GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Along with extra work, the snow and cold have proven to lead to the winter blues.
Winter Blues is more than just being frustrated with too much snow.
The lack of sun in the winter months is a specifier for a major depressive disorder.
Erika Mangan is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with Belin Health.
“The science behind it relates to less serotonin, that really affects the mood, your happiness, appetite or sleep.”
Feeling down and hopeless, lack of pleasure, over-eating, difficulting sleeping, weight gain, low energy levels and in some cases, suicidal thoughts are all symptoms of the form of depression.
She says studies show, they are seeing symptoms in people from the Midwest.
“The further away you are from the equator, the higer risk you are,” Magnan says. “Females also have a higher risk.”
Along with medication and therapy, there are some established treatment methods.
“You can use phototherapy, which is a form of that sunlight that you are trying to mimic in the winter months.”
She says people will be advised to start their day under the light.
Sometimes if it gets real bad and people decide to move to a warmer climate.
Magnan says the good news for people who don’t want to move is studies show the signs of the disorder start to disappear when the temperatures warm up.
