Winter can bring depression
■ An estimated 1 to 3 percent of the general population in
Oregon suffers from seasonal affective disorder
By Jessica Blanchard
for the Emerald
It’s normal to feel a little blue
during this time of year — after
all, the days are getting shorter,
the leaves are falling and once
the rain begins, it makes spring
seem far away.
But for some students, the
shorter days and longer nights
signal more than the changing
seasons — they mean the begin
ning of a season of depression.
Each winter, people with sea
sonal affective disorder (SAD) ex
perience the typical symptoms of
depression, such as fatigue,
weight gain or a lack of motiva
tion, but to a (degree that makes
them unable to function normal
ly
David Quale, a medical social
worker at Sacred Heart Medical
Center, said he’s known people
who have even lost jobs in winter
because of SAD.
“Our modern lifestyle doesn’t
really acknowledge these season
al changes,” he said. “Your class
starts, and you have to be there
— nobody really cares how you
feel.”
While many people experience
what Quale calls the “winter dol
drums,” SAD sufferers experi
ence a clear seasonal pattern of
depression.
“Having symptoms once is sit
uational,” he said. “But if you’re
having symptoms for two or
more years consecutively, it’s
likely to be seasonal affective dis
order.”
Researchers believe that the
shorter winter days with less ex
posure to sunlight are one of the
main causes of SAD.
“If you take a person in Eugene
with SAD and plop them down
in California or Arizona, they’ll
feel better in a few days,” Quale
said.
According to information from
the Columbia-Presbyterian Med
ical Center in New York, popula
tions closer to the Earth’s poles
tend to have higher rates of SAD
sufferers because the winter day
is shorter in those locations. In
Oregon, an estimated 1 to 3 per
cent of the general population
has SAD, while farther north, in
Alaska, the rate is estimated to
jump to around 10 percent.
While the only “cure” for SAD
is to move to a sunny locale like
California or Florida, many SAD
sufferers have found relief in
anti-depressants or light therapy
— exposure to special bright
lights for about an hour per day.
“We know light therapy works,
but we’re not quite sure why,”
Quale said, “Most people have a
good response to light therapy.
They’re so happy to have found a
way to manage in the winter.”
The lights are a popular way to
treat SAD because they have rel
atively few side effects compared
to many anti-depressants. The
lights must be a specific power
and must be placed a certain dis
tance from the person. Other
forms of light, such as tanning
beds, may have a temporary ef
fect, Quale said, but they are not
safe for everyday use and are not
a substitute for regular exposure
to one of the specially designed
lights.
But Gayle Frunz, supervisor of
Area A of the University Health
Center, said light therapy isn’t for
everyone.
“A lot of people think it’s a
quick cure-all,” Frunz said. “But
it requires commitment on the
part of the individual.”
For University students who
think they may have SAD, Sa
cred Heart Hospital and the
health center offer SAD screen
ing.
Both Quale and Frunz caution
against attempting a self-diagno
sis of SAD.
“We strongly urge students
who feel they might have [SAD]
to be screened for appropriate
ness of light therapy,” Frunz
said. “A big factor in [treating
SAD] is education and instruc
tion of the patient on how to use
the light to minimize side effects
and optimize treatment.”
Kip Kinkel
Continued from Pagel
fziger, a private investigator hired
to research mental illness in
Kinkel’s extended family.
Naffziger discovered a history
of mental illness on both the ma
ternal and paternal sides of
Kinkel’s family. She began with
Kinkel’s maternal great-grandfa
ther, who suffered from alco
holism and his great-grandmoth
er, who was mentally ill.
Naffziger said almost the entire
family of Faith Kinkel, Kinkel’s
mother, suffered from depression
and even Faith Kinkel herself
took depression medication.
The family of Bill Kinkel, Kip’s
father, also had problems with
mental illness, depression and al
coholism, Naffziger said. Kinkel’s
great uncles both suffered from
mental illness.
Kinkel himself also suffered
from depression. Child psychol
ogist Dr. Jeffrey Hicks testified
Kinkel began taking an anti-de
pressant in June 1997. Hicks be
gan treating Kinkel in January
1997 because of his fascination
with guns, knives and explo
sives. He said Kinkel would
sometimes relieve his stress and
anger by setting off explosives.
“He’d go to a local quarry and
detonate explosives,” Hicks said.
“That would make him feel bet
ter.”
Kinkel’s mother told Hicks that
since Kinkel began taking the
drug, his mood had improved.
Kinkel then stopped going to the
psychologist, Hicks said.
“At that point, Kip’s mom
thought that they could deal with
it on their own,” he said. Kinkel
remained composed throughout
the day’s testimony, but he
blushed when childhood friend
Kasey Guianen took the stand.
Kinkel and Guianen met when
Kinkel was six or seven, she said,
and the two spent many hours to
gether. Guianen even lived at
Kinkel’s house when her family
moved out of the school district.
She said she was “very sur
prised” when Kinkel was taken
into custody. She said Kinkel,
when he started the shooting
spree on May 21, 1998, in the
Thurston High School cafeteria,
was not the boy she had known.
Kinkel killed two students and
wounded 25 others. He killed his
parents the night before.
Kinkel pleaded guilty to four
counts of murder and 26 counts
of attempted murder on Sept. 24.
Lane County Circuit Judge Jack
Mattison will decide whether
Kinkel should serve 25 or 220
years.
Earlier Thursday, Kinkel’s
fifth-grade teacher, Sherri
Warthen, testified that Kinkel re
ceived high grades in her class,
but he was very rude and teased
some of his fellow students. She
said he would sometimes lose his
temper in recess, especially if he
got hit in dodge ball.
“He would be so upset that he
would just nail the kids in the
face with the ball,” said Warthen,
who is the wife of Springfield De
tective Al Warthen, whom
Kinkel attempted to stab with a
concealed knife during his arrest.
In other testimony, Richard
Sherman, mental health supervi
sor at t)ie Lane County Jail, said
he had never seen any indication
that Kinkel had a formal thought
disorder but said, “I think the
reason why we’re in court today
is because this is a very troubled
young man.”
Sherman said he had kept
Kinkel up to date about the me
dia coverage his crime received
as well as other school shootings
in the nation. He said Kinkel was
upset to hear about the April 20
shootings at Columbine High
School in Littleton, Colo.
“He became very anxious,”
Sherman said. “I absolutely took
it as a genuine response ... it sad
dened him.”
Sherman said he doesn’t be
lieve that Kinkel “fits the profile
of someone I would want to leave
in prison forever.
“But I also think the diagnostic
picture is not complete,” he said.
“We really don’t know what’s go
ing on with Kip Kinkel diagnosti
cally.”
• US 3 call. 346
EMerald
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