For many people, winter is truly the season of discontent. But instead of letting the cold, gray days get you down, ever think about taking your own detours around the malaise? How about learning a language or trying a new recipe? Or mastering a new skill or art? We’ve reached out to local experts and found some relatively easy ways to beat the winter blahs.

The video can be disturbing. It depicts an unhealthy relationship that escalates to violence and ultimately death. After seeing the video at Frederick High School, a student was so moved that she approached her teacher and told him that it felt like her relationship. For the first time, she recognized she needed help.

“They were talking about a critical incident that officers could respond to,” recalls Leishear, an officer for the Frederick City Police Department. It was an especially difficult topic for someone who had been involved in a police shooting herself. “Just talking about it was very powerful to me. And, I had to leave the room. … I was experiencing PTSD, but I didn’t’ realize it.”