In the winter season, days become shorter, the temperature drops and suddenly finding energy seems like an impossible task. Soon, you begin to feel a change in your mood. Perhaps you feel anxious, stressed or irritable. Such feelings can start to interfere with your sleep, nutrition and overall behavioral patterns. However, these feelings are no accident and might result from an underlying disorder known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. This depressive disorder occurs in cycles, and its typical onset occurs during the fall and winter months, which is why it is also known as the “winter blues.”
You can become withdrawn and tempted to recoil into a numb slumber of isolation. However, if persistent, you could be experiencing SAD. Although the symptoms range from mild to severe, you should address what you feel, especially if you are in recovery or already work to combat stress and anxiety. SAD, coupled with any pre-existing disorders, can intensify them. However, if you are proactive after recognizing the signs of SAD, there are many ways that you combat the “winter blues.”
Lift Your Mood: Mindfulness and Meditation
The shortened amount of daylight is perhaps a significant contributor to why you’re feeling down. You might not be able to manifest the sun but practicing mindfulness, including meditation and yoga, helps to improve your mood. These practices will allow you to focus on your innermost feelings without judgment. When practiced consistently, you will help bring balance to the influence of your thoughts over your mind and body. Mindfulness is a great way to help reduce anxiety, stress and depression. It can help make you more resilient toward the triggers brought on by SAD. Try to find time each day or evening to practice mindfulness.
Lift Your Mood: Exercise During the Day
With limited daylight, you will want to find ways to motivate yourself to get as much from the day as you can. Scheduling time to exercise in the brightest room in your living space, or outside if weather permits, not only helps nourish your physical needs but your mental needs, too. Both exercise and daylight help produce endorphins and serotonin, which are responsible for positive feelings. Exercising can also help boost energy during the day and help you wind down at an appropriate time at night.
Lift Your Mood: Find a New Hobby
During winter, nighttime can seem to last a lifetime; 5 o’clock in the afternoon can sometimes feel like 10 o’clock at night. Having something to do to help you fill this time will not only distract you from negative thoughts but help bring structure into the evenings, so your body is feeling ready for bed at an appropriate time. If you have been meaning to pursue a hobby, winter is a perfect time. Look for a hobby that takes time and patience. You might pick up playing a musical instrument, learn how to knit, work on a puzzle, or begin writing the novel you always dreamed of creating. What you decide should be something that you can do in the comfort of your home.
Lift Your Mood: Stay Connected
While you might want to hibernate in the winter, you know that isolation is not suitable for your mental and physical health. Keeping in contact with friends, family, peers from your support group and any professional therapist or counselor is essential in helping defend against the “winter blues” and sustain lasting recovery. Because of the ongoing pandemic, utilize the opportunities of online video chat. Try to think outside the box to make these interactions more personal and enjoyable. You might dress your table to look like your favorite coffee house and invite some friends via video chat to join you. You might also use video chat to have workout sessions or watch movies together. Remember to have fun with it and, most importantly, create a schedule of what you will do at a particular time. Setting dates to socialize not only gives you something to look forward to but helps hold you accountable.
Lift Your Mood: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a groundbreaking therapy we use at DiscoveryMD to significant effect. This non-invasive and drug-free therapy is an effective way to treat mild to severe cases of depression. TMS delivers magnetic pulses that help stimulate nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression. This helps to activate and repair these regions that decrease activity during episodes of depression (National Center for Biotechnology Information). TMS treatment can be performed regularly by and has little-to-no side effects. TMS can be useful when other treatment didn’t work for persistent depression.
Depressive disorders can occur at any point in life and interfere with your daily regimen. During the winter season, feelings of anxiety, stress, anger, isolation and depression could feel more intense. If you are experiencing any of these feelings and are beginning to experience negative thinking and behaviors, it is time to seek help. At DiscoveryMD, we provide treatment and therapy to meet the individual where they’re at. We believe that treatment is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Our dedicated staff is committed to supporting you and your loved ones when you need us. Remember that your recovery comes first and that you are never alone in your journey. To seek the help you need, contact us today.