Helpful Strategies for Dealing with Seasonal Depression
With the coldest months of the year ahead, sometimes comes seasonal depression. If you find yourself feeling more lethargic and depressed during winter months, then you might be struggling with seasonal depression. It’s a result of the shorter days and the lack of sunlight brought on by these months.
Unless you can move to the southern hemisphere for the rest of winter, you’ll be left dealing with these feelings until next spring. But just because seasonal depression is inescapable doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. There are a number of strategies you can try to make these winter months easier on you.
Seek Light
Seasonal depression is a response to a lack of sunlight, right? If there isn’t enough sun to go around, you can still trick your brain into thinking it’s there. You can’t manipulate the weather, but you can manipulate the light around you.
If you can, make sure to keep your brightest lights on during daytime hours. Some stores sell special lamps designed specifically for those who miss the sun during winter, so you can try them out and see if they help you. They already help a great number of people, so why not try? You’ll never know if it helps if you don’t do it.
Enjoy the Sun
Winter days are often cloudy, but there are a few sunny days every now and then, even if they’re not particularly warm. The truth is, they don’t need to be as warm as spring or summer days. If you look out the window and the sun is out, try to enjoy that as much as you can.
If you can go out on sunny days and enjoy it directly, that’s great. That’s the best thing you can do. But if you can’t, that’s okay too. You have work to do, after all, and who knows what else. In that case, try to at least keep your windows open, or if you have a short break, try to spend it outside.
It’s okay if you don’t do it all the time. But when you can? Enjoy the sun while it’s around.
Move Around
Something that can help improve our mood is exercise. It doesn’t have to be anything drastic. You can stretch while watching TV for example, or try yoga. Or you can put some music on and dance in your living room. If it’s sunny outside, why not try going for a walk? And of course, if you do want to try some more intense exercise, you can always join a gym.
It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you choose to do. It only matters that you choose to do something that has you moving around. Exercise and movement can really bring up our mood, but for that to happen we need to be consistent. So, don’t just try it once and give it up. Move around a little every day, and you’ll see how, little by little, your mood will begin to improve.
Talk to a Professional
And of course, if none of these strategies are quite enough to get you through winter, you can always talk to a professional. There’s nothing wrong with that. Some people just need more help than others, especially when dealing with something as difficult as seasonal depression. And if you happen to be one of those people, then don’t hesitate to reach out for help.
This doesn’t make you weak. You shouldn’t have to push yourself and suffer through half the year. If you can make things a little easier for yourself, a little better, why wouldn’t you? Seek a counselor, make an appointment. You’ll see it’s worth it.
