Returning to school for the second semester is bittersweet. You're excited to see your school friends and get back into the college life groove, but during this time of year, the bitter has outweighed the sweet.

All you can think of is the daunting courseload ahead of you. However, you know you will struggle to find the motivation to attend class and study afterward. You know feelings of depression and lethargy are soon approaching. Your SAD has finally caught up to you.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is caused by changes in melatonin or serotonin level production in your body due to the changing of seasons.

Symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, oversleeping, and depression.

I have personally experienced this seasonal depression myself and know how hard it is to cope with. I constantly think, "How can something as trivial as the weather cause all of this disarray in my life?" Not to mention the peers who don't experience this and have little patience for your changed mental state.

You may feel alone in this, but know you are far from it.

Just because your family and friends may not suffer from SAD doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It may be easy to joke and tease about this disorder—I mean the acronym is "SAD," so horrible puns are bound to come eventually. At the end of the day, this depression is real and should be treated as such.

According to Mental Health America, SAD can occur (even mildly) in as much as 10% of the population 18 years or older. Also, 4 out of 5 people who have seasonal depression are women.

To make this more tangible, there are roughly 234,564,071 people over the age of 18 in the U.S. according to the 2010 Census. So if we take 10% of that, 23,456,707 people suffer from SAD. 18,765,366 of those are women.

So know if you are one of those individuals suffering, you are not alone. You may feel marginalized right now, but find others who are also suffering and talk through it or seek help if needed... there is nothing to be ashamed of. The more we discuss mental health concerns, the less stigmatized they become and the more people seek treatment.

Some recommended treatments include phototherapy (light therapy) to help decrease the brain's secretion of melatonin (sleep hormone). Other options are being prescribed an antidepressant that reduces SAD's symptoms.

At the end of the day, remember, you cannot help that you feel this way! Your body is experiencing a chemical imbalance beyond your control. I promise though, you will rise.