Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: From Riverside health system. This is the healthy you podcast where we talk about a range of health related topics focused on improving your physical and mental health. We chat with our providers, team members, patients, and caregivers to learn more about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve overall physical and mental health. So let's dive in to learn more about becoming a healthier you.
All right? I am really excited to have in the healthy you studio today with me, Miss Angela Barco. Yes.
She is from Bruton, is that right? Yep.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Bruton Avenue family practice.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: See? Bruton Avenue family practice. I'm excited to have you with us today.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: This episode, we're going to be talking about seasonal depression. And is it a real thing?
[00:00:57] Speaker B: It is. Yes, it is.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: Okay. I look forward to hearing more about it. So, Angela, tell me what led you in this line of work?
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Wow. So, as far as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a nurse.
Actually, coming here, I was thinking about that time when I was in the first grade and my teacher made these makeshift mirrors. You know, the mirror that you see on, like, I don't know, beauty and the beast?
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Well, it had, like, the aluminum foil. Anyway, we had to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up. And me, of course, at that time, I'm like, I'll just put nurse. But as time persisted on, and to include my aunt is actually a nurse, I grew into thinking maybe this is something that I really want to do right. I started off in a CNA program and graduated from that, which led on to LPN, then pursuing for my rn degree, and then here I am as a nurse, and I feel like I made the best choice of my life.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Awesome. What's the most rewarding part of your job?
[00:02:14] Speaker B: Being able to get my patients back to the healthiest versions of themselves and just simply being able to care for them, to listen to them. And I felt like I've always loved that. I love seeing patients thrive.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Yes, I love that.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: I love that. So today we're going to be talking about seasonal depression that's often triggered by the change in seasons and occur late in the fall. Okay, so talk a little bit more about that. And this topic is so interesting to me. And I'll tell you a funny story after you kind of address that, the time frame that this occurs. Okay.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: So typically when we talk about depression, specifically seasonal affective disorder, which is a form of depression that typically starts around the fall, winter months, the winter blues of what we would call it, and when we're talking about depression. We're thinking of, is there a chemical imbalance in our brain? So what we would look at is there are neurotransmitters, right? So those help with mood stability.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Right.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: We're looking at the serotonin, we're looking at the dopamine receptors, we're looking at norepinephrine, and there's a couple more. But those three main chemicals in your brain help to regulate your mood.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: So, unfortunately, in depression, that's where you have those imbalances.
So within depression, you're going to see, of course, irritability, feeling sluggish, fatigued, not wanting to participate in things that you normally would, and just feeling overall saddened. And in some severe cases, some patients will exhibit suicidal thoughts or ideations, and in more severe cases, they would want to act on those thoughts.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: Right. Yes.
This is a serious thing. This is a very hard time of year because of the change, right. But also because there's so many holidays around the changing season.
And I know that I struggle with that myself because if you enjoy being outside, by the time you get home, it's dark.
When the season changed, initially, this is the funny story.
I fell asleep, and it was really like 06:00 p.m. But I thought it was 06:00 a.m. Because I got home early and I fell asleep. And so it was around 06:00 p.m. But I thought I had fallen asleep, and I thought it was 06:00 a.m. In time for me to get ready for work.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:05:14] Speaker A: So I ran upstairs. I started getting dressed.
I text someone, and I have proof to show it. And I said, good morning. I'm running a little behind.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: That's how turned around I was.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: And it took me about an hour.
It's funny, but it's true. It took me about an hour to realize that I was all turned around.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: Because it was so dark, I'm thinking, oh, my goodness, it's getting ready to be daylight. But when it didn't start to get daylight, I just readjusted. But I had fallen asleep early, so this time is really hard. It's a funny story, but it's not so funny. I'm fine, but I'm glad you're here because if I do need additional assessment, I do know where to go. But it was like, my goodness, it was so dark. So I know it's hard, and kids that want to be outside, and then the weather is not as accommodating, so talk a little bit about not only the seasonal portion from the time change perspective, but all the various holidays that go on during this time, that compound, that depressive states.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Right. So again, like you were just mentioning, it can mess with your circadian rhythm. Obviously, it definitely affected yours in that situation, but just kind of go off of what you were just mentioning, the colder weather, you're not really wanting to go out. It's getting darker earlier.
It's not as shiny and bright outside like in the summer and spring months. And that can really affect someone's mood, causing irritability and so forth.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: Right.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: So that's where it gets that seasonal affective disorder because in some cases, some people can have those exacerbated symptoms in those winter months because of those seasonal changes.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: But anyway, so it's imperative that we talk to our PCP and if we do see a psychiatrist or a psychologist about those concerns that you're having. And again, just with the holiday season coming up, it could be an anniversary of some sort of traumatic event or situation that has happened and that can also naturally cause that depression because you're thinking about that situation that happened during that time.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Grief, loss.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: Exactly. Yes.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: So all days won't be sunny. Right.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: So for our listeners, when should you be somewhat alarmed?
And for me, there's always that bounce back or that resiliency factor. And so when should it be triggered for them? Maybe I should get help, right?
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Absolutely.
Again, if you're starting to have those saddened thoughts, you can't shake it.
You're starting to have the what ifs of what if I wasn't here? Would things get better?
When you really start to have those symptoms, then definitely reach out to your primary care doctor to see what exactly we can help you with.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: Okay.
What do you think? Are there other things that you would want our viewers to know about this particular time or sad, this particular disorder?
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So anytime you come to your provider with these concerns, of course we're going to want to do a physical exam on you. That's number one. Because there are certain things that can happen, like vitamin imbalances, other forms of chemical imbalances, blood imbalances, electrolyte imbalances that can actually mimic depression symptoms.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:09:13] Speaker B: So of course, a physical exam is always imperative to start with first taking lab work to make sure that those labs are not sub therapeutic, because if it's a simple change, we can make those positive changes with medication management then in hopes of getting them back to that therapeutic level.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Yes. So just checking and making sure that the inside the blood work is okay. And like I said, vitamins, especially vitamin D, we get that from the sun. So again, it goes back to that seasonal. We're not as out as getting.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: And even if we're out, we sometimes can't take in enough. Right, exactly. Okay.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: And vitamin D definitely has been known to, especially the deficiency in, it has been known to cause depression symptoms. So getting that vitamin D labs checked is imperative as well.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: I'm going to go take my vitamins that I haven't taken since this morning.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: And your thyroid. Your thyroid can also, if those thyroid levels are off a little bit, it can also, too, cause some depression symptoms.
[00:10:22] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: So ruling that know is important, and.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: I value that relationship with my PCP, my provider. Right. Are there things that you do, obviously, when you come in, you're going to do an assessment, but are there things that you do on the front end for someone who may not even be aware that they're feeling that way when you interact with your clients and patients?
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, absolutely. So again, just talking to your patient, trying to get an understanding of their concerns is always number one. Listening to your patient, there's different tools that we can utilize, which is a depression screening tool, like the PHQ nine, which is nine very straightforward questions that we ask patients that will kind of gauge as to how severe is this depression, or are they simply having depression? So using those tools definitely help.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: Can you give an example of a couple of the questions, maybe on that assessment?
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Yeah, sure.
One of the questions is, are you feeling irritable? Okay.
How many times throughout the day or the week are you not wanting to engage in activities that you're normally used to engaging? Just good. Very straightforward, very specific questions.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Okay, very good.
If someone is struggling during this time, what resources are out there for our viewers that they can connect with if they're having those hopeless, helpless thoughts and some of the things that you talked about?
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Well, yeah, there's plenty of resources. There's different centers.
If it's something that your primary care unfortunately cannot handle in office, then, of course, we would outsource you to maybe psychiatry or just general counseling during that time to kind of help you and get over that hump.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Okay, very good. What if somebody wanted to reach out to you specifically? Would you tell our viewers how to connect with you? Yeah.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: So you can reach me at Bruton Avenue family practice, calling our office, scheduling an appointment. My chart is a great way with communication as well.
[00:12:44] Speaker A: Okay. I think it's so important for our viewers to know that you are not alone. Absolutely. That there are resources as support for you. And the goal of us talking with you today is for them to understand how to access those resources.
[00:13:00] Speaker B: Right.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: So I thank you so much for your time.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Oh, thank you for having me.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Yes, please come back.
And I assure you I haven't had another episode since my clock was turned around. But, okay. It is hard right now because it gets dark so early.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Absolutely.
Just to kind of hang on a little bit. But we can do cognitive therapy. Just being able to, like I said, talk about those things and putting a game plan in place, coping mechanisms that definitely help.
And in some cases, we would use medical management or medication management. Excuse me. So increasing, if you're already on an antidepressant, sometimes we'll increase your dose or just put you on a low dose to kind of help you get over and get that chemical balance back.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: Yes. That's great information. I know sometimes as I interact with people and talk about depression, they worry about the side effects. That's why it's so important to have that relationship and follow up with your primary care physician or even a psychiatrist or therapist. I don't know if you want to touch on that a little bit, but those things are looked at to make sure that you're safely treated.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: Absolutely.
Safety is number one.
And again, listening to your patient.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:14:27] Speaker B: And so that you and your provider can come to an understanding and group together to come up with a game plan on how to combat and get you at a therapeutic level.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yes. Thanks again.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Well, thank you for having me.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: Please come back anytime. Yes, thank you.
Thank you for listening to this episode of healthy you. We're so glad you were able to join us today and learn more about this topic. If you would like to explore more, go to riversideonline.com.
