Seasonal Affective Disorder

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The lack of exposure to sunlight in the winter months can not only affect our moods, but can also lead to a disorder. It's called Seasonal Affective Disorder, better known as SAD. And doctors say it can be serious. "Because of the...

Under increasing pressure from top Democrats to disclose what's kept Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. off the job for more than a month, the congressman's office issued a statement Wednesday saying he is being treated for a "mood disorder" at an inpatient center....

Sometimes the dark dreary skies of the season turn our positive outlook into mush.  We call that the “winter blues."  And sometimes, when that dismal outlook on life doesn’t go away, it’s a more serious ailment known as Season...

When psychiatrists diagnose mental illness, they turn to an unwieldy book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM for short. First published in 1952, the tome also is used as a standard by researchers, the health...

Blood drive An American Red Cross blood drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 18 at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center, 301 Hospital Drive, Glen Burnie. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or BWMC's marketing and communications department 410-787-4367....

This has been a mild winter, but Somerset County has still seen a lot of gray days. In winter this region averages about 28 days a month that have more than 50 percent cloud cover. Those dark, dreary days can provoke seasonal affective disorder (SAD), an...

Free HPV vaccine The health department will provide free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The vaccine, Gardasil, is available for both males and females ages 9 to 26. Those under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign a consent form. The clinic will...

It doesn’t look like much -- Janet Althen places what looks like a small flashlight with an inverted colored bulb on certain points of the body, holding it there for about 30 seconds -- but for Althen’s patients, as well as a growing number of...

He thought it was the doldrums. But it seemed to happen every fall, when the quick summer of sunlight was replaced with the slow-motion months of boring gray. The landscape was brown, the trees were bare and darkness appeared early. Some people...

For most people it's just another gloomy north Texas day--but for Teresa Miller those grey skies can make her blue "Sad, depressed, feeling of crying, loss of interest in doing activities,” Teresa explained. “Pretty much you just don't want...

You may have noticed the days are getting shorter.  You may also have noticed that you are feeling sluggish and grouchy.  It may not be a coincidence.   Around this time of year when the days are shorter, many people find themselves suffering from the...

That extra hour of sleep that comes with the end of daylight saving time Sunday will feel like a blessing to many adults. But for parents of youngsters who are up at 6 a.m. because they think it's still really 7 a.m., and for folks with sleep...