Betty Heck.

Snow has blanketed many parts of the United States and Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter.

Is the cold, snowy weather getting you down? The News-Enterprise in Kentucky interviewed National Association of Social Workers member Betty Heck, MSW, LCSW, and clown and comedian Jim Roberts about how to break the wintertime blues.

Heck recommended exercise, getting out of the house, and a good diet, among other things. You should also avoid hanging around other sad people because depression is contagious, she advised.

“Everything is a system,” said Heck, who owns Life Designs Behavioral Health Center in Elizabethtown, Ky. “We all affect each other.”

To read the full article click here.

And to learn more about how Heck and other social workers help people maintain their health and sense of well being visit the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Web site by clicking here.