No more winter blues!
If the winter makes you sad and paralyzed, please read my way to get out of this mood and actually enjoy the season!
Natural ways to beat winter blues
Now, i can totally see and feel the beauty of winter- the special light, the fresh air, the colours of the sunset, the need to get cosy and get inwards.
But, I haven’t always seen winter this way.
For most of my adulthood, winter has only brought despair.
From the onset of fall weather until the first signs of spring, my mind would fall into a deep sadness that I couldn’t ever explain in words.
The cooler temps.
The longer days.
The relentless illnesses.
All these things made my heart feel heavy.
It wasn’t until many years later that I learned that SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is very common.
So I set out to find the “cure” for SAD.
Winter is a season for rest, turning inward, and calming our bodies from the busyness of the year.
Although we cannot fully hibernate as human beings, the idea of scaling back in our daily demands during the winter is ideal for overall mental wellness.
However, modern culture resists this notion by keeping busy during the winter.
The hustle of the holiday season mixed with the every day life activities doesn’t allow us to fully embrace the slowness of the season.
As a modern society, winter is just another season. Just another few months out of the year. Just another day to make another dollar.
Could this be why SAD is so common?
While digging to find a “cure”, of course I came across all of the conventional methods like therapy, medication, and lifestyle tips to cope.
But I didn’t want a band-aid solution, and I didn’t want to just cope. I wanted to be rid of it.
And after a few years of deep, transitional lifestyle & mental changes, I have come to say that I have learned to embrace and truly love ALL of the seasons. Even gloomy ol’ winter.
Here are my tips:
Start to embrace the cold
I started to find beauty in the crisp air and allowed myself to feel the coldness around me. Instead of fighting with the changing temps, I flowed with them by dressing for the seasons and getting outside as much as possible.
I slowed down. A LOT. be in the present
Winter should be a time for rest and before now, I never truly embraced that. I’d always be planning the next thing. Setting lavish goals. Always pounding the pavement.
But once I started to just slow down and take it all in, I saw a noticeable shift in my attitude towards the colder months.
Practice gratitude daily
It’s something that not only helps with SAD, but overall mental wellness, and it’s such a simple thing to do. Everyone can benefit from practising daily gratitude!
Time to take care of yourself!
Find that class you wanted to try, yoga, dance, any training to move the body & eat cleaner.
start taking time for YOU so that your mind wouldn’t go into those dark places. It’s amazing how simple diet and lifestyle can affect your mood – and it’s such an easy fix.
Light Therapy
Light therapy is a very common & effective treatment to use for SAD.
Basically, it involves spending some time every day in front of a light therapy lamp (preferably in the morning) to elevate your mood.
LED Light Therapy can also help, besides of it’s beauty benefits
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy with essential oils can also be used to help lift your mood, and not just during the winter!
Your sense of smell is extremely powerful & can have a HUGE affect on your brain and the way that you think and feel.
Here is one of my blends:
Lemon/Lime Love Diffuser Blend:
- 12 drops Lime Essential Oil.
- 12 drops Lemon Essential Oil.
- 3 drops of Rose Essential Oil or Palmarosa Essential Oil.
More winter oil blends to help with winter blues
Take self care to a higher level by receiving care
Winter is the time to heal the skin from the summer sun damages and to give your skin a new boosts start!
Over time, all of these changes collectively changed my perspective about winter.
Much Love,
Nirit
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