She dreads the dark of winter, preferring not to go out. Tired, sleeping sometimes ten to sixteen hours a night, she hates the cold, wearing extra clothing well before winter sets in. "I try to think about it - that it's temporary. I try to think about it being spring. If I think about how long it's going to be, it overwhelms me ... As soon as it starts getting dark I get anxious, almost claustrophobic ... Darkness to me just feels like an ending." -Deb-

Deb has been a Michiana resident since 1975. Originally from Hawaii, she has never been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), yet she exhibits some of the characteristics.

"What you see is that their mood is depressed, there's an increased desire to eat, a carbohydrate craving and increased sleeping," says Dr. Catherine Pittman, clinical psychologist and associate professor at Saint Mary's College. "And when you look for that kind of behavior, there are many people who feel like they have something similar to that but it wouldn't be diagnosable."

With the holidays behind us, and shorter days and cold nights in front of us, Dr. Pittman offers some simple steps we can all take to combat winter blahs:

Get sun.

"The part of the body you want to expose to light is your eyes. So it's not that you have to get a tan, you don't have to expose all of your skin, but research on SAD shows that your eyes being exposed to more light seems to have an affect on us," explains Dr. Pittman.

Not only is sunlight important but even the time of day can make a difference. "So, if you have a sunroom, and you get up in the morning or as soon as the sun is up, or if you have fluorescent lighting that's pretty bright, make a point of being around it in the morning," stated Dr. Pittman.

Get moving.

"If you can keep your exercise program up, you are more than likely to not experience a decrease in your mood. Endorphins increase when you exercise. You've heard of the runner's high? Well you can get good feelings because of these endorphins. And they're natural painkillers," stated Dr. Pittman.

Get happy thoughts.

"You know how some people see the glass as half full and some people see it as half empty? That really predicts depression. The kinds of people who tend to see negative are people who are more vulnerable to depression," explained Dr. Pittman.

Get a pet - or borrow one.

"Your pets are a really good source of support and you know what else they do, they make you be active ... Pets are a really good source of incentive for going out in the weather. And there's research showing that people who are depressed or anxious really respond positively to being around a pet for a period of time," commented Dr. Pittman.

Get together.

Finally, Dr. Pittman rounded out her advice with the one thing easily taken for granted: people.

"Start trying to be more active, be in the sun, increase your social contact with people, don't hibernate socially, and don't pull yourself away from people. The people who make you feel good are the people I encourage. Surround yourself with people that you can play with, be active with. You really want to follow what lights you up inside. We can tell when something energizes us, makes us feel more alive."

So in the dark winter days, there can be light and it can come from inside of you.