He is, of course, far from alone. I know something about that, having lived for one period of my life in Manhattan. Every October, religiously, I'd head north with my wife to Vermont to spend a weekend in the embrace of autumn. For us, the trips north were both a pilgrimage and a desperately needed escape. Therapists explain that the positive feelings people experience in autumn are hardly exclusive to those who wander in the woods.
Studies show that fall colors have a mood-elevating effect on just about anyone, anywhere.
D.C. Like many other psychiatrists, Vittone believes a walk in the woods during autumn can be therapeutic. A drive in the country makes people feel better, takes their mind off their troubles. As daylight shortens, the growth system in many trees begins to shut down. Tiny cells at the base of each leaf, known as the abscission layer, begin to dry out, chlorophyll dissipates and the photosynthesis process comes to a halt. The yellows of such species as birch, aspen and hickory are caused by carotene, the same pigment that gives color to corn, carrots and egg yolks.