Growing up in eastern Washington and living even longer in western Montana, I’ve grown accustomed to the ebbs and flows of our region’s weather patterns. The heavy snow, occasional ice storm, and the calm summer days – I embrace all of them equally, until now. Until January, when we often begin one of our streaks and, suddenly, I realize that the sun has been hidden behind the clouds for weeks and anxiety slowly creeps in.
To be clear, I love the snow. I pray for bountiful powder every winter and, despite dire predictions of El Nino delivering a warm winter, it’s been a great season in the mountains. Ironically, the most sun I’ve witnessed recently is on the summit of Whitefish Mountain Resort above the clouds during an inversion. I basked in it as long as possible. The valley floor, however, has seen less light. Usually I don’t care since my skin was built for cloudy days. Until now. Until I actually notice the persistent gray and start talking about it with other people. Until I begin tracking weather on my phone in hopes a few rays are in the forecast.
There are downsides to a lack of sun, most notably your health. A story in the Seattle Times highlighted potential risks of prolonged dreary winters and the accompanying lack of vitamin D in the population. The piece listed a number of potential ailments, from cancer to an increased susceptibility to multiple sclerosis. Supplements are an easy fix to low vitamin D levels, but many don’t take them and even more don’t take enough.
For almost three decades, the mental health community has associated a cloudy climate with seasonal affective disorder (or SAD), a form of depression. That, however, is now being called into question. Researcher Steven LoBello of Auburn University recently published a study on seasonal-related depression and found that there is little evidence backing it up.
“If this seasonal pattern of depression occurs at all, it may be fairly rare,” LoBello said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
I have never diagnosed myself with SAD but would tend to agree with LoBello’s and other’s findings. The gray skies don’t make me depressed, rather anxious, which, in turn, makes me a little crazy. And by crazy, I mean tired and cooped up to the point where I begin planning my social calendar weeks in advance to be sure I’m making human contact outside of work.
Luckily, those who lived here before many of us knew this time year is an ideal time to force everyone out of their homes for reasons beyond playing in the snow. On tap this weekend is the finale of the Whitefish Winter Carnival, where the town is overrun with people jumping in the frozen lake, yetis running through the streets and a Grand Parade down Central Avenue. It’s bound to brighten your day, regardless of the weather.
If that doesn’t shake off some of your winter anxiousness, the following weekend is the aptly named Cabin Fever Days in Martin City. Now in its 38th year, the three-day event offers numerous ways to forget about a streak of socked-in days. Enter the barstool races, or arm-wrestling tournament. Enjoy live music and a hog roast. Emerge from your dens and party with some of your neighbors.
February has arrived. There are plenty of events to draw you outside. The mountains are covered in snow. And the weather app on my phone says we may see a little more sunshine this week. Like most years, it’s arriving just in time.