Farm Stress Line can help when winter blues become more

During the middle of winter people often experience the winter blues or seasonal affective disorder.

“When we get into January we’re all suffering from shorter daytime hours and a lot of cold,” Farm Stress Line social worker Amanda Douglas explained. “We all sort of go into a hibernation mode.”

According to Douglas, it starts to become more of an issue when you feel those negative thoughts and withdraw from your friends and family for more than two weeks.

“If the majority of your time is spent on any of those things (negative thoughts and withdrawing) for a period of two weeks that is usually when a family doctor could apply a diagnosis,” Amanda Douglas said.

At the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Douglas explained that it’s important to seek help early if you’re feeling symptoms of anxiety or depression.

“If we can nip it in the bud earlier on and make small changes into our daily routine, that makes all the difference,” she said.

Douglas said if you are feeling a bit off this winter, it’s ok.

“We need to give ourselves a little bit of credit, some self-compassion, and say ‘what I’m going through right now is a healthy response.'”

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