It's officially winter. The time to slow down, be still, rest, and find warmth. It can also be a challenging time as we face darker days and colder weather. Seasonal depression can feel overwhelming and endless, but there's so much you can do to help yourself. When you can't move to a tropical island, here's what helps me and so many of my clients stay light during the darker months:
1. Be consistent in what feels good.
The tips are coming, but the most important one is consistency. If you spend one day during the whole chilly season doing one good thing for yourself, it's not enough. Make self-care a priority and a ritual. Put it on the dang calendar. Don't miss it. It's for your health.
2. Find warmth.
Open the blinds to let in the light, take bubble baths, spend an unfair amount of time in your gym's sauna, sweat daily in a heat-generating workout, eat warm foods - bring your body back to balance with what it's missing during this time and follow its pulls. Remember how good an iced tea and a slice of watermelon sounds on a summer day? It's your body's way of finding equilibrium. Help it out by bringing the heat during the darker months.
3. Get outside as much as possible.
Bring your warmest coat and fuzziest socks under those snow boots, but make sure you lift your chin to the sky. Vitamin D soaks in through the skin and though sun protection is important, so is getting your dose of happiness and wellbeing. Take a few deep breaths at least or take a walk or two a day (there's no "at most"). Being outside is one of the best ways to regulate and calibrate with nature's cycles. Being in sync with nature is one of the greatest ways to feel better.
4. Spend time with people.
Loneliness is gasoline to a forest fire. If you can’t be in-person for the holidays, even attending a tree lighting around others or joining a family zoom can help. People heal in community. It’s our nature to band together in tribe. Reach out to your loved ones in whatever way you can this holiday season.
