Sitting in her shadowy and quiet classroom, junior Izabella Dill could not deny the emptiness she felt inside. It was getting harder to focus on her tasks and assignments at hand with all that was on her mind. As the once warm and cheerful months now made way for the more frigid and melancholic ones, Dill found herself missing a time when things were easier for her.

Across the globe, many adults and teens alike find themselves feeling down during the fall and winter months. This dreary phenomenon is sometimes referred to as ‘autumn anxiety’ or ‘seasonal sadness,’ which is exactly what it sounds like.

“I feel kind of numb,” Dill said. “Like I have no emotions.”

With that being said, sadness and anxiety are not the only emotional symptoms that people can experience because of this issue. According to Healthline, some side effects caused by autumn anxiety also include low mood, irritability, and tiredness.

“It’s just a lot of stress, and it gets overwhelming,” senior Noelle Kavan said.

For example, sophomore Payton Clark has had friends affected by seasonal sadness. She explains that along with other symptoms, her friends also struggled with feeling unmotivated.

“It obviously is feeling down, but I think it’s more of like not exactly just feeling sad,” Clark said. “No matter what, like seasonal depression, whether it’s seasonal or you have it all the time, if it’s super severe it’s more like you kind of feel empty. And I think one of the biggest things, especially that I’ve heard from my friends who have really bad seasonal depression, is that it’s hard for you to leave your bed. It’s hard for you to actually do anything and you kind of lose all motivation.” 

Despite winter break approaching, teens still have things to worry about. For students, many are working to get assignments turned in and are cramming to study before they go on break. All of this can result in additional stress for them.

“With finals coming up, [students] feel like they have to cram everything, rush everything,” Dill said.

Academic responsibilities are not the only things that contribute to seasonal sadness. With there being a significant decrease in sunlight during the fall and winter, school psychologist Laura Dilley-Henk says that this can also cause teens to feel more low-spirited than usual.

“I think that with the decreased amount of sunshine that we get, that can play a really big part,” Dilley-Henk said. “I know that for some of us, it’s dark when we get to school and it’s dark by the time we leave depending on what activities people are involved in, that can be really tough to just feel like it’s dark and gray all the time.”

Some students agree with this explanation. Clark shares this sentiment and further explains how the weather can negatively impact students.

“Usually you associate brighter colors and it’s nicer out with summer,” Clark said. “And then in the winter and fall, things kind of start to get dreary. I think that’s part of the reason because it’s cold out, you don’t really want to go outside, half the time it’s super cloudy.”

Although seasonal sadness can affect anyone, Clark argues that in the case of teenagers, they tend to be hit hard by the affliction. This is mainly because the cold weather keeps teens indoors and away from their friends.

“It obviously affects everyone, but I think for kids our age because of the fact that they need to be social,” Clark said. “But a lot of the time, in order to be social in person, you’ve got to go outside. But people don’t want to go outside.”

What can students and teens do to cope? Dilley-Henk suggests students try and stay positive by finding a good support system. Specifically, one that consists of loved ones. As the seasons continue to change, having this additional encouragement may help the youth get through this rough patch.

“The bigger your support system, that helps you build some resilience and helps even if you are struggling mentally or emotionally,” Dilley-Henk said.