Cloudy days aren’t good days for junior Nick Sliwinski. He misses class and doesn’t want to get out of bed.

More students than Sliwinski are feeling down this time of year.

Eleven percent of men and 21 percent of women on campus report having symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, according to the National College Health Assessment, which was administered on campus last spring.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, often called winter or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder that causes people to exhibit signs of depression, such as extreme lethargy and a change in appetite.

The changes in mood are because of the changes in light during the winter months, said Suki Montgomery, a psychologist in the college’s Counseling Center.

“It has a lot more to do with sunshine than warmth,” Montgomery said. “We are very affected by light.”

And sunshine in the winter in Ithaca isn’t plentiful, she added. Mitchell Herzog, an Ithaca psychotherapist, said he sees many patients who complain about feeling depressed in the winter, thanks to Ithaca’s weather.

To help overcome Ithaca’s cloudy days, Sliwinski uses a light box, which has effects similar to those from sunlight. Light releases serotonin in people’s brains, and serotonin helps to regulate a person’s mood and behavior, Sliwinski said.

He uses his light box for 20 minutes to an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and sometimes on the weekend.

“When there’s no sunlight, I just want to stay in bed,” Sliwinski said. “It’s hard to get around and get active. Your body just shuts down.”

Sliwinski said a doctor recommended that he use a light box, and his mom bought him his box, which cost $300, as a present this past Christmas.

So far, he said he has seen a positive change in his mood and behavior since he began using his light box. And he hasn’t missed a class yet this semester.

Sliwinski has never been formally diagnosed with seasonal depression, but he was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2004.

The symptoms are much worse in the winter, so Sliwinski considers himself as having Seasonal Affective Disorder, he said.

Montgomery said it can be hard to diagnose the disorder because someone’s mood has to be monitored for at least two years.

In the college’s health assessment from last year, 3.8 percent of students reported actually having been diagnosed with seasonal depression.

The health promotion and resource room in the Counseling Center has a light box available to students who need it, but students need to see a counselor first, Montgomery said.

Montgomery said students may feel like they have the symptoms of seasonal depression, but many of those feelings are not as severe as the actual disorder and are generally normal for the winter.

Sophomore Sarah Mercogliano is one of many students on campus who said she sometimes feels a little depressed on cloudy days.

“It makes my bad days worse,” she said.

Montgomery said exercising, eating healthily and getting enough sleep can make students feel better.

Sliwinski is president of Active Minds, a group on campus that aims to educate students on mental health.

The group has recently set up a light box while tabling in the Campus Center and plans to bring mental health programs to residence halls.

“People in general need to be educated on mental health,” Sliwinski said.

And by telling his story, he hopes to bring awareness to the disorder.

“If it helps one person … awesome,” Sliwinski said.

If students think they need help, they can schedule an appointment with the Counseling Center by calling 274-3136.