When Lorraine Payne thinks of her first Canadian winter, she thinks of cold weather, dark skies and unexplainable tears.
“Everything was so gloomy, it made me cry a lot,” she says, recalling her first winter in Toronto, more than 30 years ago.
Payne moved to Toronto from Guyana in 1989 with her husband and son. It was her first time living away from her extended family. It was her first time living in a country where the weather did not just include heat, rain, and more heat.
“Visually, it was a shock,” she remembered. “I’m used to seeing a very green, lush landscape at home. And when the winter came, everything was bare. The trees were stark. There were no leaves. Nothing had colour, and I really started to go down.”
Now, Payne recognizes she likely had seasonal affective disorder. But then, she had no idea the disorder even existed. She was just focused on surviving.
Payne is not alone.
Data from research organization Mental Health Research Canada show rates of depression go up three per cent in January. Two to three per cent of Canadians experience seasonal affective disorder at least once in their lifetime. It accounts for about 10 per cent of all depression cases.
Newcomers to Canada may particularly struggle with seasonal affective disorder.
“Winter is one of the largest concerns [for newcomers],” said David D’Eon, a settlement co-ordinator at Saskatchewan Intercultural Association, a Saskatoon-based organization that helps newcomers settle.
“Most people have never heard of seasonal affective disorder before. It’s not something that most people have to deal with.”
Less energy
Seasonal affective disorder occurs when someone’s mood changes with the change of seasons. It is most common during fall and winter, as exposure to sunlight decreases.
Symptoms include irritability, decreased interest in work or socializing, increased eating, especially carbohydrates, and difficulty sleeping or staying awake.
“It’s not unusual to feel a little bit less energetic or a little more like staying home during the colder or darker months,” said Laura Devlin, a psychologist and founder of Beaches Therapy Group in Toronto. “However, it becomes more of a clinical concern when it’s a persistent change in your mood and energy levels, your interest in life.”
Symptoms must persist for about two weeks to be formally diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, says Devlin. But people should not wait until they are in a crisis to speak to a professional.
“I would definitely encourage people not to put it off,” she said.
“Lots of people [see counsellors]. It’s totally normal to sometimes need a little bit of support.”
Seasonal affective disorder is often treated by increasing exposure to light, either by using special lamps or increasing time outdoors. “Even when it’s a gray, cloudy day, the light outside is much brighter and better for you than staying inside,” said Devlin, who recommends people spend 20 to 30 minutes outside daily.
Spending time with others is also key.
“Having poor social connections is one of the strongest corollaries with negative mental health,” said Michael Cooper, a vice-president at Mental Health Research Canada. Since 2020, the organization has polled Canadians’ mental health to track anxiety and depression. People without strong family or friend connections are 2.5 times more likely to experience mental health problems, Cooper says.
Fear and isolation
Newcomers are particularly at-risk for loneliness and getting inadequate sunlight. They may not have friends or family in Canada. They likely do not have appropriate winter clothes. And they may be scared to go outside.
“They’re scared of falling,” said Payne. She knows. She works at Across Boundaries, a mental health centre in Toronto that supports newcomers. Many newcomers fear winter.
She understands this fear. She got frostbite during her first winter — and still feels pain in her toes because of it.
Maria Lydia Suarez, who moved to Winnipeg from Argentina, says she was depressed during her first two Canadian winters. It helped when a neighbour showed her what winter clothes to buy.
Suarez lived in Winnipeg for six years before moving to Toronto, where she now works at Across Boundaries.
“It’s hard to find [winter] activities that you enjoy, especially when you are newcomers,” she said. This increases isolation, and depression, she says.
But many newcomers do not ask for help with their mental health.
In interviews, many newcomers said they did not access mental health services, says Cooper at Mental Health Research Canada. They had a “general belief that you don’t want to acknowledge … or think about your own mental health,” said Cooper.
The organization has not yet researched seasonal affective disorder in newcomers. But he says their research on the newcomers’ mental health may explain why they struggle with seasonal affective disorder.
“They may not be able to put words to this experience they’re having,” said Cooper.
Using facts
In Saskatoon, David D’Eon has spent the past three years studying how he prepares for winter so he can teach newcomers how to do so.
Each September, he leads a class about winter preparation. He teaches newcomers about layering clothes and readying their home and vehicles. He even explains how to work thermostats — raise the temperature by one degree, wait a few hours — so people are not hit with exorbitant heating bills.
D’Eon also explains how winter looks and feels. He tells them that, often winter temperatures range between -25 and -10 in Saskatchewan. “Those sorts of temperatures you can get used to,” he said.
But Canadians often paint a different picture of winter.
“The way that we talk about winter is very exaggerated,” he said.
“[W]e’re used to complaining as a way of small talk, as a way of bonding. But for newcomers, it can come off as really frightening.”
The Saskatchewan Intercultural Association hosts events where people can try winter sports, like skiing or skating. Frigid cold is “not the whole story” of winter, says D’Eon.
In Toronto, Payne, Suarez and their colleagues at Across Boundaries spend much of their winters calling clients and hosting community meals and cooking classes so people learn how to eat well in winter.
“We really try to focus on the connection with others,” said Suarez.
But winter is still difficult for her.
“I don’t get depressed,” she said. “But for sure, it’s not a happy moment.”
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