Light therapy can help 'winter blues' - but don't expect a miracle

It's said that light can brighten your mood and banish gloomy thoughts. The truth of this becomes evident when sunlight grows scarce in winter, and many people start feeling lethargic and low-spirited, a condition popularly known as "the winter blues." "This is an age-old subject even found in the literature of classical antiquity," says Dr Andreas Hillert, head physician for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy at Schoen Clinic in Prien am Chiemsee, Germany. "In pronounced cases we call it seasonal affective disorder (SAD)." Seasonality, in this case wintry cold and darkness, is just one ...