Covid-19 pandemic may actually help ease seasonal affective disorder symptoms for some - NBC News

When the crickets start to hum in the late summer and families start back-to-school shopping, Michele Sheerman can sense her looming seasonal affective disorder, otherwise known as SAD.

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches into the fall and the winter, some people who cope with the disorder, a type of depression usually associated with shorter days and less sunlight, may experience milder symptoms, psychologists suggest.

She attributes her milder symptoms so far to the camaraderie and shared experience she has had amid the pandemic.

“I don't feel as isolated because there are so many people in the same spot,” she said.

Craig Sawchuk, a psychologist at the Mayo Clinic, said that depending on the individual, it’s possible for people with the disorder to have milder symptoms this season if they developed healthy routines as quarantine orders took effect, such as waking up at the same time every day, carving out time for relaxation and maintaining support systems.

Lata McGinn, a professor of psychology at Yeshiva University, agreed that it’s possible for people with the disorder to have lighter symptoms this season, but cautioned that they can also fare worse because of the pandemic.

Both psychologists said it’s possible that people with the seasonal affective disorder could fare better this season, but cautioned that may not be the case for everyone.

“When you have seasonal depression, people don't always understand it, they don't understand what you're going through, or some people might not believe that it even exists,” he said.