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Nancy Vejlstrup and Diane Basile take a lap at the Peters Rec Center
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The temperature is all of three degrees, it gets dark in the middle of the afternoon and there’s nothing on TV. All the presents are unwrapped, the guests have departed and the cookies long gone. Holiday cheer has officially evaporated, leaving echoes of, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?”
For some people, cold weather boredom is a mild annoyance, cured by a good book or a long nap. For others, the winter months harbor sadness, anxiety, irritability, loss of interest in favored activities and, sometimes, complete withdrawal from the social scene.
“People refer to it as the winter blues but it tends to be a little more severe than that,” says Dr. Heidi Neville, Ph.D., a psychologist practicing in Peters Township. Neville says people often start to experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in their early ’20s, and women are more at risk than men. This form of depression becomes increasingly more common farther away from the equator, and Neville says she sees an increase in patients suffering with seasonal affective disorder in January and February, when the Earth’s tilt is farthest away from the sun.
If the affliction becomes severe enough, Neville says medication or therapy could be warranted. In many cases, simple behavior adjustments can provide relief. “Often times we try to talk to folks about increasing the amount of sunlight they’re exposed to during the day,” she says.
Neville also recommends maintaining or increasing activity levels throughout the winter. For those who want to go out and try something new, the Township Parks and Recreation Department has a bevy of events planned for all ages and interests.
Children can develop their artistic talents in a variety of art education classes. They can also learn to make pizza, pasta and breakfast; speak Chinese; travel back in time and save the Earth. The Princess Ball, a Valentine’s Day father-daughter dance, will be held Friday, Feb. 9. Throughout the winter, teens are invited to a junk food festival, scrapbooking party, book club meetings and a pirate murder mystery.
Learning sessions for adults will introduce participants to gardening essentials, personal organization skills, world traveling, genealogy, photography and writing and topics of global concern from the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. Seniors can find partners for bridge, refresh their driving skills or simply get out of the house for lunch.
Everyone could use a computer refresher course from time to time, and Parks and Rec is ready. Classes are offered on everything from word processing and e-mail to Internet-assisted job searching and blog creation.
“Obviously a good stress reliever is exercise,” says Michelle Harmel, Township Recreation Director. Every session includes a dizzying array of choices.
Children can unleash their theatrics on stage, dance and tumble or learn the basics of soccer, football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, running, fitness and flexibility or even try an obstacle course. Teens can work at their own level in fitness programs such as speed and conditioning, total body fitness and makeover sessions for young ladies in February and March.
Adults also have several fitness programs to choose from, led by certified instructors. Yoga, pilates, kickboxing, line dancing and aquatics just top the list.
For a complete list of events, dates, costs and registration information, visit www.peterstownship.com and or call 724-941-4180.
If a good book will do the trick, take a stroll through the aisles at Peters Township Public Library and find a new one, or take the opportunity to speak above a whisper at one of the library’s winter programs. Many are held in conjunction with the township Parks and Recreation department.
In addition to childrens’ story times and reading activities, Shuping Liu will teach beginning Chinese to students in first through sixth grade Saturdays, beginning in February. A teddy bear picnic, Yu Gi Oh game day and various art and craft programs are scheduled through the season, she says. For teens, the library offers Red Cross babysitting courses and SAT prep sessions while book discussions, sudoku tips and crocheting lessons await interested adults. The library might not be everyone’s ultimate winter getaway, but to people who can’t get themselves there, it’s the moon.
Adult volunteers are needed for the homebound delivery program, designed for township residents who are unable to come to the library due to disability. Items are picked up and delivered every three weeks. Volunteers, ages 12 and up, can also donate their time by joining the teen advisory board.
“We have a variety of things they can do,” says Stephanie Willman, coordinator.
Each week, about 10 or 15 teenagers help plan programs, choose new teen reading selections, shelve books, help create displays and manage the many, many children’s activities, she says. Library activities and opportunities can be found at www.ptlibrary.org, or by calling 724-941-9430.
