Seasonal depression in February: Why this month feels so heavy (and how to get through it)

February has a reputation for feeling deceptively heavy. The holidays are long gone, spring still feels out of reach, and the routines that carried people through January can start to feel stale or exhausting. Even though February is objectively the shortest month, many people report feeling emotionally worn down, unmotivated, or unusually irritable during this time.

For some, this experience overlaps with seasonal depression, a pattern of low mood and energy that tends to peak during the winter months when daylight is limited and recovery feels harder to access…