Depression and SAD are common in Northern latitudes. The Canadian Psychological Association reported that 15% of Canadians experience mild forms of SAD and around 2-3% experience SAD severely. In 2022, 7.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older experienced a major depressive episode in the past year.

Here are a few battle-tested strategies to combat the winter blues.

One of the often unacknowledged responses of the sympathetic nervous system is the “freeze” response in the presence of a real or perceived threat. Many of us go days, months, perhaps even years going in and out of the freeze response, complicating chronic illness and/or depression and making it challenging to care for ourselves, be effective in our work, and show up in community.

So, how do we thaw the freeze response?