Snow stess

By Michael A. Fuoco

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An early-morning glance through the window, a sinking feeling in the stomach.

No, no, no, not again! Really? More snow?Again with the cumbersome boots, the bulky coat, the sigh of resignation. Again with the backbreaking shoveling, the white-knuckle driving, the unplowed streets and downed power lines.

After the weekend's historic snowstorm, who would have thought it could get worse? But it did on Wednesday.

All reasons enough to feel down in the dumps, or, more accurately, in the snowdrifts.

But if it's any comfort, that's a perfectly normal reaction to such perfectly abnormal weather, said Dr. Ellen Frank, distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Frustration at the situation is to be expected, said Frank, whose specialty is mood disorders. "And not knowing how long we're going to be in this mess is very stress-inducing."

She said for some people, who like her have heat and food and can work from home during such a weather emergency, "this actually can be a nice break from the everyday routine."

But, she said, "this can be a horribly stressful time" for people without electricity or are snowbound, or health-care employees, business owners and others who must trudge through the elements to get to work.

In fact, she said, anyone who has to travel will likely worry about being in an accident or getting stuck during their journey, "and when you get to Point B, worrying about being able to get back home again. Uncertainty is very stress-inducing."

Moreover, she said, the storms impact us by knocking us out of our life rhythms.

"Our normal routines are very important psychologically. They are important in a cognitive sense and also in a biological sense," Frank said. "This kind of situation inevitably throws us out of our regular routines. It is stressful to all body organs, including our psyche.

"One thing we can try to do is to maintain normal routines as much as possible — get up at the normal wake time, go to bed at the regular time, eat meals at regular mealtimes. This may help more than people would think."

Dr. Kathryn A. Roecklein, assistant psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, agreed.

Maintaining routine would help both adults and children. In that way, she said, people "can minimize disruptions in the schedule of their lives due to cancellations, increased travel time and closings.

"Also, give yourself a moment to recognize the possible effects of additional stress and do whatever you normally do to recover from stress," said Roecklein, a mood-disorder specialist and colleague of Frank's at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic. "This can include getting enough rest and enough sleep and keeping up with a healthy diet and exercise schedule if at all possible within the travel limitations."

If dealing with the weather seems overwhelming, it would be a good time to let other people help with such tasks as snow removal or trips to the store, Roecklein said.

While people may be feeling blue about all of the white, "it is very unlikely this situation is going to produce clinical depression," Frank said. "I think it is much more likely people will be having anxiety and that anxiety is likely to remain until we get some relief or when we say to ourselves 'The situation is beyond my control so I have to make the best of it.' "

And, Roecklein added, people need to remember the inevitable, even as difficult as it is to imagine now.

"It will end, it will all melt, it will all go away," she said. "It is not going to be like this forever."Contact Michael A. Fuoco at mfuoco@ post-gazette.com.