Strategies For The Winter Blues

I went into this winter already in a pretty deep depression. That combined with the realities of COVID have made this winter a difficult one. I wanted to share some of my strategies for handling the winter blues. I’m not sure if I’m beating the winter blues or just surviving them but sometimes survival is enough.

1. Using a sun lamp. This was recommended to me by my therapist and I think it was a good suggestion. The key features you want to look for are 10,000 lux intensity and UV-free. I use this lamp for 30 minutes in the morning while I drink my coffee and I’ve found it to be very helpful for maintaining my energy throughout the day. Once in a while I will forget to use it and then I’m dragging all day long, basically just thinking about when I can nap next all the time. It may also be helping with my mood but that effect is less easily identified since I am also doing a lot of other things to help my mood.

2. Cooking. Sometimes it feels like cooking is the only exciting thing in my life right now. I’ve been allowing myself to splurge on new and fun ingredients to cook with. Then I usually spend some time researching how to use the new ingredients before playing around with them in the kitchen. If nothing else it gives me something novel to think about and pretty often we end up with some new tasty food as well. You could also decide to splurge on a new kitchen device. Whatever thing will get you excited to cook or bake.

3. Planning for my garden. This one has been a life saver for me in years past, and this year I’ve really been leaning into it. Once the holidays are over I start looking towards the spring. There’s actually quite a lot you can do to prep for your garden in the winter. On the rare occasions when we get some warm days I try to get outside and clean out last year's garden beds that I hadn’t gotten to yet. Turning and amending my compost bins is always a good idea, as well as general yard cleanup. When it’s too cold to be outside there’s lots of planning to do; I research different varieties of plants to grow and order seeds, I start seedlings in trays inside with grow lights, I plan where I will plant all these seedlings when the time comes, I go on youtube deep dives and read books about gardening. This year I’ve even been tying exercise to garden prep since I know I’ll never be able to make all these things happen if I don’t get stronger. It’s been a powerful motivator for me.

4. Books. Getting lost in a story can be one of the best ways to get through the winter blues. You can find books that focus on the things you like best. If you miss traveling, find a book set in whatever country you wish you could visit. If you miss adventures there are endless books to take you on a ride. If you miss learning or school find a nonfiction book about a topic that interests you and learn all about it. There is essentially a never ending supply of books available and making use of them has been hugely important for me this year. As an added bonus most libraries are waiving late fees due to COVID so you can stock up from time to time and not have to worry about getting them back within a few weeks.

5. Staying in contact with friends and family. This one is pretty important all the time but I find in winter I sometimes have to be more intentional about it. With COVID it’s much harder to spend in person time with our loved ones so it’s important to find other ways to connect. I wrote a whole blog post about this recently so I won’t rehash the whole thing (Finding Meaningful Connection In a Time of COVID). But one additional thing I’ll say about this is that I have started including “call or text a friend or family member” on my daily self care to do list. It’s important, and it deserves to be on the short list of things to get done each day.

6. Talking to a therapist. Frankly I think everyone should see a therapist, at least at some point in their adult lives. You don’t need to have a mental health diagnosis to benefit from therapy. It’s so helpful in developing good coping strategies for stresses of all kinds. A good therapist can help you find individual ways to be your best self.

7. Planning for the future. I had been hesitant to start planning much for the future but with the vaccine on the horizon it feels like now is the time to start thinking about the things I most want to get back to once it’s safe to do so. Mostly this revolves around seeing friends and family in person. We have a camping trip on the calendar with a bunch of my cousins this summer. We have a family wedding next fall and I’ve already started dress hunting for that. Just having things to look forward to can make a huge difference, even if they are still a ways in the future.

8. Take advantage of the nice weather days.It’s easy to feel unmotivated in winter but I’ve found it to be super important to take advantage of nice weather days. If it’s sunny and not too cold I get outside for a walk. If the snow is beautiful I either try to go out in it or at least spend some time by a window with a nice view. Visually taking in beautiful things can be very helpful. If it’s gray and cold I try to have a fire or at the very least a candle, eat winter comfort food, and usually dive into a book. Taking my cues from nature allows me to feel connected to the natural world even when I can’t be out in it as much as I would like.

These are a few of my strategies this winter. Some days it feels like they are working and some days I still feel the winter blues a good bit. What things have you found to be helpful in fighting or surviving the winter blues?