Winter Survival Guide for Depression
Whether you struggle with depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the winter time can often be a challenge for one’s mental health. For those who love to spend time outdoors it can be especially frustrating. Here are five tips on how to survive the winter through mindfulness and healthy practices to maintain a healthy mental state.
Maintain Exercise Routines
During the winter months our bodies tend to slow down with the cold weather and the shorter days, which makes it easy to want to veg-out and neglect our bodies. When we neglect our bodies we do not get the endorphins that we may normally get from exercise, which can deepen a sense of depression. Even when you are feeling resistant, try to keep at least 15-minutes of regular cardiovascular exercise a day to keep your blood flowing. Opposite-to-emotion action is when we take some action that is counter to our current emotional state; i.e. if I am depressed I may want to go home and take a nap after work, but if I choose to exercise for 10 minutes instead I may experience a positive emotional shift. It can be hard to do opposite action; however, the results are often worth the effort.
2. Mindfulness Meditation
Another healthy habit to combat depression during the winter months is a regular meditation practice. This does not have to be an hour a day meditation, but simply 5-15 minutes a day can have a significant impact on your health. There are apps that provide guided meditations which make it easier to stay focused in a meditation (checkout Insight Timer or Headspace). Meditation reduces anxiety and stress, which can compound depression symptoms in the winter time.
3. Pleasurable Activities
Cultivating a sense of joy can be hard when one is feeling down; therefore, it is so important to find small things to take pleasure in. Maybe it is making your favorite meal or creating a tea ritual to do when you get off work. Finding ways to treat yourself by engaging in self-care are very important. It could be painting your toenails or reading a delicious book. How can you do things in the winter time that you do not do other times in the year that create some specialness for this time of year? Maybe you are much busier in the warmer months and you can savor a sense of slowness in the winter months by nesting into your house; lighting incense and candles and playing peaceful music. Creating holiday rituals that are uniquely your own can also be a good way to bring joy into the dark winter months.
4. Light Therapy
A large reason why SADs occur is because individuals are not getting enough light exposure.Take small chances to get outside even if it is cold out.Even 10 minutes out in the sunshine could have an impact on your mood.Bundle up and get out there in those small moments that you can tolerate the cold!Another option for dealing with the lack of light exposure is to get a light box to keep in your home.
5. Be Kind to Yourself
If you do not feel like yourself during the winter months, that is okay and natural.Learning to accept yourself and your lack of productivity during this time is an important part of coping with SAD.As much as you may make an effort to create habits that combat the depressive symptoms, you may still continue to feel down.Remember that these feelings of depression will not last forever and see if you can find some self-compassion towards yourself in this low-energy state you are in.Being critical of the way you feel only adds difficulty to struggling with depression of any sort.As hard as it may seem, see if you can make some space to just acknowledge without judgment how you feel during the winter months.Sometimes, just recognizing that you deal with SAD can help to keep in perspective that the depression feelings will not last forever.
