It’s that time of year where the days get dark earlier and temperatures are plummeting across many areas of the country. Most people look forward to ending their work day cuddled by the fire, but college students finish classes only to look forward to a long night in the library.
This time of year students are in the middle of final projects, papers and exams. It is normal for many, if not all, college students to feel nerves and anxieties about their upcoming deadlines. There are the few, however, who might feel impaired beyond those normal stresses.
Those students could be suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
“It is a subset of a depressive disorder,” said Jordan D. Barnard, licensed psychologist at the Pennsylvania State University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). “Similar to other mood disorders, it is something that causes clinical impairment and functioning in different domains, those being social, academic, occupational, on a seasonal cycle.” 
Feelings associated with SAD tend to worsen as it gets colder out; however, symptoms could start as early as August.
“How badly your symptoms are going to manifest depends on where you are, how much stress you have, and the things that are going on in your life,” said Norman Rosenthal, M.D., author of Winter Blues.
Some typical signs of someone who suffers from SAD is not wanting to hang out with friends or be in social settings, sleeping in and skipping class, slipping grades, not sleeping enough, overeating, not eating enough and severe sadness.
As the work keeps piling up and deadlines inch closer and with no one pushing college students to work through these feelings, it makes feelings easier to cave into.
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