https://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=14791 Ice-Blog Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:19:30 +0000 hourly 1 https://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=14791#comment-268653 Wed, 29 Jan 2014 19:19:55 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=14791#comment-268653 [Marked as spam by Antispam Bee | Spam reason: Local DB Spam]
I am in the final stages of finishing my PhD at the University of Tromsø, where Arctic Frontiers is an annual event. Tromsø is at a latitude of nearly 70 degrees north. I moved to the Arctic from Baltimore, Maryland and still after almost 15 years, I am not used to it. The lack of sunlight from November to January is one of the main contributing factors to this suicide rate. People who are not normally depressed, become severely affected by the lack of sunlight. In addition to the long cold winters it is also dark. Add to that the difficulty in finding work, the high prices on food, the difficulty in finding affordable housing, and you have a socio-ecological scenario hard to tackle. To remain positive is a daily challenge and requires a core of steel. This affects everyone – even those people who were born and raised in this part of the world. Not enough attention is given to the depression caused by the lack of light and the harsh weather conditions. In addition, though politicians are quick to promise financial support for enhancing infrastructures in the high-north, the new opportunities for good jobs and a better lifestyle are very slow to materialize. Doctors are very quick to prescribe anti-depressives but this is like putting a bandaid on a slice through a major artery.

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