With shorter days and colder weather, many of us may be feeling down in the dumps. During this time of year, it’s not uncommon to feel fatigue and sadness, and to have difficulty concentrating. Here are some tips and tricks that I use to give my mood a boost during these colder months of the year.
Keep Up Your Routine
Everything is business as usual, even if it’s a little darker. It’s important to keep up your current routine to give your body a sense of normalcy, and to keep up any current wellness routines you have in place. Eating healthy, exercising, engaging in meditation or yoga practices, your skin care routine – these are all important aspects of your mental health, as well as your physical health. In order to keep your mind in the best shape possible, you need to keep up with your body too.
Reach Out
Winter can be very isolating for some of us – we don’t go outside as often, and we spend less time with others. These feelings of isolation can lead to us to get a bit down in the dumps. During this time, as cliche as it is, friendship truly is magic. Having your best friends on speed dial for whenever you need to talk, or even have a wine night together, can be so important to minimizing feelings of loneliness. And your support system contains more than just your friends. Don’t forget about your family, your favorite co-workers, and your mentors.
For some, you may feel that you need a little extra help. Winter is a great time to get started on therapy. A good therapist can help you to create good habits and find new ways to reach out to your loved ones, giving you a new perspective on the world around you.
Engage in Some Self Care
You may already have some self-care routines built into your daily schedule, but sometimes it’s good to have a little extra special treatment. Book a massage, treat yourself to that facial, get your nails done, or even just take a long bath – however you need to up your self-care game. Self-care comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes. It might look like starting a new exercise routine, or eating your favorite foods. It might even look like spending time alone binging the latest popular Netflix series. Self-care is about you, so do what you need to make yourself feel good.
Get Outside
Seeking out sunshine and outdoor activities can be a great way to boost your mood. Sunshine is a great source of vitamin D, which can help improve your emotional state, as well as helping to balance serotonin, increase melatonin production, and balance your circadian rhythms. Getting moving also helps to reduce stress and depression, helping you to get that extra boost of happy hormones.
If you can’t make it outside, find ways to get closer to the sunshine. Maybe move your work desk in front of a window, or make the conscious effort to sit in the sun for an hour or two each day. Getting an extra boost of sunlight is an easy way to ward off feelings of sadness, and is a great way to get your vitamin D.
The winter blues can have an impact on both your physical and mental health, so it’s very important that we give it our best fight. There are so many ways to bring yourself up when you’re feeling down, and I hope these tips help you find some good ways of doing that.
My favorite ways to beat the winter blues:
- Get outside for a run or walk
- Join a new exercise class at the gym
- A few new outfits 🙂
- Up my skin care regimen
- Get Micro blading for my brows!
- Journaling (more on this later)
- Meet with friends
