Seasonal Affective Disorder and Solar Energy: Light as Medicine

BY NICOLE LAU

Every winter, millions of people experience the same pattern: as daylight shrinks, so does their vitality. Energy plummets, mood darkens, motivation vanishes. This isn't weakness or laziness—it's Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression triggered by light deprivation.

From an energy healing perspective, SAD is solar depletion. Your solar plexus chakra—the energetic sun within you—dims when external sunlight disappears. You're not just missing vitamin D; you're missing the life force that light carries.

This article explores SAD through the lens of solar energy, offering both scientific and spiritual tools to restore your inner light when the outer world goes dark.

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD is a subtype of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, typically worsening in fall/winter and improving in spring/summer. It affects approximately 5% of people severely, with another 10-20% experiencing milder "winter blues."

Common symptoms:

• Persistent low mood and hopelessness
• Loss of interest in activities (anhedonia)
• Fatigue and low energy despite adequate sleep
• Hypersomnia (sleeping more than usual)
• Carbohydrate cravings and weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating
• Social withdrawal
• Feeling heavy, sluggish, or "hibernating"

Scientific cause: Reduced sunlight disrupts circadian rhythms, decreases serotonin production, and increases melatonin (making you sleepy and depressed).

Energetic cause: Sunlight is concentrated life force (prana, chi, qi). When it disappears, your energetic system—especially your solar plexus chakra—becomes depleted.

The Solar Plexus Connection

The solar plexus chakra (Manipura) is your internal sun. Located at the upper abdomen, it governs:

• Personal power and agency
• Vitality and life force
• Motivation and willpower
• Confidence and self-esteem
• Digestive fire (metabolism)

When your solar plexus is strong, you feel energized, purposeful, and capable. When depleted, you experience exactly what SAD causes: fatigue, powerlessness, loss of motivation, and metabolic sluggishness.

The connection: External sunlight charges your solar plexus. When sunlight disappears (winter), your internal sun dims. SAD is what happens when your energetic battery runs out.

Light as Medicine: Scientific Approaches

1. Light Therapy (Phototherapy)

Light therapy uses a specialized lamp (10,000 lux) to simulate sunlight and reset circadian rhythms.

How to use:

• Sit 16-24 inches from the light box
• Use for 20-30 minutes each morning (within first hour of waking)
• Don't stare directly at the light; let it enter peripheral vision
• Consistency is key—daily use throughout fall/winter

Effectiveness: 60-80% of SAD patients improve with light therapy, often within 2-4 weeks.

2. Vitamin D Supplementation

Sunlight triggers vitamin D production. In winter, most people become deficient, which correlates with depression.

Recommended: 1,000-2,000 IU daily (or as directed by your doctor after testing levels)

3. Dawn Simulation

Alarm clocks that gradually brighten (simulating sunrise) help regulate circadian rhythms and ease winter waking.

4. Maximize Natural Light Exposure

• Spend time outdoors during daylight hours (even cloudy days provide beneficial light)
• Sit near windows when indoors
• Remove heavy curtains; let maximum light in
• Take winter walks during lunch breaks

Light as Medicine: Energy Healing Approaches

1. Solar Plexus Activation

Directly charge your internal sun through meditation:

• Sit comfortably, spine straight
• Place hands on upper abdomen (solar plexus location)
• Visualize a brilliant golden sun spinning at your solar plexus
• With each inhale, imagine the sun growing brighter and warmer
• Chant the seed mantra "RAM" (sounds like "rahm") to activate the chakra
• Practice 10-15 minutes daily, especially mornings

2. Sun Gazing and Solar Meditation

Safe sun gazing (during first/last hour of daylight when UV is low) absorbs solar energy directly:

• Face the rising or setting sun
• Close your eyes and feel warmth on your face
• Visualize golden light entering through your third eye and filling your solar plexus
• Breathe deeply, absorbing light with each inhale
• 5-10 minutes daily

Caution: Never stare at midday sun; this damages eyes. Only practice during safe hours.

3. Fire Element Practices

The solar plexus is governed by the fire element. Increase fire energy through:

• Candle meditation: Gaze at candle flame, absorbing its light and warmth
• Fireplace or bonfire: Sit near fire, visualizing its energy charging your solar plexus
• Warming foods: Ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric (fire element foods)
• Heat therapy: Saunas, hot baths, heating pads on solar plexus area

4. Solar Crystals for SAD

Work with crystals that carry solar energy:

• Citrine: Natural antidepressant, solar plexus activator, manifestation and joy
• Sunstone: Literally contains sun energy, dispels darkness, restores optimism
• Amber: Fossilized sunlight, warmth and vitality, ancient solar medicine
• Clear quartz: Amplifies light, clarity, and energy
• Tiger's eye: Solar plexus strength, confidence, grounding solar energy
• Yellow jasper: Sustained solar energy, endurance through dark seasons

How to use:

• Wear as jewelry (especially near solar plexus)
• Meditate holding solar crystals
• Place on solar plexus during rest
• Create a solar crystal grid in your home to amplify light energy
• Charge crystals in sunlight (even winter sun) and carry that stored light with you

5. Color Therapy: Surround Yourself with Solar Colors

Colors carry energetic frequencies. Solar colors (yellow, gold, orange) stimulate your solar plexus:

• Wear yellow or gold clothing
• Use golden/yellow decor, blankets, or lighting
• Eat yellow/orange foods (citrus, squash, turmeric, golden beets)
• Visualize golden light during meditation

Lifestyle Practices for Winter Vitality

1. Movement and Heat Generation

Physical activity generates internal fire and activates solar plexus:

• Yoga (especially sun salutations, core work, twists)
• Cardio exercise (raises body temperature and energy)
• Dance (activates sacral and solar plexus chakras)
• Martial arts or strength training (builds personal power)

2. Circadian Rhythm Regulation

• Wake and sleep at consistent times
• Get bright light exposure immediately upon waking
• Dim lights 2-3 hours before bed
• Avoid screens at night (blue light disrupts melatonin)

3. Social Connection and Purpose

SAD often causes withdrawal, which worsens depression. Counteract with:

• Scheduled social activities (even when you don't feel like it)
• Volunteer work or helping others (activates solar plexus purpose)
• Creative projects (channel solar energy into creation)
• Goal-setting and achievement (restores sense of agency)

4. Nutrition for Solar Energy

• Protein-rich foods (support serotonin production)
• Complex carbs (sustained energy, not simple sugar crashes)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, flaxseed—support brain health)
• Warming spices (ginger, cinnamon, turmeric—fire element)
• Limit alcohol (depressant that worsens SAD)

The Sun Card: Tarot Wisdom for SAD

The Sun card in tarot represents vitality, joy, clarity, and life force—everything SAD depletes. Work with this card during winter:

• Place The Sun card on your altar or workspace
• Meditate on the card, absorbing its radiant energy
• Ask: "How can I access my inner sun when the outer sun is hidden?"
• Use The Sun card in manifestation work to call in light and joy

The Sun card reminds you: even when the external sun disappears, your internal sun remains. You must learn to kindle it yourself.

When to Seek Professional Help

Light therapy and energy work are powerful, but SAD can be severe. Seek professional support if:

• Symptoms significantly impair daily functioning
• You experience suicidal thoughts
• Self-care strategies aren't providing relief
• You have a history of bipolar disorder (light therapy can trigger mania—use only under supervision)

Treatment options:

• Therapy (CBT adapted for SAD is highly effective)
• Medication (SSRIs, especially if SAD is severe)
• Combination of light therapy, medication, and energy work

Reframing Winter: The Gift of Darkness

While SAD is real and requires treatment, winter also offers gifts:

• Rest and restoration: Nature hibernates; so can you (within reason)
• Introspection: Darkness invites inner work and reflection
• Cultivation of inner light: When external light disappears, you learn to generate your own
• Appreciation for spring: You can't know light without darkness

The goal isn't to eliminate winter or deny SAD—it's to work with the season while supporting your mental health.

Integration: Becoming Your Own Sun

SAD teaches a profound spiritual lesson: you cannot rely on external sources for your vitality. The sun will disappear every year. People will leave. Circumstances will darken. But your solar plexus—your internal sun—is always available.

Light therapy treats the symptoms. Solar plexus work addresses the root: learning to generate your own light, power, and purpose regardless of external conditions.

You are not at the mercy of the seasons. You carry a sun within you. Tend it. Feed it. Let it burn even in the darkest winter.

When spring returns, you'll realize: the light you've been seeking was inside you all along.

Next in this series: Breathwork for Anxiety: Pranayama Meets Energy Healing