your HEALTH
Bloom-Winter2014:
1/17/2014
1:12 PM
Page 5
B eating tthe he b lu e s Beating blues
W
inter isn’t always the easiest season to embrace. With its overcast skies, frigid temperatures and sporadic snowfalls, it’s tempting to hunker down at home and count down the days to spring. While feeling a little glum during the coldest, darkest months is normal, the less-than-cheery weather may lead some to develop Seasonal Affective Disorder or winter depression. According to Licensed Professional Counselor Andrea Bieber, who works at the Family Life Resource Center in Harrisonburg, symptoms of SAD include increased irritability, fatigue, sadness, loss of interest
ARTICLE BY KATIE KING ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL REILLY
in activities and an increased craving for carbohydrates. SAD symptoms are similar to those of depression, but tend to be more mild, and manifest only during the winter months. Bieber says the majority of patients are women, and individuals ages 15-55. Before diagnosing a patient with SAD, Bieber says health care professionals inquire as to whether the individual has been depressed during the same season for “at least two years in a row” and if she has felt a »See SAD, Page 6
Winter 2014
Bloom
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