Kaiserslautern American
Page 2
October 23, 2020
Combatting seasonal affective
disorder
Photo by Mary Davis
by Russell Toof Regional Health Command Europe Seasonal Affective Disorder, sometimes referred to as seasonal depression, is a condition where a person experiences depression at a certain time of year, most often during the fall and winter months. “People with seasonal depression have the normal symptoms associated with depression: feeling depressed most of the day and nearly everyday, a lack of pleasure or interest in things that they would normally enjoy, and difficulty concentrating,” said Dr. Cheryl Owen, COVID TESTING from Page 1 must be inputted into an electronic disease reporting system just like other serious communicable diseases of public health interest,” said Mower. “The bulk of the COVID reporting work is being done by MTFs and their Departments of Public Health. They are the true worker bees in executing this mission.” Reporting COVID cases to German health authorities is han-
a member of the behavioral health team at Regional Health Command Europe. “It is helpful to think of the hibernation period of a bear when trying to remember the symptoms,” said Owen. “People tend to have less energy and are tired and have a greater need for sleep, they are hungrier and crave carbohydrates resulting in weight gain, and they have an increased desire to be alone.” Owen recommends several things to alleviate SAD and feel better throughout the winter months and changing seasons. “Spend some time outside each
day, even when it’s cloudy,” she said. “Certainly if the sun pops out, go grab it. Also think of the performance triad. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule, eating healthy, and exercising at least 30 minutes five times a week can help some people avoid these symptoms.” COVID has added additional precautions to just ‘going outside.’ “To the degree you are able, given COVID restrictions, remain social,” said Owen. “COVID can be a particular challenge not only with seasonal depression but for all kinds of behavioral health issues. Most of us miss the opportunity to travel carefree, see friends and
family when we want, visit with neighbors and go out to social establishments. It has required much compromise on what we had envisioned for ourselves over the last few months and likely into the winter.” Owen recommended several resources for individuals with ongoing symptoms. “If you experience ongoing depressive symptoms, take care and do something for yourself,” she said. “Make an appointment with your primary care physician. If you don’t believe it’s related to the seasonal changes, you should make an appointment with a
behavioral health provider. If you have thoughts of killing yourself, please don’t keep those to yourself. People will help. You can tell someone you trust, go to a local hospital or behavioral health clinic or call the military crisis line.”
dled at the local level by each of the respective Army health clinics. “Army medical treatment facilities from each respective military community across the region submit routine COVID reports to their local German Public Health office (Gesundheitsamt),” said Dr. Robert Weien, public health emergency officer for U.S. Army Garrison Rhineland-Pfalz. “Here in Rhineland-Pfalz, we submit our reports to the local German Public Health Department on a daily basis.”
When it comes to COVID reporting processes across the theater, there is no one-size-fits-all approach and each garrison does it differently, according to Col. (Dr.) Jon Allison, chief of preventive medicine for MEDDAC Bavaria. “The reporting process and timelines vary from installation to installation depending on the local German Gesundheitsamt,” said Allison. “For example, the COVID-19 total positive numbers for Grafenwoehr are sent
to the Neustadt (Weiden) Gesundheitsamt and the total numbers for Vilseck are sent to the Amberg-Sulzbach Gesundheitsamt. This is done on a weekly basis with the assistance of the community health nurses.” Allison says that one of the benefits of Germany’s decentralized local health department (Gesundheitsamt) system is that it allows for the development of close personal relationships between the local clinic health-
care team, and their local German health care department. “Having a transparent and mutually supportive relationship removes potential barriers and fosters a healthy overall climate between military and local community public health officials,” said Allison. “We both value and rely on those relationships to help keep our military community safe and to ensure we are complying with host nation reporting requirements.”
Dial 118 from any U.S. Air Force or U.S. Army installation in Europe. Dial 00800-1273-TALK (8255) for a commercial toll-free line in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Or visit the Military Crisis Line website at https://www. veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/ military-crisis-line.
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