Conquer the winter blues

‘ ALEX HAMILTON
BAH HUMBUG. Winter's
here and it’s cold; it's dark
and it’s depressing.

You're tired. You’re ir-
ritable. And you have an
itresistible desire to eat
high-carbohydrate foods
like pasta, potatoes and
bread.

Sound familiar? You
may be suffering from an
acute case of the winter
blues, a medical syndrome
‘know as seasonal affective
disorder (SAD).

Although almost every-
one complains of gaining
weight and struggling to
get out of bed in the morn-
ing throughout the short
dark days of winter, SAD
sufferers experience these
symptoms to a point where
they feel they can't per-
form everyday functions
normally.

SAD is a dysfunction of
the human body that ap-
pears to be related to a
lack of sufficient exposure

to light. Some people
handle the seasonal swings
in temperature, sunshine

WINTER BLUES: Eric Durando, manager of Northern Healthcare test drive’
the SadElite, a light box designed for people who suffer from seasonal affe_-
tive disorder (SAD) and certain sleep disorders,

(fluoxetine) are also effec-
tive in treating SAD, How-
ever, antidepressants take
wecks to improve SAD
symptoms, while light
therapy often takes less
than a week,

Eric Durando, manager
at Northern Health care
said he’s sold well over a
dozen of the therapy lamps
this year, which is more
than ever before.

He said people may be
suffering SAD more this
winter because last sum-
mer was so rainy” and
gloomy.

Durando said the light
therapy machines are pop-
ular because they work.

“I's a proven thet.apy
for Seasonal Affective
Disorder,” he said.

People can try aut a

‘SAD light box at Koala
Sun Salon.

Salon owner Ambur
Hall said she bought a
lamp in August so custo-
mers with the winter blues
could feel healthier.

“People can just try it
out, and if they like it,

and humidity just fine.

they can buy their own,”

The Terrace Standard, < Meiesey rucy 9, 2000 - AS

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

Others don’t.

Research suggests this
disorder affects mostly
adults, especially women
in their 30s and 40s,

People with SAD suffer
bouts of depression at the
same time each year —
during the dark, chilly
days of winter,

The blues may become
particularly bothersome in
February, especially for
people living in northern
Canada.

In the dead of winter,

Canadians on average get
only 2.5 hours of sunshine
a day.

Ten to 15 per cent of
Canadians suffer from the
winter blues, while about
three per cent of the popu-
lation, or almost one mil-
lion Canadians, actually
suffer from SAD ,

Medical research shows
that bright light is the best
treatment for SAD. Doctors
recommend patients re-
ceive 30 minutes of light
therapy per day, first thing

SAD sufferers may:

‘Wi gain weight
@ lose interest in sex

Got the symptoms?

Mf feel chronically depressed

Mi want to withdraw and avoid social contact

M sleep too much (increase their sleep by as
much as four hours or more per day)

Mi have an increased appetite, sometimes suffer-
ing from irresistible cravings for carbohydrates

@ be constantly fatigued and lack alertness
* (i be irritable and unable to cope with life

in the morning,

A 10,000-lux light box
emits an adjustable fluor-
escent light that is about
fifty times stronger than
ordinary sunlight. (For
comparison, indoor light-
ing is less than 500 iux;
outdoor light on a cloudy
day ranges from 1,000 to
5,000: lux; intense summer
sunlight can » exceed
50,000 lux.)

Looking directly at the
light isn’t necessary, ar re-
commended. People are

free to ready, write, or eat
meals. What’s important is
to sit close to the lamp
with eyes open.

‘Most. light therapy
shield out ultraviolet rays,
therefore users will not tan,

What light therapy is
believed to do is alter the
body’s daily and seasonal
rhythms by suppressing
nighttime melatonin secre-
tion.

Some anti-depressant
drugs, like Zoloft
(sertraline) and Prozac

she said.

SAD was brought to the
public’s attention in the
early 1980s when Dr. Nor-
man E. Rosenthal, a South
African, noticed a- dra-
matic mood swing during
his first winter in New
York City, NY.

Rosenthal, now a psy-
chiatrist with the U.S. Na-
tional Institute of Mental
Health, was among the
first doctors to experiment
with light therapy.

Tips for fighting SAD

W Maximize exposure to sunlight.
Even on an overcast day, sufferers benefit

from being outdoors.

_ & Run! Walk! Hike! Exercise is they
‘key to improving one’s physical and men-

tal well-being.

Eat lots of pasta. L-typtophan, a nu-
trient found in dairy products that is re-
sponsible for producing serotonin, may
have a positive effect on people suffering

Being stressed out takes its toll on the
body, often resulting in sleepless nights

and excessive fatigue.

SAD.

day.

Try light therapy. Light therapy has
been proved to minimize the symptoms of

# Go to Mexico! SAD sufferers are
often encouraged to go on a sunny holi-

v Dress warmly. Some SAD sufferers

The Mail Bag,

Kitimat defended

Dear Sir:

lam writing about Question Number 4-in The
Best of Terrace questionnaire of Jan. 26 and Feb. 2,

I had to re-read it thinking | must have read it
wrong but much to my dismay, no I hadn't.

Question 4 is, ‘Best reason to be thankful you

live in Terrace and not in Kitimat.’

After having lived in Kitimat most of my life |
took this question as very offensive. Why include
any other tawn in the question, couldn't it have just
asked “Best reason to be thankful you live in
Terrace?" Why pitch one town against another?

There are plenty of pro and cons to both towns.
Let me point outa few things [ believe Kitimat re-
sidents are thankful for that Terrace residents
should think about before answering this question.

1. Kitimat is full of sidewalks connecting the
entire town, making it safer for children, walking,

bike riding and jogging.
2, Better bus service.

3, Better snow clearing in winter. They don't use
the center line as a snow bank; they remove the

snow not just move it.

4. The streets in Kitimat are all paved, unlike

Terrace.

5. Kitimat doesn't have raw sewage flowing
through its neighbourhoods as the residents of

Braun's Island have to deal with.

6. Better recreation facilities. Kitimat has had

two arenas for a long time.

7, Kitimat has a great communily spirit. Did you
read all the letters in this paper from Terrace resi-
dents verbally bashing the people of Thornhill and
others who voted no for the second sheet of ice,
even though more Terrace residents voted no than

all the outlying areas pul together?

8. At the Kitimal cemetery you are allowed to
leave flowers and other mementos for the’ dead,
unlike the Terrace cemetery, where the district
employees are told to remove all those things . so
they don't get in the way of the lawn mowing, or

snow clearing.

I'm sure if I thought about it | could come up
with more, but I'm not into putting down Terrace, it
has lois of great points as well. Just ask all those
Kitimat people who spend a lot of their money in

Terrace.

There is a lot of money coming into Terrace
from those ‘who live in Kitimat (and other nearby
towns and villages). Terrace should be thankful for
that, Do you have any idea of how many Terrace
residents drive the highway daily to make their liv-

ing in Kitimat?

There are pros and cons no matter where you
live. And because both these communities gain
from each other, I feel your question was in very
poor taste. Ever heard the saying “Don't bite the

hand that feeds you”?

A. Cameron, Lakelse Lake, B.C,

Any individual SAD sufferer may*notshow: ally que ftani“the winltet’ blues’ ‘dtd’ SAD THE bb-

the symptoms above? Sometimes a Spmptowi ice! PD iggy Hot of Peryitaiiy Rant'is' WeseanTN, t
Gligter is "actually opposite thie notin; atin Us vin: rt hip 1-citboh ylrate feo , like pata, mia

i. somnia as apposed to excessive sleep - Live as stress-free 4 a life as ‘possible.

respond positively to warmer tempera-
tikes’ ania! tent to feel Better, if they a are
digsdla’wannily?”"" PO tent
Vv Move to a city where there’ s sun!

ah lirict

Mike’ S crusade. ::
Dear Sir:

Mike Scott doesn’ t ‘need support for his one man

Northerners expect population
to migrate towards the sticks

NORTHERNERS BELIEVE their
quality of life will improve in the
next five years but they also be-
lieve it will be more difficult to
maintain their standard of living,
indicates a survey just released,

In‘-fact, a large majority be-
lieve they’ll be working harder for
lower pay, says the University of
Northern B.C. survey.

Nearly 1500 househelds partic-
ipated in the survey (969 from
north of 100 Mile House and 499
from-south of 100 Mile House),
which measured expectations and
attitudes around possible events in
the next century.

The university’s Institute for
Social Research and Evaluation
did the work,

Some results:

M@ Most respondents (61% in
the north) believe their own quali-
ty of life will] improve in the next
five years, but a majority (66% in
the north, and 62% of those south
of 100 Mile House) believe it. witl
be more difficult to maintain their
standard of living.

In fact, a majority (80% north,
72% south) believe they will have
to work harder for lower pay.

M Respondents found it only
slightly more likely that Quebec
will separate from Canada (29%
north) 27% south) than that Cana-
da will merge with the United
States (24% north, 25% south).

BA: majority of respondents
{65% north, §2% south) believe
there will be a BC population
shift‘to the North and more south-
erners (61%) than northerners
(45%) believe the North will get
the attention it deserves.

21% of northertiers and 16%.

of southerners believe the world
will witness the second coming of
Jesus Christ and 72% of northern-

ers (65% south) believe it would.

be a good'thing if that happened.
HE More southerners (38%

south, 26% north) also believe |

there will be tax breaks for north-
ern residents.

| Regarding’ BC Industries, a
minority 5%. north, 40%: anu):

We're also more likely to believe in
the second coming of Christ, or to _
support return of capital punishment

believe the mining ‘industry will
disappear; a majority (73% north,
74% south) believe all natural re-
source industries will specialize
in value-added products; and 74%
of northerners (67% south) believe
there will be oil and gas wells off
the BC coast.

WA majority (76% north, 81%
south) say it will be good if all
aboriginal land claims are settled,
but a minority (39% north, 34%
south) believe it will actually
happen.

44% of northerners and 40%
of southerners intend to further
their education in. the next five
years.

M On federal issues, a large
majority (93% north, 92% south)
say it will be good if the national

debt is paid off, but a minority
(19% north, 22% south) think it

will happen. 2

M@ Fewer than a ‘third (28%
north, 30% south).believe there
will be two. political parties: a

united left and a united right.

@ Fewer than half (42% north,
36% south) believe capital pun-
ishment will be reinstated, but a
majority (70% north, 60% south)

“say it would be good if it was fe-

instated.

MA large majority (89% north,
87% south) believes global warm-
ing will increase, yet a minority
(45% north, 40% south) believes
that the polar ice caps will melt
and flood many seaports. |

Mi 45% of northerners and 36%
of southerners believe an earth-
quake will destroy Vancouver and
the surrounding area.

HM Most respondents find it as
likely that there wil! be a cure for
AIDS (73% north, 77% south) as
there will be a catastrophic nu-

clear disaster somewhere in the.

world (75% north, 73% south):

In addition to’ measuring the...

probability of various events, the

“survey also gauged quality of life

expectations.

‘Research and Evaluation

In assessing different aspects
relating to the quality of people's
lives, there was little difference
between northerners and southern-
Ts.

People were most ‘satisfied
with their living partners, family

o

- telations, and their homes and

neighbourhoods. The highest lev-
els of dissatisfaction were report-
ed for provincial government offi-

_ Cials.

For both northerners and south-
erners, if they could change any-
thing to improve the quality of
their lives, they would improve

their financial and employment

situations first, then their health,
The millennium survey is be-
lieved to be the first of its kind to
be conducted in the province, and
the margins of error are +/- 3.2%

(north) and 4.5% (south), 19 times —

out of 20.

‘The UNBC Institute for Social
was
created to provide stalistical in-

-formation to various community

agencies,
Over the past two years, it has

‘conducted surveys on quality of

life, crime, health care, recrea-

‘tion, and seniors’ issues.

- lUNBC survey: Beliefs of northerners.

Hl b.c. should settle all and claims
Bu will actually happen

E] Mining in B.C. will disappear
CJ ottshore oil drilling will happen
BB southerners will migrate north

crusade against the Nisga’a treaty. He needs a prti-
vate tutor to enlighten him on some basic facts of
life. By the content of Lloyd Brinson’s ietter to The
Terrace Standard, Jan. 12, 2000, it appears he also
needs some elementary lessons in aboriginal his-

tory.

For starters, the principal beneficiaries of the
Nisga’a trealy are’ supposed to be members of the
Nisga’a nation, not squatters on Nisga’a lands. _

Second, once the Nisga’a decolonize them-
selves, that is, once they go from a position of sub-—
ordination to independence, they will regain the

reins of their economic. destiny. ©

The “Indian Act” with its totalitarian death grip
on the Nisga’a will be no more. What.seems to
evade Lloyd and Mike’s conscience is that the
concept behind the “Indian Act” and “Indian Re-
serves” are colonial creations designed -to subordi-
nate aboriginals into total dependency.

Small wonder “the poor underdog Indian”
couldn’t pay taxes on his house and. lat. in theory,
all this is going to change once the clock strikes

midnight.

One insight that seems lost on these sages is
their failure to sce the Nisga’a gift to the so-called
founding nations. To call the Nisga’a treaty a. mod-
erate treaty is a bit of a stretch. If the 40 per cent
of Nisga’a who voted against the treaty had their -
day in court, Lloyd and the corporate plunderers
who have sucked and continue to suck the vitals
out of the Nass Valley would be long gone. -

There would be no generous 5-year transition
period. The 40 per cent who voted against the trea-
ty did so because they, like myself, saw the treaty
as toa generous to the likes of Lloyd and Mike.

So Lloyd and Mike count your blessings that the
vole went the way it did, or you'd really have

something to bitch about.

Ray Guno, New Alyansh, B.C,

It's a bad joke

i have been listening for 18 years to the bashing
of people down on their luck or who are on welfare

Dear Sir:

~ because they have no marketable options.

Some may. be justified in the opinion of the .
comfortable. But welfare for NHL team owners and

million for doing nothing).

- players is like condoning the greedy rich for mak-
‘ing bad business decisions (¢.g. paying Messier. $6

These people also use any and every tax dodge
and loophole their financial genius’ can bring to
bear. If this isn’t the ultimate welfare abuse, what

would you, the taxpayer call it?

Ata time when there are cutbacks to all Cana-
dian social programs influenced by the greedy tichy,
when there are increasing numbers of home|
people dying in the streets, the taxpayers," Waw
asked to pay for the business mistakes of the
megalomaniacs, whose social image is more at

risk then their money.

~ Surely. this has to be a sick humourless joke.

Gerry King

Skeens Anti Poverty, Terrace, B,C,