Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder

BOWLING GREEN Ky. – Many people begin to feel lethargic and uninterested in their day-to-day lives when the days get shorter and the weather cools off. Seasonal Affective Disorder can make life difficult when the seasons change, but the best way to fight it is to start early on finding ways to fight it some experts say.

Kristi Fuller of Fuller Life Counseling Partners recommends finding an exercise regiment that works for your own life.

“A lot of times people resisting exercise because they think it has to be something rigorous and it doesn’t It can just be, you know, 30 minutes of light activity, but just moving your body is helpful.” Fuller said.

Others such as Western Kentucky University have begun looking for more engaging yet passive ways to raise the mental health quality of their students. Dean Corinne Murphy of the School of Education and Behavioral Science works with Chip, a therapy dog that helps people when they are feeling down.

“We’ve had some students who have had a a day where they’re just walking down the hall and they look very sad and all they have to do is see chip in the hall and all of a sudden there is a smile on their face.” Murphy said.