Tips on dealing with the Winter Blahs

It's that time of year...too early for the motorcycle, too late for the snowmobile and the ski hill is getting in bad shape.

With no clear consensus from the groundhogs, it looks like we’ll have to assume there’s a lot more winter in store this season.

It’s also around this time of year that many people start to feel the “winter blahs” says a news release from Health Sciences North.

The winter blahs are actually a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D)  which is a clinical diagnosis and a subset of depression.

Symptoms of S.A.D include loss of interest in things someone normally enjoys, difficulty experiencing pleasure, feelings of hopelessness, dark thoughts, a decline in day-to-day function, withdrawal and isolation, lethargy, and changes in appetite.

“When the weather is cold, we’re often tempted to stay indoors and not go outside, and when we do that for days on end, that can actually lead to a drop in mood, and we can feel more sad and depressed,” says Cindy Gervais, a social worker in the Mood and Anxiety Program of the Mental Health and Addictions Program at Health Sciences North (HSN).

Common treatments for S.A.D. include light therapy (where a person is exposed to more light), cognitive behaviour therapy (where a person learns to change behaviours, and recognize and then correct automatic negative thoughts) and medication.

“To beat S.A.D and the winter blahs, I would also encourage people to stay connected to friends and family, and to continue to do activities that bring them pleasure, including exercise, “adds Gervais. “I would also tell people to get out into the bright outdoors, particularly in the morning, as it’s better to get a big dose of light therapy to start your day. If you can’t go outside, do what you can to bring more light into your inside space.”

Learn more about Seasonal Affective Disorder