From Winter SAD to COVID GAD, Stuck in the Tunnel

Lis Gal
5 min readOct 12, 2020

Do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? Many do and they begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel sometime in March, knowing spring is around the corner.

Many people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder hang on to one thing, spring… yes, spring! How people mentally deal with SAD may differ. But, one thing many have in common is knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel once spring arrives.

This year was different, actually to those who suffer from SAD, generalized anxiety and/or depression received multiple doses of “well, that’s just too damn bad,” because COVID-19 lingered at the end of the tunnel. The light which was so vibrant began to withdraw in March.

March is when we received the news that a new (novel) virus, COVID-19 was not only discovered but turned into a pandemic in a matter of weeks. Just when those of us who rely on spring to draw us out of our winter SAD well, we were told we must isolate, social distance, wear masks, don’t touch anything without sanitizing it- oh fuck, the list goes on… too much information to take in when your brain is already feeling bruised and abused from SAD.

Just when you feel healing is on the way, it’s as if you’ve been sucker punched in the gut hearing about a novel virus that can be deadly. On top of

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Lis Gal

Writer with a personal interest in Mental Health & Wellness. Writing with a mission: End the labels. Photography is my hobby, life is my passion.