Sleeping In Seattle: The Consequences Of SAD

by Laurel Miller on

I recently mentioned my somewhat reluctant decision to relocate from Seattle when the right opportunity presents itself (A job and nice one bedroom in Berkeley, North Oakland or Boulder anyone? Anyone?).

While my move was precipitated by a layoff in February, I’ve known for a year that a relocation was necessary, regardless of my affection for my adopted city – despite my beautiful, relatively affordable apartment just two blocks from Lake Union and my peaceful, tree-lined neighborhood full of pretty houses brimming with gardens and backyard chickens. Even though I can walk everywhere, crime is virtually nonexistent and my landlord rocks.

The real reason I’m leaving Seattle is because I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and arthritis (due to a bizarre infectious disease acquired in Ecuador three years ago). SAD is thought to result from a shift in the body’s circadian rhythms, due to changes in sunlight patterns (think of how certain mammals hibernate in winter). Shorter, darker days also increase the amount of melatonin, a hormone linked to the regulation of sleep and waking, released by the pineal gland. Perhaps my being a Southern California native is to blame (although I’m officially a resident of Colorado…it’s complicated, I know).
It took me a long time to commit to a move to the Pacific Northwest, despite my love of the region, because I was concerned about the climate. But, like many before me, I was seduced by a record-breaking Seattle summer three years ago when the temperature soared into the upper 80s and the sky remained a clear, vivid blue. The job prospects appeared promising and an incredible sublet fell into my lap. I was in Seattle for the weekend for work and a month later, I was living there. It was like I’d hijacked myself.

My friend Chris has lived in Seattle since 1994. We were hanging out during my visit when I announced I was going to move. “It’s not usually like this,” he cautioned. I was busy gaping at Mt. Rainier in the distance.

He didn’t lie. I’ve been waiting for the weather to be like that ever since. I was filled with anticipatory dread before my first winter, which is why I’d initially only committed to a sublet. It turned out to be the mildest winter Seattle had seen in years, causing me to mock the locals I’d met. “Just wait,” they told me ominously (for a different viewpoint, check out my Gadling colleague Pam Mandel’s ode to Seattle winters, here).

The last two winters – which have been harsh, even by Seattle standards – have kicked my ass. It’s not the “snow” we’ve gotten; I love snow. But Colorado averages 300 days of sunshine a year, and it has a tolerable, dry cold. Seattle cold seeps into the bones, and summer is a negligible term for most of that season. I actually didn’t realize I had post-infectious arthritis until two years ago, when the Fourth of July dawned wet and dismal, and my joints felt like they’d entered their golden years overnight.

Since then, I’ve experienced varying intensities of arthralgia in my hands and knees as well as low-level to serious fatigue. As a runner, this was problematic and my depression increased because I had turned from physically active, adventurous outdoor fanatic to couch potato. I often required daily naps, which wracked me with guilt.

Not until last summer, while visiting my former home of Boulder, Colorado, did I fully realize the impact Seattle was having on my physical and mental health. On my first morning, to quote a SAD-suffering friend, I felt like “someone had turned the world’s lights back on.” I marveled at the sunshine and warm air. I shocked myself by effortlessly doing a three-mile run – the first half uphill. Every day, I stayed outside until sunset. My arthritis had vanished. I felt like me, again: the spaz who can’t stand to be indoors when the sun is shining. I was productive and active and a much, much happier person. I had the same experience while in northern Chile in August.

I returned to Seattle and wham! I morphed into the worst of the seven dwarfs again: sleepy, grumpy and lazy. Work circumstances forced me to postpone a move, and it seemed like every day it was either pissing rain or the sky was low and leaden. I had difficulty concentrating on work, and was irritable and overemotional. Desperate, I sought the care of an excellent psychiatrist, who combined talk therapy with antidepressants.

While getting laid off sucked, it was also a strange relief. The one thing tying me to Seattle was gone. The thought of leaving is disappointing, but life is too short to live embedded in the couch. The economy is picking up in the Bay Area and I’ve had some very promising job leads.

It’s hard to admit that the color of the sky exerts such influence over your mood. However, I’m not alone; according to Mental Health America, three out of four SAD sufferers are women.

My advice: the sooner you admit it, the sooner you can get on with living. Whether you require phototherapy, antidepressants, extra Vitamin D, counseling, acupuncture, warm-weather vacations, or relocation, the bottom line is that SAD is very real and can have a devastating impact upon your quality of life as well as your personal and professional relationships and career. And, like a romance that’s not quite right, it’s not worth sticking it out. Me? I’ve decided that Seattle is ideal for the occasional weekend fling.

Signs you may be suffering from SAD (these symptoms are most likely to occur in winter, but some forms of SAD do occur during the summer)

  • Inability to concentrate or increase in irritability
  • Feelings of sadness, unhappiness, or restlessness
  • Fatigue and/or lethargy
  • Anxiety
  • Increase in appetite/weight gain
  • Social withdrawal
  • Increase in sleep and daytime sleepiness
  • Loss of interest in work and activities you once enjoyed

Where to get help:

Talk to your health care provider, who can refer you to a specialist. For additional information and support, check out the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA) website.

[Photo credits:girl, Flickr user Meredith_Farmer; clouds, Flickr user CoreBurn;sun, Flickr user Warm ‘n Fuzzy]

Deep snow blamed for two ski deaths in the Sierra Mountains

by Kraig Becker on

Deep snow is blamed for the death of two skiers, and injuries to another, in three separate accidents that took place in the Sierra Mountains this past weekend. That region was hit hard with a late-winter blizzard that resulted in as much as four feet of fresh powder in certain areas.

The first incident took place at the Castle Creek ski area on Sunday where 54-year-old Yiwei Hu fell through a hole in the snow and was unable to get out. The deep snow that he was skiing across was hollowed out by flowing water underneath which resulted in the unstable conditions. It is unclear how long Hu was in the hole, but authorities say he had already passed away before they arrived on the scene.

Snowboarder Kynan Stanners suffered a similar fate when he landed headfirst into deep snow at the China Peak Mountain Resort on Sunday. Apparently the 30-year-old was unable to extricate himself from the fresh powder and suffocated on the spot before anyone could come to his rescue.

Finally, Michael Dalzell was snowboarding at Kirkwood Mountain Resort on Saturday when he was swept up in a small avalanche. The man was treated for minor, non-life threatening injuries at a nearby hospital and was later released.

Typically when you hear about fatal skiing accidents it is because the people involved were being reckless or had ventured out of bounds. In each of these cases, however, the men were on designated runs at each of the resorts they were visiting at the time. The heavy snow just happened to make the conditions unexpectedly dangerous and as a result two people lost their lives. The lesson to be learned here is that we should never ski alone, as both of the deaths could have been prevented had they had companions with them on the slopes.

Stranded Swedish man survives 2 months in his car

by Kraig Becker on

A Swedish man, who had been missing for more than two months, was found alive, but in extremely poor condition, in a remote region of that country last week. The man was forced to survive on just snow and ice, after becoming stranded when his car got stuck in deep snow.

Last Friday, the 44-year old Peter Skyllberg was discovered by two others who passed his semi-buried vehicle while snowmobiling down a seldom-used forest road. At first, they thought that the car had been abandoned, but upon further inspection, they were surprised to find a man inside. At the time, Skyllberg was said to be malnourished and lacking almost all ability to speak or move.

Over the course of the two months that he was stranded, Skyllberg had no food and was forced to melt snow and ice for drinking water. The lack of nourishment wasn’t his only concern however, as during the time that he was missing, Europe has been enduring a major deep freeze. Temperatures in the region have routinely dipped as low as -20ºF in recent weeks, which is extremely dangerous for prolonged exposure.

Survival experts say it is a miracle that the man is alive. The human body can survive a long time on just water, but two months is pushing those limits to the extreme. The cold weather could have easily resulted in his death as well, but it is believed that the snow in which his car was encased provided a measure of insulation that helped to keep Skyllberg warm and alive.

As of this past weekend, Skyllberg remained in intensive care at the Umea University Hospital, where he will no doubt face a long road to recovery.

[Photo credit: Rolf Hojer/Scanpix/Reuters]

Steamboat ski resort receives record snowfall

by Kraig Becker on

Skiers and snowboarders still looking for fresh powder this season now have another destination to add to their list. Earlier this week, Steamboat was hit by a massive storm that dumped 27 inches of snow on the region in less than 24 hours. That number marked a new single-day record for the ski resort, which has now received more than five feet of snow this month alone.

The resort now boasts a base of 75 inches at mid-mountain, with the summit cloaked in an additional seven inches of snow. But it seems mother nature hasn’t finished with Steamboat just yet, as additional accumulations are predicted for today and later in the week as well.

Located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the resort has an average yearly snowfall of 349 inches. So far this winter the mountain has received about half of that, which is still plenty to ensure that all 165 named trails, and 2965 skiable acres are open to the public. Steamboat also features a massive 450-foot long Mavericks Superpipe for the boarders as well, making an excellent destination for skiers and riders alike.

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that ski resorts across the western U.S. were desperate for some powder, but that has changed dramatically in recent weeks. Now there seems to be an abundance of snow in most of the major resorts, and it doesn’t appear that it will be in short supply again any time soon. It may have taken a little longer than usual to get here, but winter has most definitely arrived, and we should enjoy it while we can.

[Photo credit: Steamboat/Larry Pierce]

The Teva Winter Mountain Games begin today

by Kraig Becker on

The first-ever Teva Winter Mountain Games get underway today in Vail, Colorado, where some of the top pro and amateur outdoor athletes have gathered to compete in a variety of sports. The event, which lasts through the weekend, will also feature a number of concerts, gear giveaways, clinics, and more.

Some of the sports that the athletes will be competing in including ice climbing, Nordic and telemark skiing, snowshoeing, and on-snow cycling. Even man’s best friend can get in on the action, as there are several events for dogs to compete too. But the biggest event of the weekend is the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, which features three different sports spread out over three days. In order to be crowned the King or Queen of the Mountain, a single athlete will have to fend off all the competition in a Nordic Freestyle race today, than follow it up with an up-hill cross country skiing competition tomorrow. On Sunday, those same competitors will then square off in the toughest stage of all – a skiing race up, over, and back down, Vail Mountain.

A large group of spectators are expected to be hand over the three-day event, cheering on their favorite athletes. That crowd won’t have to sit on the sidelines without getting the opportunity to join in on the fun however, as they’ll get the chance to take part in photo competitions and clinics, test out some gear, and hone their own winter outdoor skills. They can also enjoy an adventure film festival, listen to some live bands, and join the celebration at several parties.

The inaugural Teva Winter Mountain Games is a natural extension of the summer Mountain Games, which will be taking place later this year. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast who loves to run, ride, or climb, you’ll certainly find a lot to love at both events.