The Bona Venture

Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: Tony Lee [Click to enlarge]

Image courtesy of Tony Lee

Even the groundhog didn't want to come out and face the winter. Students are feeling it, too.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects between 15 to 20 percent of people in any given city, Roger Keener, director of the Counseling Center, said. But do the 80 to 85 percent of people SAD hasn't affected still feel winter blues, even if it's not serious?

Katie Jackson said the weather has a slight effect on her mood.

"I feel that on sunnier days, I'm definitely happy and more motivated to get stuff done," the sophomore education major said. "When it's (cloudy), I just don't really want to do anything."

This sluggishness isn't concentrated to just a few people.

"It's so easy just to close your window shades and feel depressed," Kevin Kirby, a senior history major, said. "When the sun goes down at 4:30, it's very depressing."

Physical sickness is also starting to build up, according to Melissa Gallison Blackstone, director of Health Services.

"The viruses love it when our bodies are run-down," she said. "All of us here are exposed to a lot of people's viruses, and the way our bodies protect us is to get sick and build a resistance to it."

Keener said this depression and sickness might have to do with attitude.

"I think most people are programmed to think a sunny day's a good day and a cloudy day's a bad day," he said. "When you think about it, little kids don't get depressed in the winter because they're out enjoying it. It's a mindset change."

Gallison Blackstone said stress is a contributor to the winter blues, and it needs to be reduced.

"People get tension headaches, and usually in addition to treating your symptom, you need to scratch below the surface and say 'what else is going on?' Very often there's stress," she said. "Stress-related illnesses are not in your mind. A lot of people think, 'oh, it's only stress,' but stress-related illnesses are our bodies' way of getting our attention. The longer you ignore it, the louder the symptoms can get."

Keener said staying active is important in reducing stress and staying healthy at this time of the year.

"In the summer, it's pretty easy to slip on a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of flip-flops and go for a walk, but here you have to bundle up," he said. "It does take more effort, but I think the effort's worthwhile. Realize you have to create energy. Energy just doesn't happen. You create it by being active and involved."

Gallison Blackstone said common sense is necessary when it comes to taking care of yourself.

"Unfortunately, I've seen people with shorts, walking around in sweatshirts, walking around in flip-flops," she said. "You're not only at risk for frostbite, but your body temperature could change, and that reduces your immunity."

Getting the right amount of sleep is also essential to maintaining physical and mental health, she said.

"That doesn't mean next week sleeping until noon a couple of days. It means getting to sleep earlier," she said.

Some students have advice for their peers to stay healthy and happy.

"Hang out with your friends," Stephen Roach, a fifth-year accounting student, said. "If it is too cold and you don't want to go out or do anything, just watch a movie and enjoy each other's company."

Jackson recommended artificial rays to fight depression.

"I actually say go tanning. That's my thing because I always say 'I have seasonal depression, I need to go tanning,' and I feel like the sun and being warm puts me in a better mood," she said.

The exposure to UVB rays during a tanning session helps the body produce vitamin D, according to sunlighttanning.com.

Gallison Blackstone recommends taking a multivitamin as well.

"It doesn't replace healthy eating, but it provides at least for the minimum nutrients your body needs to fight off infection," she said.

Keener said fighting winter depression requires effort.

"What I always tell students is that it's not what you like, it's not what you want, it's what is good for you," he said. "It's sort of like going over to the Hickey (Dining Hall). What you would want and what you would like is pizza every meal. That might be nice, but after a while, you know what the consequences are."

e-mail: kleinaj@sbu.edu

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