winter blues
photo: @chiomao_
-5,-4,-3,-2,-1,0 degrees Celsius. The weeks-long swing between freezing point and below freezing. The sun saying goodbye hours earlier than usual after continuing to save its warmth for spring and summer. I joked the other day that the East Coast needs to apologize to the sun as the weather has been brutally cold this month; so much so that it feels like a punishment.
I.) The absence of the sun.
The absence of the warmth and typical presence of sunlight is at the core of winter blues. In an article by Tri-City Medical Center, researchers explain how the sun impacts our physical and mental health. According to the article, one of the ways it does so is by improving our moods: “It turns out “sunny disposition” is more than just an expression: Researchers at BYU found more mental health distress in people during seasons with little sun exposure. On the contrary, days with plenty of sunshine were associated with better mental health — in fact, the availability of sunshine has more impact on mood than rainfall, temperature, or any other environmental factor. Getting some sun increases your serotonin and helps you stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and sun exposure can also help people with anxiety and depression, especially in combination with other treatments.”
I think this is also why some people would rather jet off to tropical parts of the world during these freezing times. The sun’s power impacts our mental wellbeing, but since we’re not in control of the sun, we’re left with the sole choice of enduring winter. The good news is it doesn’t have to be a moody experience:
II.) Fighting winter blues
I think the extreme weather very much affects your daily routine, so the first thing I’d recommend is finding ways to get back to having a routine. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same as though in summer, so long as its any routine, you’d have something to look forward to each day, something you can relatively control.
Music and podcasts. Since the weather is depressing, you may have to indulge in uplifting, happy music to raise your mood, and/or comedy or lighthearted podcasts.
Going out. Layering up can be fun, there’s no other season to really do so that much. So take advantage and spend sometime outside, especially because the sun is there, it may not be warm outside, but it’s surely brighter than staying in.
Having people around. Part of the reason I’m writing this is because I’ve spoken to a couple of people who are also currently experiencing winter blues and are trying to find ways out of it. One thing one of those people mentioned was intentionally spending time with people because it can be so easy to stay locked in in your house because of the inauspicious weather, and stay surrounded by nothing but yourself and your thoughts, which isn’t always healthy. Meeting people can help distract you from your winter blues.
Books. I had to pause the book I was reading because it was just as intense and a bit gloomy, and instead switched to a fiction book that had a more optimistic outlook, which helped.
Being productive. Thank God for work and school during these seasons. Imagine if there was nothing you had to do while facing a brutal winter. Being productive distracts you *productively. Other than that, things like making your bed, doing laundry, doing something, anything, helps !!
Surround yourself with colors. Maybe by buying flowers or wearing more colorful clothing than the usual neutrals that dominate the winter. I remember meeting up a friend and she wore this gorgeous fuchsia sweater and it literally made me so happy, the color was a beautiful contrast from the darkness of outside.
Literally as I thought I was done writing this article, I got a call from a friend, who recommended journaling: “it’s good to let it all out” -Katelyn.
Hopefully this helps.
Until the next one
-C
