Top 5 Tips to Soothe Winter Depression

My mood tends to match the qualities of the season. In spring and summer, I feel energized, active, creative, and vibrant. Come fall and winter, my energy, motivation, productivity, and overall mood begins to dip. And by the dead of winter, I have essentially withdrawn and I am in hibernation.

Seasonal Affective Disorder comes on gradually for me. In late fall/ early winter, as daylight hours become shorter, my body and brain start to move more slowly. There is an obvious shift. I crave warm, high-carb comfort foods. I feel tired much earlier, and have little motivation to be social.

This pattern of slowing down progresses with the season, increasing my symptoms and their severity. It starts off mild, just feeling a little down, a little tired. I can still push through the holidays.

Come January, winter really starts to settle in. Cold, grey, dreary days take hold and I find myself wanting to do less and less. I go about the necessary daily tasks but in a much slower gear.

By February, my condition has evolved to full-on depression. I am cold, I am tired, I am irritable. I have gained weight, as my activity levels have fallen and calorie intake has risen. I’m too tired and brain-fogged to care.

I have isolated myself, fairly unintentionally, as that is what depression does. I only leave my house because I have to sometimes. If I don’t have to, I don’t. I retreat from friends, because I simply have nothing to say. I lack energy to listen, process what they are saying, or contribute. It is like my body and mind shut down, other than the most bare, basic aspects.

By the end of February, I can hardly keep up with the basics. I oversleep. I cannot focus. I can’t remember shit. Begrudgingly, I just have to keep pushing on. Although I am nowhere near as productive, and that bugs me too.

By March, I become a much more irritable depressive. By this point, I am semi-pissed. I feel like I have lost months of my life because, in essence, I have. With my physical and cognitive function impaired for all these months, I am at the end of my rope. I am miserable.

This pattern transpires every year for me, as I live in the Chicagoland area, where winters are long and brutal. I don’t do winter sports. I will play in the snow and build a snowman or an igloo with my daughter if it is good packing snow. Otherwise, I have no desire to go outside. And this is where my trouble stems from.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is directly related to the seasonal patterns of the sun. We are, after all, interdependent and interrelated with nature. Therefore, less sunshine, for months at a time, means less access to the vitamin-rich lifeforce which sustains us. The sun is incredibly important to human life. The disruption in daylight can cause a biochemical imbalance in the brain. It directly causes the physical and cognitive symptoms associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Are you sensitive to the changes in season? There are a few things we can do, besides move to the tropics!

The Top 5 Remedies:

Vitamin D- Called the “sunshine vitamin”, Vitamin D plays a critical role in physical and mental health. Sources of Vitamin D are diet and adequate sun exposure. Approximately 42% of the U.S. population is deficient in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D assists in the production of neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, the chemicals that affect mood. Studies are inconclusive as to whether Vitamin D causes SAD. However, there is a proven correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and SAD.

Vitamin D is an important nutrient that affects our health in a magnitude of ways. It is worth getting your levels checked. Your primary care physician can administer a simple blood test and recommend supplements, should you need them.

Phototherapy (Light Therapy)- These mood-boosting lamps are an effective way to treat symptoms of SAD by simulating daylight. There are plenty of lightboxes that are designed to treat SAD. Read the reviews. Lightboxes are not expensive and are super-easy to use. One would simply place the lightbox atop their work desk, or anywhere they would sit and receive direct exposure to the light, for a period of 20–30 minutes.

Go outside- Exposure to daylight first thing in the morning is key to keeping your body’s internal clock/ circadian rhythm balanced. Light plays a huge role in the production of brain chemicals. Not only does morning light trigger a healthy rising of cortisol and serotonin that keep us alert and moving throughout the day. But it also sets the internal timer that dictates the later release of melatonin, the hormone that makes one feel sleepy and ready for bed. This whole process begins when we first open our eyes in the morning. Therefore, it is critical to get adequate light exposure first thing in the morning.

Your morning light exposure does not need to be anything lengthy or complicated. It does not need to be a chore. Any way that you can get out and absorb the morning light, for even 15–30 minutes, will be beneficial. Bundle up and take a swift walk around the block. Or even a leisurely stroll to the mailbox. Casually peruse the newspaper outside. Sip coffee on the front porch. Make a morning ritual of stepping outside.

Exercise- Physical movement, or lack of it, is a critical component to health and wellness. Movement keeps the body healthy and the mind sharp by circulating oxygen-rich blood throughout the cells and nourishing the organs of the body. Physical exercise is crucial to creating balance in the mind and body. However, it is especially easy to fall off of your fitness routine in the wintertime.

Plan for it. If you tend to lose momentum in the winter months, be proactive and join a gym! Because if you get accustomed to indoor workouts early on in the fall season, it will be much easier to continue come winter. Make it easy. Choose a gym that is close to home. Know yourself.

If you really don’t see yourself going out to a gym, join a live stream online movement class that fits your needs. I used to hula hoop on a Facebook Messenger Group with 5–10 gals from around the world. It worked great because along with accountability and consistency, it was super fun.

Learn a dance, do yoga, kickboxing, karate, play laser tag. Point is, find something, just to move, even if it isn’t “traditional exercise.” Consistency is key, so have some fun.

Support- Humans are social creatures; it is in our nature. Those suffering from SAD may find it beneficial to seek the support of a good friend or a trusted family member. Tell someone what is going on. There is no shame in vulnerability. When we share our experiences with others, we open the door for understanding and support.

These 5 tips have personally helped me with managing my Seasonal Affective Disorder. The main takeaway is that we, as humans, are designed exquisitely. We are a part of nature. Nature gives us everything that we need. It was intended to be this way.

Understand how your body works in relationship to nature. Be mindful. Get out of your own way and align with nature’s cycle of health and wellness, to the best of your ability. As humans, we can simulate nature, in many scenarios. The understanding and the goal should still be the same- to align with the natural cycles, in order to fuel our bodies and minds for optimal function. The effort we put in to consciously assisting our body’s natural biological systems goes a long way.