Minnesota is in the depths of extremely cold and occasionally snowy weather this February.

These familiar winter conditions might have some feeling down, and experts caution it's not something to ignore.

The term winter blues gets thrown around this time of year. However, researchers say for some, it can be a serious concern, noting up to 6% of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective disorder.

It's a form of depression punctuated by the shorter days and longer nights.

Clinical Psychologist and Director of Psychology Education at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr. Sabine Schmid, said this disorder can be quite debilitating.

"SAD in the winter often goes with sleeping more than usual," said Schmid, "feeling sluggish during the day and craving carbohydrates, which often leads to significant weight gain."

Trouble concentrating and social withdrawal are other symptoms. One way to combat this disorder is exposure to daylight.

When it's sunny, try to get outside for at least 30 minutes, or 60 minutes when skies are gray. You can also supplement that with at home therapy involving a light box, which mimics natural sunlight.

It's suggested you talk to a health provider about the best kinds to try.

Building a network of supportive friends and family, or checking in with a mental health professional or primary care physician are other tips.

UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rhonda Randall said reengaging with exercise can help, too.

"Research would tell us that by now that about three quarters of us have abandoned that New Year's resolution," said Randall, "so it's not too late to get back on track and think about it as a long-term goal, right? You're on a marathon, not a sprint."

UnitedHealthcare says to stay on track with fitness goals, focus on the process rather than the outcome.

For example, if you want to shed unwanted weight, aim to walk at least 6,000 steps each day and strength train twice a week.

Along the way, that consistent physical activity might aid efforts to ward off seasonal affective disorder.

Tennessee advocates are gathering at the state Capitol Wednesday to urge lawmakers to prioritize mental health funding and policies to strengthen families, communities and youth.

According to state records, 937,000 adults in the state have a mental health condition.

Katrina Gay, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Tennessee, said her grassroots group is backing Gov. Bill Lee's budget with more investments in mental health and advocating for PTSD treatment for first responders. She explained the legislation they are opposing.

"We're also going to advocate to make sure that only qualified medical professionals have prescribing privileges for people with mental health conditions," Gay explained. "There's a bill in the House and Senate that would grant medication prescriptive authority to psychologists, and we are strongly opposed to that."

Gay added over the years, they have pushed for key legislation, starting with Tennessee's first mental health parity bill in the late '90s, and continue advocating for funding for services and support of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and more.

One in six Tennesseans aged 6 through 17 experiences a mental health disorder each year. Gay noted they advocate year-round with community engagement, which includes the Young Adult Advisory Group and NAMI on Campus clubs, webinars for college students who are emerging advocates. She added an in-person training session for advocates is Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Cordell Hull Building.

"We have more than 50 leaders coming from across the state in person to meet with members of the General Assembly that are in the districts in which they live," Gay pointed out. "They can educate lawmakers, reinforce their experiences and forge stronger relationships."

Gay stressed there is plenty of legislation on mass violence, and while her group is not addressing specific bills, they urged lawmakers to consider the effect on youth, especially those with disabilities. This summer, they will promote approaches supporting positive youth-adult relationships, better educator training and student empowerment to create safer schools without fear or trauma.


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As Mississippi grapples with a growing mental health crisis, state and local leaders are being urged to prioritize diversion programs and crisis care systems to prevent the unnecessary incarceration of people with mental illness.

It is estimated 2 million people with serious mental illness are booked into jails across the U.S. each year.

Shannon Scully, director of justice policy and initiatives for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said in Mississippi, where mental health resources are often scarce and the incarceration rate is among the highest in the nation, it means more than 19,000 people in state custody.

"The criminal justice system disproportionately impacts people with mental illness," Scully explained. "They are overrepresented in those spaces, and that's mostly because historically, our communities have underfunded and under-resourced behavioral health."

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports 44% of people in jails and 43% in state and federal prisons have a mental illness. The Magnolia State has made some progress in recent years, leveraging federal funding to expand mental health services. However, advocates warned proposed budget cuts could jeopardize the gains.

Mississippi's prison system has long been under scrutiny for overcrowding and poor conditions, and a lack of mental health services exacerbates the problem. Scully pointed to "nuisance laws" criminalizing behaviors associated with untreated mental illness, such as public disturbances or sleeping in public, as key drivers of incarceration.

"Instead of implementing policies that may connect these folks to crisis services or to supportive housing, they are charged with a crime or they are ticketed," Scully emphasized. "They become involved with the criminal justice system."

As March marks Criminal Justice Awareness Month, she urged Mississippians to learn more about how mental health intersects with the justice system and to push for reforms. Scully promotes the importance of community engagement, pointing to resources like reimaginecrisis.org, where people can track legislation and advocacy efforts for mental health diversion and crisis care in their state.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that Black students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions experience better mental-health outcomes compared with their peers at other institutions, but challenges remain.

The Healthy Minds Network, based at U of M, partnered with UCLA, Wayne State, and Boston University, to conduct the study in collaboration with the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building and the Steve Fund. Akilah Patterson, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, led the research and said the study involved 16 HBCUs and two PBIs, with more than 2,500 students participating.

"About 45% of them are flourishing mentally," she said. "Most notably, we saw that 83% of HBCU and PBI students reported having a sense of belonging in their campus community, compared to about 73% nationally."

However, the data also reveals significant challenges. More than half of the students report that their financial situation is "always" or "often" stressful, and 78% of those facing financial hardships are also dealing with mental-health issues.

In light of these challenges, the study recommends that colleges and universities address unmet mental-health needs, alleviate financial stress, expand on-campus mental-health resources and strengthen student-faculty connections.

Patterson said she hopes the report also underscores the importance of fostering a strong sense of belonging on campus and the crucial role HBCUs play in students' lives.

"HBCUs have a very long tradition of being centers of excellence and academic achievement," she said, "but this work also highlights that there are some mental-health challenges that do need to be addressed on those campuses so students can very much thrive academically."

As of 2023, HBCUs enrolled approximately 293,000 students. While originally established to serve Black students, as of 2015, non-Black students constitute about 22% of enrollment, up from 15% in 1976.


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