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Doctor On Coping With April Snow: 'It's OK To Gripe'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some of us have had some choice words to say about Monday's weather.

Yup, it's the kind of weather that's easy to complain about. So how do you make sure the white stuff doesn't make you blue? WCCO's Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield found three simple ways to help us all mentally cope with what feels like a never-ending winter.

And coping is key this week.  It's still Spring Break for many districts, and as you can see this elaborate playground at MLK Park is completely empty.

Even though the forecast shows temps that hardly hit 50s, you don't have to let that get you down. In Minnesota, cold April snow doesn't typically get a warm reception.

"Sad. It like, it hurts my playful side of me," Logan Schnitzler said.

And as painful as it is to him, it may be even more painful to his mom, who has two other young boys.

"My mom says it's too cold outside," Gavin Schnitzler said.

"They just want to play outside. They just have so much energy a lot of times it's hard to keep them inside," Kim Schnitzler said.

Since spring isn't giving them much of a break, they're spending school vacation at Edinburgh Park. And according to a pro, she is spot on with handling her frustration.

"It's all about activity, even if it means taking the kids to an indoor play area. That will be something that will probably lift everybody's spirits," Dr. Matthew R. Syzdek said.

Dr. Syzdek says there are several ways to keep the weather from bringing you down.

"Your mood is your gauge so if you are starting to read low, what you are doing right now probably isn't working. You can shake it up by adding some activity into your day," Dr. Syzdek said.

He says the best ways are to accomplish something: A task, like say, clean out your closet, do something you enjoy inside or out and exercise too.

"The last thing you want to do on a kind of dreary day is spend the day in bed, sleep in later or watch Netflix all day, that's not going to help anybody," Dr. Syzdek said.

And he says don't put expectations on something we simply can't control.

Dr. Syzdek had another surprising tip: It's OK to gripe. It's actually good for you to vent, get it out, then put it on a shelf and move on for the day.

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