When it grows darker outside, our day-night rhythm changes as well. This can disrupt sleep, energy levels, and mood. Professionals suspect that the lack of daylight affects key neurotransmitters such as serotonin and the sleep hormone melatonin.

In autumn and winter, less daylight reaches the eyes. The internal clock in the brain receives fewer clear daytime signals, causing it to adjust later and become less precise. In the morning, levels of the sleep hormone melatonin remain elevated for longer, while mood-lifting neurotransmitters like serotonin are less stimulated. This makes you feel tired, slows down your drive, and can lower your mood. Furthermore, our internal clock is particularly sensitive during short days. Even minor variations in brightness or your daily routine can disrupt this rhythm more easily—with consequences for sleep, appetite, and energy levels.

Seasonal depression shows the typical symptoms of depression—just clustered within a specific season. Common signs include:

• Low mood almost every day
• Significantly reduced drive and loss of pleasure
• Increased sleep and morning sluggishness
• Increased appetite and weight gain
• Withdrawal, rumination, and difficulty concentrating

If several of these points apply for at least two weeks, it is a warning sign. Please have it medically evaluated!

Light therapy: Sit in front of a certified light therapy lamp (10,000 lux) for 20 to 30 minutes in the morning, keeping it about an arm's length away. Keep your eyes open, but do not stare directly into the light—you can read or eat breakfast during this time. An effect is often noticeable after 1 to 2 weeks. If you suffer from an eye condition, please consult your ophthalmologist beforehand.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): In CBT, you practice concrete skills like creating a daily schedule, taking small active steps, and interrupting rumination loops. Furthermore, it focuses on maintaining healthy sleep habits and setting goals for light exposure and physical activity. This helps during the acute phase and reduces the risk of a relapse in future winters.

Medication: Your doctor will work with you to find the medication that suits you best. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressants that are frequently used. Treatment usually starts with a low dose that is gradually increased. Side effects are possible when starting the medication, but they often subside after a few days to weeks. The mood-lifting effect typically sets in after two to four weeks.

What You Can Do Yourself:

• Get outside every day to soak up daylight, even when it is cloudy. Physical activity outdoors has a dual benefit.
• Keep your daily routine stable: sleeping, eating, and working at fixed times provides vital structure.
• Maintain your social connections and make plans to meet up, even if it feels difficult.
• Limit your alcohol consumption and screen time as much as possible. Both can significantly worsen sleep quality.

These self-help measures are not a substitute for professional treatment, but they can support it effectively.

deprexis is an approved, prescribable online application whose costs are covered by statutory health insurance providers. It is based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), offers interactive modules, and can accompany medical or psychotherapeutic treatment—including cases with seasonal patterns. A prescription can be issued by your family doctor.

This type of depression does not follow a seasonal pattern. Instead, it occurs in connection with specific phases of life—for example, around childbirth, before menstruation, during puberty, or during menopause. The underlying causes range from physical and hormonal changes to stress and a lack of sleep.

• Pregnancy and postpartum depression: This affects women during pregnancy or in the first few weeks and months following childbirth. It should not be confused with the temporary, milder "baby blues."
• Severe cycle-related depression: Severe drops in mood shortly before a period can be part of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)—a severe but highly treatable condition.
• Menopausal depression: Major hormonal shifts combined with everyday stressors can significantly increase the risk of developing depression.
• Youth and adolescence: Depression is also entirely possible during this stage due to the challenges of puberty, academic pressure, or identity struggles. It should always be taken seriously.
• Older age: In this phase of life, chronic illnesses, loneliness, or the need for long-term care can heavily weigh down a person's mood.

Similar to other forms of depression, those affected feel persistently dejected, exhausted, and hopeless. They frequently lose interest in things they usually enjoy, struggle with poor sleep, and experience noticeable changes in appetite—either eating much more or much less.

All of these types of depression are treatable and curable. Treatment typically involves psychotherapy (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and, if necessary, medication, tailored specifically to the severity of the condition and the individual's life situation.

As a first step, speak with your family doctor, gynecologist, pediatrician, or a psychotherapist. They can clarify whether it is depression, determine its severity, and help you find the right support.

Support Tailored to the Specific Life Stage:

• Around childbirth: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), couples and parenting counseling, and, if necessary, a medication compatible with breastfeeding.
• Menstruation: Keeping a symptom diary helps distinguish it from other forms of depression; if appropriate, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or medication can be utilized.
• Menopause: Plenty of physical activity, good sleep hygiene, and stress reduction. If appropriate, psychotherapy, medication, or hormone therapy can be considered.
• Puberty: Academic support and psychotherapy utilizing age-appropriate methods.
• Older age: First, addressing and treating any co-existing medical conditions, followed by establishing a solid daily routine with physical activation and social participation.

In these situations as well, using the Digital Health Application (DiGA) deprexis can provide valuable accompanying support. It is easily accessible and free of charge via a prescription from your doctor, can be used anywhere regardless of location, and integrates beautifully into your daily routine.

Many people feel down from time to time. Not every gloomy phase is automatically a depression.

Winter Depression vs. Winter Blues

• With the winter blues, you feel tired and lacking in drive for a short period, but you soon feel better with daylight, exercise, and social contact. A winter or seasonal depression lasts for at least two weeks or longer, dampens pleasure in almost everything, disrupts sleep, appetite, and concentration—and noticeably hinders your daily life.

Pregnancy Frustration vs. Prenatal Depression

• Frustration during pregnancy is common: nausea, lack of sleep, and worries cause moods to fluctuate. In the case of depression, sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of drive are severely pronounced over several weeks. Affected women experience little to no joy, ruminate constantly, or suffer from feelings of guilt.

Natural Aging vs. Geriatric Depression

• In old age, physical pace, sleep patterns, and energy levels change—this is normal. Geriatric depression, however, additionally features persistent dejection, a loss of interest, social withdrawal, and frequently physical complaints without a clear medical cause. When daily life, self-care, hobbies, or social contacts become nearly impossible to manage, it fuels a depression. But it remains highly treatable even in old age.

Midlife Crisis vs. Depression

• In the middle of life, many people question their choices, search for new goals, and reorient themselves. However, they remain capable of taking action. In a depression, on the other hand, drive and joy are absent over a longer period, and making decisions becomes incredibly difficult. At the same time, self-esteem drops, and sleep and appetite fall out of sync.

Grief vs. Depression

• Deep sadness and a sense of emptiness are normal after experiencing a loss. In grief, waves of pain alternate with lighter moments. In a depression, the dejection dominates almost continuously. Those affected constantly devalue themselves and experience a complete lack of drive.

Stress vs. Depression

• When stress exhausts people, they usually recover through vacation, free time, and downtime. In a depression, the exhaustion persists despite taking breaks, and is accompanied by a continuous loss of interest, joylessness, and often altered sleep or eating patterns.

Pubertal Moodiness vs. Adolescent Depression

• Mood swings and withdrawal are normal parts of puberty. Adolescent depression, however, manifests as a significantly depressed mood over several weeks, a drop in academic performance, and often sleep problems, high irritability, or severe self-doubt.

Menopause vs. Depression

• Hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood swings can all be part of menopause. However, if this develops into a permanent state of dejection accompanied by a lack of drive, a loss of interest, and difficulties managing daily life, a depression may be present as well.