It’s the inevitable consequence of living in the Greatest City in the World™: as the skies turn an adjectiveless gray, the trees stripped to their slender bones, and night falls faster than Gerald Ford down the steps of Air Force One,* most of us get a little visit from our old college buddy seasonal affective disorder. SAD invites himself over for a bottle of Chateau Diana and ends up camping out on your couch for three months because, you know, it’s rough out there, and he needs some time to get his shit together. SAD gets potato chip grease all over your sofa, spills beer on your cat, and never stops talking about his ex. SAD watches every episode of Law & Order, SVU on Netflix Instant and starts a Tumblr devoted to Mariska Hargitay. SAD is miserable, and his goal is to make you as miserable as he is. The asshole.

Some attempt to fight him with sun lamps and regular exercise and vitamin D supplements, but most, if not all, fail. The only way to truly defeat the bastard is to just wait him out. Or you could move to LA, but we all know who the real loser is in that scenario.

Me, I don’t make much of an attempt to fell the great winter beast. I end up couchlifing it with some ordered-in hot wings and a six-pack of something pissy, weak and delicious while watching Olivia Benson chase down sex offenders. But there’s still one thing that helps me with SAD’s doldrums, reminds me that there’s shit to do besides mope, how beautiful New York can be, and how much I adore the people in my life. It’s the thing that gets me out the door every day. Well, most days.

This is the point in the music article where I talk about music.

The thing about pop songs is that they are, by and large, bite sized. Yes, you can stack them together to create a larger narrative or context, which, when done right, produces heartbreaking albums of staggering genius, but they should have the ability to stand alone, tell a complete story, create a comprehensive ambience, in approximately three minutes. This is ultimately why music is so important in establishing mood, and why it’s so handy in rescuing oneself from the brink of despair.

Now, what music is best for dealing with seasonal malaise, you ask? Do you try to scour and sandblast the bummers out of your system with Katrina and the Waves and Harry Belafonte? Or do you take the opposite approach and try do befriend SAD by getting heavy into Joy Division and the Smiths, his favorite bands of all time?**

These may work for some, but I’m more of a melancholy guy ’round this time of year. A lot of minor chords strummed by girls very far away, plaintive textures on the brink of collapse, and promises too burdensome to keep. It’s music that acknowledges how shitty it all can get, but retains that one element that distinguishes melancholy from despair: hope. It’s the taste of last kisses, the smell of old books rotting away. It’s missing the last train out of a strange new town, and it’s the January day that you realize you haven’t seen more than thirty minutes of sunlight all week. Melancholy is the cure for what ails ya; allowing you to wallow, but also rise above. Each of these songs is a mini catharsis, a baptism, a chance to find the beauty and the promise even in the coldest, darkest parts of the year.

Feel better.

Listen to the Playlist on Grooveshark Here

1. Take Us Back – Alela Diane

2. I See a Darkness – Bonnie “Prince” Billy

3. Katy Song – Red House Painters

4. Guiding Light – Television

5. Lizzy – Ben Kweller

6. Six String Serenade – Mazzy Star

7. Paradise Circus – Massive Attack feat. Hope Sandoval

8. Girl Singing in the Wreckage – Black Box Recorder

9. Goodbye England (Covered in Snow) – Laura Marling

10. Lunar Sea – Camera Obscura

11. Hong Kong – Gorillaz

12. Blues Run the Game – Nick Drake

13. By This River – Brian Eno

14. In the Drugs – Low

15. Don’t Do It – Sharon Van Etten

16. Cotton – The Mountain Goats

17. Two Step – Throwing Muses

18. True Love Waits – Radiohead

*This timely reference was brought to you by the SNL writer’s room circa 1976.

** Seriously though, get him drunk enough and SAD will show you his old Ian Curtis webshrine he built in Angelfire. It’s still up!

That’s it for now. Go listen to this playlist and take a long walk. We know it’s cold out, just do it. Follow Simon Lazarus Vasta on Twitter @Hunter_S_Narc

How Seasonal Affective Disorder could put a damper on the holiday spirit

Like the planets orbit the sun, our lives spin around the seasons. These subdivisions of the year do more than signal us when it’s time to whip out our Mackage coats and begin fireside chats with friends over which artist sings the best “Baby It’s Cold” rendition. They inform us that time is passing and events are moving forward, as is the natural order of things. As New Yorkers, we have an internal hourglass that marks the passing of time until the sand has run out, signaling our earmuffs and legwarmers that winter has arrived! Not one to be late to the party, winter arrives on cue and sashays down Sullivan Street in all her glory while dusting off her snowy skin and casting an opalescent sheen over downtown’s cobblestone streets and awnings.

The red cups brimming with spices and peppermint have returned to ye faithful Starbucks, Broadway has become the mecca for ambling tourists hiding behind maps in search of NYC tchotchkes, and Christmas-tree vendors pepper the once-subdued streets from Nolita to Soho. It’s hard to imagine a downtown without a winter, just as it would be impossible to imagine the harbor without the Statue of Liberty. But for some, winter doesn’t evoke the same jubilation, and getting through the season can feel like navigating a dark labyrinth of gloom and despair.

Those severely impacted by winter’s shorter days and long frigid nights might be at risk for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Recognized by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV), SAD is described as a subtype of a major depressive episode. During winter’s reign, our brains produce increased levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. For those affected by SAD, one theory is that a biochemical imbalance of melatonin could lead to a shift in one’s internal hourglass, causing unhealthy behaviors that require medical intervention.

Typical symptoms of SAD include depressed mood, lethargy, lack of interest in activities, social withdrawal and a craving for sweets and carbohydrates. Those affected also spend inordinate amounts of time sleeping and have difficulty leaving their beds. As a result of weight gain and decreased interest in sex and physical contact, SAD sufferers also experience feelings of misery, shame, hopelessness and loss of self-esteem. These symptoms usually occur like clockwork beginning in November or December, peaking during January and February, and dissipating by March or April, depending on how quickly sunlight returns from hibernation. Though anyone can suffer from SAD, an overwhelming majority are young adults and women.

The key to diagnosing SAD is a recurrence of these deleterious symptoms during two successive winters followed by a routine remission in the spring. And while those who suffer from SAD may experience these symptoms at an extreme, there might be a greater number of people at risk for a milder assortment of SAD symptoms categorized as the “winter blues.” For the less-extreme blues, individuals might experience the decreased energy, increased appetite and feelings of sleepiness without feelings of depression and anxiety.

A season that should be welcomed with Bryant Park ice-skating arms thus becomes a dismal march through gray days, but there is some relief. Clinicians and those who have previously been affected by SAD now know when to expect the onset, how long it will last and how to treat it head-on. Special lamps are just one method that has proven helpful. And for downtowners in need of a quick Vitamin D pick-me-up, I suggest long runs along the glistening Hudson River or an idyllic Washington Square Park walk. Though anyone in cold northern cities can feel winter’s burn, downtown New Yorkers are lucky in that we’re surrounded by environmental therapy. Here’s to a healthy and happy winter for all.

SAD, also known as seasonal depression or winter depression, begins affecting people in late fall and can last through early May; in accordance with the time of year when overall daylight is shortest.

The specific cause of SAD remains unknown. Early on, researchers thought that SAD was triggered by shorter days in winter and thus total daylight. Now they theorize that it is the earliest morning light exposure that is the critical factor. That’s the time of day when our internal biological clock needs to receive a light signal in order to stay synchronized to local time. When we let our bioclock slip, depression can set in explained Dr. Michael Terman, director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center.

Changes in melatonin levels, the hormones that play a role in sleep patterns and mood that are affected by changes in the seasons, and serotonin levels, the neurotransmitters or brain chemicals that affect mood and can be reduced by lack of sunlight, are also thought to be contributing factors to SAD, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

What this means for people living in urban areas, who tend to get insufficient exposure to morning light regardless of the season, is that their exposure is even less during the time of year when people are most susceptible to SAD.

Knowing the symptoms and dispelling misconceptions about seasonal depression are preemptive measures that can be taken before even the earliest signs of slumping set in. The list of SAD symptoms is similar to that of non-seasonal depression and includes: anxiety, loss of energy, social withdrawal and changes in appetite. Difficulty getting out of bed, daytime fatigue and carbohydrate food cravings are also early signs of SAD, according to Dr. Terman. The subtlety of symptoms oftentimes leaves people equating how they’re feeling to other situations such as stresses of the school year, bad family experiences over the holidays or the cold weather; all common misconception people make about SAD, according to Dr. Terman, that prevent them from seeking treatment.

Like non-seasonal depression, antidepression medication is a form of treatment for SAD, but because of its relationship to early morning light exposure, another popular form of treatment for seasonal depression is light therapy, a concept Dr. Terman has been researching for over 20 years.

Light therapy, or naturalistic-dawn therapy uses a light therapy box that exposes individuals to a bright, artificial light source mimicking natural outdoor light. The purpose is to alter people’s circadian rhythms in a way that reduces the impact of insufficient light exposure and SAD. It offers an alternative to drug-based treatment; the clearest benefit of which is lower risk of side effects. People using this form of treatment have the ability to program their machines to automatically come on while they’re sleeping so they don’t have to remember to take medications and can begin feeling the effects of their treatment quicker than with antidepressants, which Dr. Terman says, can take weeks to begin showing benefits.

In cases where SAD is not severe enough to require clinical treatment, or for individuals suffering from the less severe winter blues, simple lifestyle changes can also be beneficial. Exercising more, brightening up your environment to boost your mood and spending time outdoors—for instance, taking a walk on your lunch break—are home remedies recommended by the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Terman emphasized that a clinician should treat severe instances of SAD. People having a hard time determining if their feelings are clinically significant can take a diagnostic test online and print out results for their doctors.