Students say the tunnels contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder, The Charlatan reports for December’s print issue—all about mental health and wellness.
As winter descends on campus, students find themselves gravitating towards the tunnels to hide from the cold. Some won’t leave for weeks. This can result in students spending extended periods without feeling sunlight, which can be detrimental to mental health.
Students who experience depression during the change in season may have a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression that appears during certain seasons of the year, most commonly during the winter months when there is a lack of sunlight.
“Most commonly with SAD, people want to sleep all the time, but still don’t feel rested,” said Kim Hellemans, chair of the department of neuroscience at Carleton. “Often, they don’t have the energy to engage in activities they previously enjoyed doing.”
Beyond emotional complications, SAD can also affect school.
“SAD can cause cognitive impairments on your memory and ability to focus, which can affect students’ ability to concentrate on their studies,” said Hellemans.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, two to three per cent of Canadians will experience SAD in their lifetime.
With harsh and long winters typical in Ottawa, some students at Carleton have become victims of SAD.
Leia Tucker, a second-year communications student at Carleton, said she struggles with SAD this time of year.
“Things pile up at once this time of year with exams, and the weather makes me not as inclined to go out, which only makes me feel worse,” she said. “In my first year, I really relied on the tunnel system and saw how not going outside affected my mental health and energy.”
Despite the tunnels contributing to SAD, Carleton’s Housing and Residence Life Services director Laura Storey said there are no specific initiatives to urge students to go outdoors.
“I’m not sure I can speak to a specific thing we do that gets people outside,” Storey said.
Douglas Cochrane, Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) president, said experiencing SAD himself makes him recognize how important it is to help students during the winter months. He recommends students living in residence utilize the residence counselling and wellness space in 131 Renfrew Building.
Although Tucker said she also finds Carleton’s health and counselling services beneficial, the information is not as easily accessible as she would like.
“It can be difficult to find information on the services available to me, and it is very vague. I know that there are a lot of services, but I don’t think they talk about it as much as they should.” —Leia Tucker, second-year communications student
Students who visit residence and counselling services at Carleton have access to UV lights for light therapy, a method which Cochrane described as “proactive” in preventing SAD symptoms.
Light therapy involves sitting in front of a special, intense artificial lamp that causes a chemical change in your brain which can help relieve SAD symptoms.
Despite some patients finding light therapy effective, a recent review by The Cochrane Collaboration, a global network of healthcare professionals and researchers who aim to provide accessible, evidence-based healthcare information, notes research around light therapy’s effectiveness is limited.
“The quality of evidence for all outcomes was very low, so we can draw no conclusions about whether light therapy is effective in preventing winter depression,” reads the research review.
Although light therapy may not have scientific backing, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) president Lily Akagbosu said it is important students understand the validity of their SAD symptoms.
“Seasonal depression is definitely a thing and I think that as students it can be very tempting to ignore that.” —Lily Akagbosu, CUSA president
“But, it’s important that we take that conscious effort to set practices or routines in our daily and weekly schedules to make sure that we’re conscious of the weather, and we’re playing our part in at least challenging ourselves to experience the weather,” she said.
Akagbosu added she thinks older parts of the tunnel system at Carleton could be renovated to include more windows for students to prevent SAD symptoms.
“I know that with the construction of the new building there has been a few changes to the tunnels,” she said. “Perhaps there’s a way to reconstruct other parts of the tunnels where we could possibly connect a window somewhere that could bring in some light.”
Akagbosu said she recognizes the logistics of implementing more windows in the tunnel system, like the windows in the tunnels leading into Richcraft Hall on campus, would be very complex, but said she thinks the benefits would be worth it.
“Some parts of the tunnels have windows, it’s just not everywhere,” she said. “If we could include more of that, it could be helpful.”
Even though the mix of the winter blues and exam season can often feel isolating for students struggling with SAD, Tucker said it is important to reach out for help.
“Don’t be ashamed to speak to professors and ask for help. They may seem intimidating, but all my professors want to see me succeed,” Tucker said.
“If you think you need to get help, don’t be ashamed of that. You don’t need to battle what you are going through alone.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact:
- Mental Health Crisis Line: 613-722-6914 (within Ottawa) and 1-866-996-0991 (outside Ottawa)
- Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region 24-hour line: 613-238-3311
- Youth Services Bureau 24/7 Crisis Line: 613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775 (toll free for eastern Ontario).
- EmpowerMe 24/7 helpline: 1-844-741-6389 (anywhere in North America)
- Good2Talk helpline: 1-866-925-5454 (anywhere in Ontario 24/7)
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT-686868 (available anywhere in Canada 24/7)
Students who require counselling support can go in person between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, to Health and Counselling Services at the CTTC Building, Suite 2600. Students may also call 613-520-6674 or walk in to schedule an appointment.
Carleton employees can access the after-hours Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 1-800-668-9920, or during regular business hours at 613-725-5676.
File photo, with files from Jillian Piper.
