How to Help Avoid the Winter Blues

For many years, I would suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. The shorter days, freezing cold, and constant barrage of germs would cause depression that normally goes away when Spring finally arrives. In December, it's not so bad, because of the Holiday season. There's so much going on, with parties, concerts, lights, magic, and great music. Then it's all over and we are left with..... boring old January....sigh... In northern Utah, that also means smoggy days with air quality that makes everyone feel yucky. Sometimes I wonder why we can't just hibernate like many animals do, but alas! Humans aren't designed to hibernate! It wasn't until I started working at my son's school as a playground supervisor when I learned how I could avoid the winter blues.

Because of my job, I'm forced to be outside for at least one hour every day in the afternoon. Unless the air is bad, this is great, because our bodies need sunlight and fresh air. This way, I don't feel like it's constantly dark all the time, which helps mentally! If you are able, I recommend spending some time outside in the afternoon. Go outside on your lunch break for a few minutes, take a brisk walk, even eating lunch in your car can help. You can also sun bathe in a sunny room, as well! If you are not able to spend time in the sun, I would recommend getting a Seasonal depression lamp and spending some time under that everyday.

The other thing that really helps is exercise. When my boys complain about hiking, I tell them that Mom needs her sanity and that's why we hike. It's also the reason why I am able to handle the insanity that is often the playground. The wonderful thing about physical activity, is that the body releases endorphins after the workout, which is the chemical that helps our brain feel happy. Many times, in winter, there is a deficit in endorphins, which can also contribute to SAD, so anything I can do to raise my endorphins is a good thing! Another way to help with endorphins, is eating chocolate....yes! Believe it or not, chocolate is good for you, and it also helps raise endorphins! Just make sure you stay with the recommended calorie range for a snack, which is 100-300 for men and 100-200 for women.

Because I hate being cold, I don't like to spend a ton of time outside in winter. Finding a hobby that I enjoy doing has been helpful as well. Some things I like to do in winter is embroidering, knitting, crocheting, practicing my cello, to name a few. I recently learned of a Scandinavian philosophy that I thought would help as well. The gist of it was, to be thankful to be able to take a rest in your cozy home, enjoying family.

Sometimes depression can take over every aspect in our lives. This needs to be taken seriously. Some signs of depression may be: wanting to sleep all day, or not able to sleep all night, constant sadness that will not go away, crying more than usual, etc. If this happens, despite doing the above suggestions, it might be time to talk to your doctor. There is a stigma about depression and medications for depression which I think is crazy! Honestly, there have been a few times in my life when I needed to ask my doctor for help and medication helped get me out of the black hole I was in! So if you find yourself in this predicament, PLEASE speak with your doctor and get help right away!!

I hope these suggestions help! Mental health makes a huge difference in how one survives the winter, it carries over into how we are doing physically and spiritually as well!