Winter blues strike again, affecting students and professors alike
Winter is coming, and daylight hours are decreasing along with the temperatures.
The cold winds and snow can bring somber faces and downcast eyes to those all over campus.
The change in season also brings winter blues, otherwise known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Some students and professors at Utah State University are no strangers to seasonal depression, but there are many ways to perk up before spring comes.
Lorelle Frank, a creative writing USU graduate, has coped with seasonal depression since her junior year in high school. Since coming to college, she said the effects become more prominent.
“It’s usually fatigue and not feeling happy or not feeling anything,” Frank said. “Not enjoying things I usually enjoy. Sometimes during the winter it’s hard to make myself do things or feel like I want to.”
Other symptoms of seasonal depression include oversleeping, negative thoughts and feelings, apathy, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, insomnia and inability to deal with stress, according to the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association website.
Seasonal affective disorder affects half a million people every winter. People ages 18 to 30 are more prone to seasonal depression, and three out of four of those with SAD are women, according to the Mental Health America website.
English professor Bonnie Moore has dealt with seasonal depression since her first winter in Cache Valley in 2004.
“I absolutely have been affected by seasonal affective disorder,” Moore said. “When Cache Valley gets prolonged periods of inversion, it really gets to me.”
Cache Valley residents face inversion every winter, when stagnant cold air is trapped in the valley and traps local pollutants, according to the Utah and Utah/Idaho Area Designations for the 24-hour fine particle national ambient air quality standards.
According to the report, “During episodes such as this, emissions increase because more home-heating occurs due to the cold temperatures. The low sun angle, short length of the days during winter months, and strong likelihood of snow cover to reflect the solar radiation are all factors that limit daytime surface heating and aggravate the situation. As a result, some inversions may not break for many days.”
Coping with seasonal depression can be done through all types of methods.
“When I’m depressed, I do my homework,” said Willson Higham, a sophomore majoring in accounting. “Doing something productive makes me feel good. When I can see visible progress in my school work it makes me feel productive. Or cooking something for other people.”
Frank works on keeping busy and distracted to alleviate her seasonal depression.
“For me, just being distracted is good,” she said. “Trying to keep myself busy, surrounding myself with people that make me do things. Once I get going, it’s easier to keep doing the things that are on list.”
The lack of natural sunlight is often a contributor to SAD, so Moore seeks out sun as often as she can.
“I manage it in four ways,” she said. “I listen to upbeat, happy music. I try to read a funny or a play on words at least once a day to get a laugh. I watch funny videos. And every time I get the chance, I head to the high country to get into the sunlight.”
— ashley.ruth.stilson@aggiemail.usu.edu