If the blinding snowstorms, mountains of white stuff and gray days are making you feel depressed, you could be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

“If your down feeling is getting in the way of doing your job, interacting with your family, or other life activities, you might want to seek help,” said Karen Cunningham LICSW, senior clinical vice president at Family Service of Rhode Island.

Family Service of Rhode Island is a non-profit human service organization serving people in need throughout the state.

“What’s known as ‘bright light therapy’ is sometimes beneficial, or even getting outside in the winter sun for an extended period of time could help,” she said. “If steps like that do not lift your mood, antidepressant medications may be needed during the winter.”

Ms. Cunningham, who has provided counseling and consultation at Family Service of Rhode Island for decades, notes that there’s a difference between just feeling down for a little while and SAD. “We’re talking about feeling so down that it gets in the way of your daily functioning. And it lasts for weeks or longer.”

Research, she says, indicates that younger people are at higher risk for SAD. Women may also be at higher risk, although the research is not conclusive.

Levels in the brain of a hormone known as melatonin may be the cause. More melatonin, which helps us sleep, is produced the longer darkness persists.

If you work in an office, see if your desk can be located in a place where there’s sunlight. “That’s what I’ve done,” said Ms. Cunningham. “And I can tell you from experience that it works!”