As the temperatures rise, often so do people’s spirits

Many individuals, including myself, are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring. The cold weather and gray overcast days will, hopefully, give way to warmth, color and more sunshine.

Weekends will bring out the gardeners, outdoor exercisers and sun worshipers. Many individuals who routinely work indoors will gladly trade places, at least for a few weeks, with those who labor outdoors.

Mental health professionals notice that on beautiful spring afternoons the phone is quieter. Patients seem to “forget” appointments more often than they do at other times of the year. Beyond the obvious desire for warmer weather and brighter days, there may be some psychological and physiological reasons why we feel a “spring” in our step when the season changes from winter to spring.

• People are often more sedentary during the winter months; their activity level slows down in many cases. Regular exercise produces a more optimistic outlook on life. With depressed patients, exercise alone often produces dramatically positive results. Although the mechanism is not clearly understood, exercise seems to relate to the production of certain chemical substances in the brain which are akin to those used in certain pharmacologic preparations for the alleviation of depression.

• More calories are often consumed during the winter months. Combined with less physical activity, one’s body image can definitely take a nosedive. And for most individuals, the way they feel about the way they look has a lot to do with their overall outlook on life.

• A positive outlook sometimes corresponds to an increase in light. When some
depressed patients are exposed to extended periods of light, their depression
begins to lift and so in these cases, sunshine and longer daylight hours account for a more positive outlook.

• Statements like, “the sap is rising,” or “in the spring a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love,” seem to point to energetic thoughts about the season. Religious symbols and even pagan rituals suggest rebirth and renewal. Consider accounts of early settlers who dug their way out of snow-covered huts voicing the cry, “I’m just glad I made it through winter to another spring.”

If you catch “spring fever” join the ranks of those who suffer from a “malady” that produces the joyful shout “ah, spring is in the air.”

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2003