Gray Skies Got You Down? You're Not Alone

(EndPlay Staff Reports) - Shorter days and gloomy weather got you down? You are not alone. Millions of Americans suffer from mild to severe winter blues, a condition known as seasonal affective disorder, or S.A.D.

“I’ve always seen a drastic change in my personality from spring and summer to fall and winter, and it got worse as I got older,” Rick Bach, 54, a painter who owns a hair salon in West Hartford, Conn., told The New York Times last November. 

To combat his blues, Bach tries to spend every January in Puerto Rico.

The Mayo Clinic defines the disorder as a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. The clinic's website says symptoms typically start in the fall and may continue into the winter months. The condition saps a sufferer's energy and creates bouts of moodiness. 

A common cause may be a lack of sunlight, according to Web MD . 

"Lack of light may upset your sleep-wake cycle and other circadian rhythms. And it may cause problems with a brain chemical called serotonin that affects mood," states the Web MD website. 

One way to combat the winter blues is to simply try to expose yourself to more natural light, getting outside as much as possible during the brightest time of day in the winter. Sitting near windows during the day or taking vacations to sunny places during the winter can also help, reported The New York Times. 

According to Web MD, other treatments can include: 

• Bright light treatment. In this treatment a person sits in front of a light box for half an hour or longer, usually in the morning;
• Another light treatment is called "dawn simulation." While you sleep in the morning a dim light comes on and like a sunrise it gets brighter over time;
• Antidepressants;
• Counseling.