Calgary’s late winter weather also delays seasonal blues, says psychologist
Posted Dec 1, 2021 10:14 am.
Last Updated Dec 1, 2021 10:16 am.
There have been no real cold snaps and not even a big dump of snow in Calgary so far this year.
It’s been unseasonably warm, and a clinical psychologist tells us that has actually been helping people who get the winter blues.
A lot of people get hit by the fewer hours of daylight and cold weather, so they bunker down. That means less time outside, less time being active, and less time being social.
It can even make people more susceptible to communicable disease.
Clinical psychologist Keith Dobson says all these factors can lead to seasonal affective disorder.
“And so there’s actually a whole host of things that go along in the winter that are also competition, basically, for the idea that it’s just about the shorter day,” he explained.
However, he says with the warmer weather, people feel they have more chances to go out, be more social and active, meaning the delayed winter has led to more improved moods.
“When the weather is better, even though the days are shorter, we actually have more chance to have social contact, to go shopping, to go outside for walks, and all those kinds of things,” Dobson added.
“We would actually predict that rates of depression, relatively speaking, will be lower than if the weather was poor outside and people couldn’t go out and do activities, for sure.”
Related article: ‘Weather whiplash’ ahead as Canada enters winter, Weather Network says
People CityNews has spoken with agree the weather has been a help to their overall wellbeing.
“It’s fantastic,” one person said.
“I do not like the cold, no way,” another man told us.
“I am enjoying the weather,” a woman added.
