By Deirdre de Leeuw den Bouter and Wilma Tynkkynen
Walking out of your 17:30 class on a December day is miserable for one specific reason: the enveloping darkness. As many students can attest, winter in Amsterdam is dark, cold, and windy. There’s not even a promise of snow on the horizon to bring some winter joy — only the sun setting at 16:30 as you sit in class.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, known colloquially as seasonal depression, is a mood disorder that often affects people during the winter months. Aino Kekkonen, one of the two Student Life Officers (SLOs) at AUC, says that symptoms of seasonal depression are very similar to regular depression. ”It’s things like low mood, feeling irritated, sad, tired, lacking energy, not being able to concentrate. Often it also includes having changes in appetite or sleep,” Kekkonen explains.
For many students, experiencing winter alongside the constant stress from AUC can be difficult. Melis Yontan, a Turkish second-year Social Science major, had never experienced a winter like Amsterdam’s before. “It was very shocking because I don’t see myself as a person getting easily affected by weather,” Yontan says, adding that her city “has never had a full gray weather day.” Yontan recalls that she started feeling symptoms of seasonal depression especially after the change to winter time. “I didn’t want to leave my room, I wanted to sleep more. I was in a very depressed mood,” Yontan explains.
Second-year Social Science student Jasmine Danilevica, who grew up in Latvia, has dealt with seasonal depression her entire life. In winter, she would often stay in bed and sleep as the weather got bad. “I had classes from like eight until four usually, then the rest of the time would just be spent sleeping,” Danilevica recounts.
Every student has different coping mechanisms for seasonal depression. From the SLOs, to committee events, and leaning on your friends, students can find a variety of ways to get through Dutch winter. Yontan highlighted Peer Support, who organize events such as the ‘Vent Event’ where students can go to discuss anything and everything.
Danilevica has turned to mindfulness to help her feel centred and stay motivated through the winter. She also suggests seeing friends, especially since everyone at AUC is in such close proximity to each other. “I try to force myself to hang out with friends because then I feel better afterwards,” Danilevica explains. “Don’t stay in your room, it’s too depressing,” Yontan adds.
The SLOs also offer a slew of resources for students who might be experiencing seasonal depression. ”The first piece of advice I would give is to reach out. Whether it’s talking to your friends or your family, to an SLO or a doctor,” Kekkonen said. “I think that whether it’s about seasonal affective disorder or any other mental health issue, we can always do more, especially raising awareness and making it something that is okay to talk about.”
The Herring 