Seasonal depression got you down? Your Employee Assistance Program can help

For those who suffer from it, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression, often occurs at the same time every year. With seasonal depression, you may notice symptoms starting in the fall and lasting into the winter months, leaving you feeling drained and moody. In most cases, symptoms of seasonal depression seem to alleviate during the sunnier days of spring and summer. However, some people report having the opposite pattern of symptoms, where the depression actually begins in the spring or summer.

What causes seasonal affective disorder?

The cause of SAD remains unknown, but the Mayo Clinic suggests that a few factors may be responsible:

·         Your biological clock (circadian rhythm). The reduced level of sunlight during fall and winter may disrupt your body's internal clock, which lets you know when you should sleep or be awake. This disruption of your circadian rhythm may lead to feelings of depression.

·         Serotonin levels. A drop in serotonin, a chemical in the brain that affects mood, might play a role in seasonal affective disorder. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.

·         Melatonin levels. The change in season can disrupt the balance of the natural hormone melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.

But there is good news for those suffering from SAD: Your Employee Assistance Program is available to help you!

How EAP can help

Employee Assistance Programs, or EAPs, are benefit programs offered by many employers to help their employees deal with personal problems that might impact work performance, health and well-being. EAPs are intended to help when someone is struggling with an emotional hardship, like seasonal depression, and can provide short-term counseling as well as referral services.

EAP counselors can usually address the following:

·         Stress, depression, anxiety

·         Marital issues, relationships, family/parenting issues

·         Work conflicts

·         Anger, grief, loss of a loved one

·         Drug and alcohol abuse

Another great thing about EAP programs is that they are generally provided at no cost to you. Your employer usually takes on the cost of these programs, offering them as a free benefit to help employees. If you’re worried about privacy, don’t be—the EAP counselors will keep your conversations confidential, and they won’t share the information with your employer.

If you are a Health Advocate member with access to our EAP+Work/Life service, lean on us for assistance issues like mental illness, stress-related illness, substance abuse, work-related problems, family-related problems and more. Additionally, our EAP+Work/Life service can make referrals for long-term care, such as counseling, when appropriate. Our EAP+Work/Life service can help you handle your personal issues so that you can be happier, less stressed, and more productive.

Additional resources for help

If you or someone you know is suffering from seasonal depression, but don’t have access to an Employee Assistance Program, there are many other resources available. The following websites are full of information and resources to help you:

Mayo Clinic:

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Lifestyle and home remedies

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Treatment Works: Get Help for Depression and Anxiety

National Institute of Mental Health:

Prevention Education

National Institute of Mental Health:

Women and Mental Health

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

The NAMI Information Helpline

How EAPs Can Benefit a Company’s Employees…and Its Bottom Line

Job stress is a leading source of stress for Americans, costing businesses $200-$300 billion a year in terms of lost productivity, disability, absenteeism and presenteeism (where employees are present but function below par), according to the American Psychological Association. When an employee is suffering from personal issues, it is likely their work will also suffer, which can lead to the company being negatively affected, too.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are designed to reduce the impact that social, psychological or work/life balance problems have on the employee in order to reduce the financial impact on the company. More employers are adopting Employee Assistance Programs in order to promote a productive, effective and functional working environment. 

Health Advocate’s EAP+Work/Life service offers employees short-term help for issues like mental illness, stress-related illness, substance abuse, work-related problems, family-related problems and more. Additionally, our EAP+Work/Life service can make referrals for long-term care, such as counseling, when appropriate. Our EAP+Work/Life service aims to help employees handle their personal issues so that they can be happier, less stressed, and more productive.

Here are just a few of the benefits Health Advocate’s EAP+Work/Life service could bring to your company:

·         Increased productivity. Our EAP+Work/Life service is designed to improve the productivity of employees. In addition to helping resolve employees’ personal issues, this service can also provide the Human Resources department of your company with critical incidence planning, conflict resolution help, and more. While helping employees deal with all of life’s ups and downs, our EAP+Work/Life service is also setting the groundwork for effective company growth and development.

·         The right resources at the right time. Our EAP+Work/Life specialists are experts at connecting employees with the appropriate services to meet their needs. They assess individual employee needs, refer employees to suitable services and provide employees and their families with confidential access to professional health services.

·         Higher morale. A happy and healthy employee is likelier to be productive and effective. Our EAP+Work/Life service helps ensure that employees are adequately taken care of so they can perform well on the job. Plus, when a company provides an EAP service, employees feel supported by their company, and in return they feel motivated to give the company their best work.

·         Reduced turnover. Many employees leave their jobs as a result of work-related or personal stress. These high turnover rates can be costly for any company. Our EAP+Work/Life service can improve working environments by giving employees a valuable source of support. This can help employees feel less stressed, which can lead to fewer resignations.  

To learn more about how our EAP+Work/Life service can help your company, contact your Health Advocate representative.

Taking Control of Stress at Work

Whether you’re stressed out at work due to looming deadlines, too much on your plate, or any other reason, you could likely benefit from a little TLC. At work, it’s important to take a little time to care for yourself in order to prevent stress from getting the best of you. If you are an employee looking to better manage your own stress in the workplace, consider using coping strategies. Try the following ideas to help ward off tension that could arise throughout the day.

Spend time alone.

Take a 10-minute coffee break in the morning before the day starts, or try a brief, brisk walk in the middle of the work day. This may help you feel calmer and more focused when you come back to your desk.

Take a deep breath.

Try some deep breathing techniques at your desk. Inhale deeply, feeling your stomach expand. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then slowly exhale, visualizing tension leaving your body.

Train your brain.

Mindfulness training is an emerging stress management technique that involves training the mind to focus attention on the moment. This approach can train you to find the ability to rest and find qualities of peace and relaxation into your everyday life.

Stretch it out.

Stretching can easily be done at your desk. Sit in a chair with your upper body resting forward on your lap. Slowly roll up, starting at the base of your spine, until your back is straight. Stretch the neck muscles by titling your head the right and slowly rolling your head down and to the left. Repeat a few times in both directions.

Self- massage.

Sit with your shoulder relaxed. Use your right hand to massage your left shoulder and neck, working your way up to the scalp. Repeat using the left hand for the right shoulder.

Positive self-talk.

Replace negative mental thoughts that are in response to stress, such as "I’ll never get this done" with positive ones like "I know I can do this."

Reach out for help.

If you have access to Health Advocate, we have several resources that can help you:

If you have access to Health Advocate’s EAP+Work/Life service, you can call and speak to a professional about stress, work/life balance, and more.


If you are a Health Advocate member, you can call your Personal Health Advocate to help you locate a nearby in-network counselor or other mental health professional that can help you address stress.

While you often can’t control many of the stressors in your everyday life, you can learn to deal with them using coping techniques. When things start feeling too stressful, coping strategies like the ones listed above may be able to help you feel calmer and better able to tackle the tasks at hand.

Resources for employers

If your employer has Health Advocate’s EAP+Work/Life service, our Management Assistance Program (MAP) may be able to help you reduce stress in the workplace. MAP can give you the guidance you need to become an even more effective leader. Plus, check out Frontline, our quarterly newsletter full of helpful information for managers and supervisors.

Health Advocate’s free

white paper "Stress in the Workplace: Meeting the challenge" identifies ways that employers can help mitigate stress in the workplace. Read it today at HealthAdvocate.com.