Feeling depressed? Build a SAD routine.

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is the lack of sunlight in the winter months really getting to you? Do you find yourself fighting tooth and nail to keep up with life's demands every winter? You may be dealing with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

Brittany has developed her own morning routine to combat this type of depression. Today, she's joined by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder in the 1980s, to get feedback on her SAD routine, and learn about how we all can think differently about the rough winter months.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is our glass.
0:01.8	On This American Life, one that we like is a good mystery.
0:05.4	Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best.
0:10.5	Our lost and found is currently filled with pants.
0:13.0	I don't know.
0:13.8	I've never seen this happen.
0:15.6	This is true.
0:16.7	This is true.
0:17.9	Mysteries of every size.
0:19.9	Each week, This American Life, wherever you get your podcast.
0:25.0	Okay, so it is, I don't know, seven something in the morning.
0:31.1	I am sitting at my kitchen table.
0:34.9	I have a happy light is what it's called. It's maybe the size of
0:39.6	like a laptop screen, maybe a little smaller. It has like a gentle but strong glow on my face.
0:46.1	And then I have like next to that a regular spiral notebook from like the dollar store with like
0:50.9	a pencil that I probably have from like three jobs ago, um, that I'm using
0:55.0	to journal. And, um, the timer on my light tells me I have like five minutes left. And then I've
1:00.8	got, um, a nice cup of black tea with cinnamon and clove. Um, feels very wintry. Yeah. And so I'm
1:07.9	just doing my thing. This is what I'm doing every single morning, no matter what, because it keeps me from acting a fool.
1:19.2	I will be the first to admit it. I am not my best in the winter months. It feels like every day is a fight.
1:27.3	A fight against the cold weather, a fight between
1:29.9	my wallet and the demands of the holiday season, a fight with the snow, and of course, a fight
	...

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