the mercury drops, not many people know about the clinical diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder. Credit: Steve Markham\/AAP<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3de645b1fd782e7774892ae755b441c9b96456b4.jpg\")
People diagnosed with SAD are severely impacted by the onset of colder months. Credit: GettyHow to avoid seasonal depression<\/p>\n