Dealing with the Winter Blues: Practical Solutions Part IIl

Tara Aquila — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 21:02:07 +0000

Dealing with the Winter Blues: Practical Solutions Part IIl Tara Aquila Tue, 02/22/2022 - 16:02

Be Still.

Years ago, there was a food fad called a macrobiotic diet. It no longer exists as it is nutritionally unsound. However, one aspect of the diet remains: eating food from the season. If you followed this diet, you then would eat the food of the season: spring, you would eat strawberries, lettuce, and berries and summer, what is available, moving through fall produce and finally in winter eating more root vegetables, and grains. While this diet is not recommended, there is some value in considering that seasons affect our emotional state.

We feel so blah in the winter because we are aware that our bodies might simply be responding to winter and naturally slowing down, maybe even going into a bit of hibernation. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, "34% of U.S. adults say they sleep more during winter. For many, the dark, cold winter months are a time to catch up on sleep." Everything slows down in winter, and you should too. Winter is a good time to practice being still.

Learn not to rush things. You still might have many things to do, emails from work, paperwork to complete, repairs in your home or apartment, appointments to make. Stillness does not mean that you still idly by and do nothing. Instead, stillness is the ability to do things at a slower rate.

The idea of slowing down comes to a concept known as mindfulness. In mindfulness practice, rather than constantly being distracted by your thoughts, you should pay attention to whatever you do in the movement, which could be even the simplest things. For example, let's say you are washing the dishes: notice the feel of the water, the smell of the dish soap, the way the bubbles form in the sink. Next thing you know, the dishes are done!

The next time you start feeling the winter blahs, when things look like it is never going to get better, and spring will never come, take a few moments and be still. Stop what you are doing and rest for five minutes. Then, come back to your task and give it your full attention. Even if it's a dull routine task, find something exciting or new about it. Pay attention, be patient, enjoy being still for a few moments.

Blog tags

Mindfulness

Winter Tips

Seasonal Benefits

Positive Thinking

Richard Lange, Ph.D., LPC, LCSW

Dealing with the Winter Blues: Practical Solutions

Tara Aquila — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 16:38:35 +0000

Dealing with the Winter Blues: Practical Solutions Tara Aquila Fri, 01/21/2022 - 11:38

Winter doldrums, winter blahs, winter blues. We all get them. The holidays are over; all the rushing about is over, families are gone, the weather is dark and dreary. So, it’s no wonder that people start feeling down around this time of year. And even worse for this year, we are in the middle of a big COVID-19 spike, and everyone’s concerned.

Feeling down is common for most people during this season, however, it can be more than just the blues for some. There is a disorder called Season Affective Disorder which affects about 14% of the population of the United States. I will discuss this disorder in a separate article, but for now, I would like to provide some physical suggestions for dealing with the Winter Blues. In a follow up article, I will address some of the psychological things you can do for the Winter Blues.

Get more light.

There is a strong connection between light and feeling good, and in the winter months, the lack of light can make us feel down. To remedy this is simple: get more light. Sit by an open window when there is sunlight. Go for a walk outside. Even if it is cloudy, you are still getting some of the benefits of light. It doesn’t take that much time, and it is recommended to get 15 to 30 minutes of sunlight to get the benefits. You can also change your light bulbs in your home or apartment to Full Spectrum LED products.

Drink more water.

We forget that our bodies deplete water in the winter just as much in the summer. The dry heat in our homes and the lack of humidity in buildings can drain the moisture out of our bodies. That is why we get such dry skin during the winter months. But unlike the summer where we feel thirsty, in the winter we don’t. So, we need to think about drinking water even if we don’t feel thirsty. Put out a few water bottles on the counter to remind yourself to drink more water.

Get some Vitamin D.

Again, the body is not making enough Vitamin D due to the lack of light, so you need to add more. A good way is through a supplement, orange juice, or fish (canned fish is best, tuna, sardines).

Exercise, exercise!

Move, walk, get to the gym. I know it feels hard to go out into the cold and get yourself to the gym or even walk outside, but the benefits are tremendous. Again, it does take longer, but if you get at least 30 minutes a day of exercise, you will feel a lot better.

Stay tuned for our next installment in which we will cover mindset tips that can help make this winter blues feel a bit more manageable.

Are you interested in talking one-on-one with a professional? Call Center For Family Services’ Access line at 877.922.2377 or email access@centerffs.org. Our Access support team will work with you to set you up with a professional counselor who can help.

Blog tags

Season Affective Disorder

Richard Lange, Ph.D., LPC, LCSW