Weather stressed Calgarians seek therapy

Calgary's unrelenting winter weather has created an avalanche of work for social workers and therapists.

Many say they have been deluged with patients complaining of depression and sadness.

Social worker Liz Westbury says it isn't unsual for new and existing clients to get depressed by bad weather. She says it is unusual to see this phenomena in May.

Westbury says spring is normally a time when people start to feel more cheerful and optimistic about life, but she is noticing the opposite is happening.

"I have had more people booking appointments and I hear from other therapists that their practices have really filled up in the last couple of weeks. People are just fed up with bad weather and I think they are getting stressed and feeling down about that."

Dr. Chris Gorman, Medical Director of the Mood Clinic at Foothill's Hospital, says the long wait for spring has been hard on people's spirits, especially those suffering from Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder (SAD).

"In this province it's an issue all the time, and this late spring is clearly affecting everybody, including the people who try to treat the patients with the problem."

Both Gorman and Westbury predict people's spirits will greatly improve when spring finally comes to Calgary. If weather forecasts are accurate we may see that happen by the weekend.