February can be a tough month, especially when temperatures seem to constantly whipsaw between subtropical and Artic freeze, ensuring a steady spread of respiratory illness to keep University Health Services on their toes.  You try and drink orange juice to stay healthy only to get trapped in an elevator with someone who is apparently trying to cough up their spleen. Winter Break is a dim memory, and Spring Break is a distant mirage.  The groundhog says spring is coming early, but how much faith can you place in a burrow dwelling rodent? Valentine’s Day can be exhilarating, depressing, or just expensive.

February is also a month in which depression and depression-related issues seem to bite the student body a little harder than other times of the year.  The key is to always ask for help when needed and take advantage of the resources Case Western Reserve University offers, from Veale Center to University Counseling Services, to fight off the winter blues.  Take care of yourself if you feel the blues setting in and extend a hand to friends if you think that they may be struggling. If you feel someone may need more help than you can provide, tell someone in the campus support structure: RA, professor, coach, and so on.  You are not being a snitch, you are helping someone who may need it, but doesn’t know how to ask for it. We have said all these things before in this column, but they sometimes bear repeating, especially at this time of year.  So let’s look out for each other and get through till spring, which will come eventually this year. Trust in the groundhog.

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