Jenny Durkin explores the impact of seasonal affective disorder on dental professionals – what does the term mean, how can it affect a dental professionals’ life and work, and how can it be managed?
What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that can affect you at certain times of the year. It’s seasonal because it can affect everyone differently, but the most common time to be affected is around winter. When the weather gets colder and it’s darker much earlier, it can make completing tasks feel much more difficult. It can even affect your sleeping and eating patterns.
As a dental professional I know all too well that overwhelming feeling of arriving at work in the dark and leaving to go home again after the sun has set. SAD can be amplified within our working patterns, because as first line healthcare workers we practise patient-centred care. There are also elements of the way we work to consider: the physical demands of the job and the pressure to meet targets and patient expectations. Clinical decision making and working in isolation can also have an impact on wellbeing.
Some research has suggested that low mood in a dental surgery can negatively impact the colleague you are working with, and we spend far more time with our colleagues than we get to spend with our families (Zhang et al, 2022; Westman et al, 2011). You may be best placed to observe changes in how people at work are acting.
How can SAD in dental professionals be managed?
Contrary to what you may think, talking about SAD and depression really does help. And if you think someone may be suffering, it’s worth considering if you are best placed to approach them. A simple check in can make a great deal of difference, and if someone doesn’t want to open up, you can simply ask them if there is someone they might like to talk to.
As a mental health first aider, I learned the importance of giving people the opportunity to talk. It’s possibly the reason some of our patients confide in us about aspects of their lives other than dentistry, because we provide them that safe space.
If you do decide to approach someone, be prepared for the fact they may not be ready to engage in discussions, or they could even react angrily. If the person engages, offer them support and make sure to practice good listening skills, even if you don’t understand their concerns. When someone is exhibiting signs of depression, they could be so entrenched in their own reality that they simply don’t realise.
If someone confides in you and they may have depression, its good to normalise receiving treatment for it and encourage reaching out to the GP. You can offer to attend with the person or suggest they take someone with them for support.
If someone isn’t ready and doesn’t want to get help, you can only really provide a listening ear and a calming understanding of their feelings. Unless someone is at serious risk of harming themselves or someone else, it’s their choice if they want to seek help.
What not to say someone who may be depressed
It’s important to listen and provide good quality information. Telling someone who may be depressed to get a grip or get over it will only exacerbate their feelings. Using phrases like this minimises their feelings and can seem belittling.
But what if its you? How can you monitor your own mood and mental health?
Regularly check in with yourself on how you are feeling. Mental health first aid teaches us about the metaphor of a stress container (MHFA, 2025). Each of us has our own container and they vary in size, the metaphor focuses on what activities we engage in to destress and empty our stress away. You can practise good mental health habits by exercising, reading, dancing, or any activities that you enjoy and that enable you to release stress from that container.
Negative thinking patterns
Be aware of negative thinking patterns. I teach my undergraduates about cognitive distortions, which is just a fancy way to refer to a false belief or inaccurate perception. Recognising cognitive distortions is a very good method of coping and developing personal and professional resilience. Use the resource below to learn more about how cognitive distortions can affect your practice (Therapist Aid, 2023):
| Type | Description | Example |
| All or nothing thinking | Seeing things in extremes with no middle ground | I am not perfect therefore I am a failure |
| Overgeneralisation | Making a broad generalisation based on one single event | I messed up that crown preparation, so it will keep happening |
| Mental filtering | Focusing only on the negatives of a situation | Dwelling on a mistake |
| Disqualifying positives | Rejecting positivity because it doesn’t count | You dismiss a complement because you don’t believe they mean it |
| Jumping to conclusions | Making negative assumptions | This includes mind reading (assuming the opinions of others) and fortune telling (predicting bad things) |
| Catastrophising | Always expecting the worst possible outcome | Thinking you will get fired for making a small mistake |
| Emotional reasoning | Believing your negative emotions reflect reality | I feel worthless therefore I am worthless |
| Personalisation | Taking responsibility for events outside of your control | Believing someone’s bad mood is your fault |
What can be done to counteract negative thinking patterns?
To overcome these negative thinking patterns, we can challenge them. You can do this in your head, on paper or you can utilise voice notes, but it’s important to consider what evidence there is that this thought is reality and consider the list above and if the thought could be a thinking trap.
Next you need to reframe the thought or think of something positive that keeps you centred. The final question to ask yourself is: if a friend told me they had this thought, what advice would I give to them?
It can be difficult to make time in the day when you have a full diary list to reframe a negative thought, so you can always try a mindfulness or distraction technique. If I cannot shake a negative thought, I distract myself using an app on my phone to change my thoughts
Another option is to use the five, four, three, two, one method (Trauma Research UK, 2024). This one is simple, and it’s a grounding method designed to reduce stress and anxiety. You identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. There’s also lots of breathing exercises and mindfulness apps that you can download to enable you to practice healthy coping techniques for periods of stress and anxiety.
Why is tackling SAD important?
Developing good techniques for dealing with stress, anxiety and to improve your overall wellbeing is important for both personal and professional coping. If you are suffering with low mood or anxiety burnout is a real concern, the job will not be enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy what you do patient care can suffer.
In the same way you are supposed to put your oxygen mask on first on an aircraft, you need to take care of your own mental health so that you can continue to meet the expectations of your patients and practice patient centred care.
If any of this has resonated with you, whether that’s thinking about those you work closely with or even yourself, get some help. Go and see your GP or use this opportunity to look after our fellow dental professionals, and generally fellow human beings.
There are courses available for dental personnel to train as mental health first aiders. This is something that could be implemented into general practice.
Just remember, whether its seasonal depression or a relapse into a depressive state, there’s no need to feel hopeless. With a little understanding, we can look after ourselves and one another.
References
- Mind. Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/understanding-your-experiences/.
- Gustavsson K, Van Diepen C, Fors A, et al. Healthcare professionals’ experiences of job satisfaction when providing person-centred care: A systematic review of qualitative studies. BMJ Open; 13. Epub ahead of print 9 June 2023. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071178.
- Alves Garcez Guedes S, Alves Araújo J, Costa da Cunha Oliveira C, et al. Analysis of health professionals’ satisfaction with working conditions. Ciencia, Cuidado e Saude; 12, 2025.
- Zhang Y, Yan L, Long H, et al. Occupational Differences in Psychological Distress Between Chinese Dentists and Dental Nurses. Front Psychol; 13. Epub ahead of print 2022. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923626.
- Westman M, Bakker AB, Roziner I, et al. Crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion within teams: a longitudinal multilevel study. Anxiety Stress Coping 2011; 24: 561–577.
- MHFA. Depression: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines. https://mhfainternational.org/guidelines/.
- MHFA. Interactive Stress Container. https://mhfastorage.blob.core.windows.net/mhfastoragecontainer/1322bb8e6f47f011877a7c1e52208a30/stress-container-resource-download-2025.pdf?sv=2015-07-08&sr=b&sig=iEH1dPCf7T1xkBFrPVkCwfGMmyqlUwo%2FsH4tGspedG8%3D&se=2025-12-02T14%3A22%3A04Z&sp=r.
- Rnic K, Dozois DJA, Martin RA. Cognitive distortions, humor styles, and depression. Eur J Psychol; 12. Epub ahead of print 2016. DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1118.
- Therapist Aid. Cognitive Distortions. https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/cognitive-distortions.
- Trauma Research UK. The 54321 Method. https://traumaresearchuk.org/the-54321-grounding-technique/.
