6 Ways to Fight the Winter Blues

If you’re stuck in a place that gets hit by winter, you probably know about the winter blues. Sure, it’s pretty but it gets dark earlier and the sun takes forever to rise. It feels like the days are droning on because of the gray skies and the wind smacking you in the face doesn’t make it better. But it’s not all bad — trust me, everything is only terrible when we give it that thought. Winter can be all types of things and it can make us feel all types of ways — happy, sad, mad, scared, upset, etc.

There are people that deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder — I am not one but I do know people that deal with this and if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have known this was a real thing. I’ve seen commercials but do I really pay attention after five seconds? Probably not. This post isn’t targeted towards just them, though, this is for everyone. The winter time can get people down. When you’re missing out on the sunshine, it can affect you. Around my office, people are saying that January is their least favorite month and winter is just not for them. I get it, the circumstances kinda suck.

Yet I’m a firm believer that we can all change our circumstances and I believe we can conquer the winter blues. We just have to keep pushing and remember that we’re going to be complaining when we’re sweating during the summer.

Make a book/movie list

Make winter fun again! There’s nothing like a snow day or taking a snow day aka work from home and just going through your list of books or movies and enjoying them. Don’t you have a list? You need to get it together. Make a list of all the movies you want to see or make a list of recommended movies from co-workers and friends and set out to watch them. Trust and believe Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more streaming outlets will help you find those movies. If you aren’t about movies, grab a good book. I can tell you that I believe a person when they tell me a book is good. I’m a picky reader. I have to read the first few pages if I know nothing about the book so having someone recommend books to me would be nice. Make a list of both if you want and use those picks to focus on keeping you interested and entertained.

Get Active

Everyone always talks about getting active but it truly is helpful. We all know the Legally Blonde line about Endorphins making you happy — it’s true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been a funk and I worked it out. Legit put all my energy into my lift and I felt so much better. Working out gives you time to get away, you’re focusing on your reps or your time and just not thinking about anything else. If you need an idea of things to do, you could do yoga, pilates, cycling, lift weights, etc. There are endless possibilities when it comes to being active. Hey, you could on a walk with your dog or yourself and just get a whiff of fresh air. There’s so much you can do to be active, you just have to make that move. 

Surround yourself with positive people

This is gold. Our environment affects how we think and people are part of our environment. Find some people that you can meet up with and have a few good laughs. Don’t become anti-social, reach out and keep up with your connections. You’ll feel better after a few sit-downs with some of your favorite people. Trust me when I say that talking to your people makes everything better. Hit up an old colleague or ask your co-worker if they want to go for brunch, it doesn’t hurt to reach out and be a light in someone else’s life. Talk to people about happy things, ask them about their weekend and share some laughs. I don’t want to say ignore the negative people but I will advise you to not listen to everything they say. Give them your attention but don’t let it affect you if they are your friend. 

Get a hobby

This sounds so demanding as I read it over in my head but for real, get a hobby. Really focus on something that is going to take your time and make you feel better. My mom has a painting hobby and dedicates her time to go to this pottery and painting different things. It relaxes her after a long week of work — you could be in the same position. I like to write as my hobby and read books but sometimes that isn’t enough for some people. Right now, I’m working on teaching my puppy new tricks which are a fur mama duty but it also has become a hobby. You just have to get out there and find something you like. Learn to knit or take an online free course that can teach you a skill you want. There is something out there for everyone and it’ll help you ignore the fact that the days seem so long. 

Try something new

This was one of my goals for the new year but I think trying something new would benefit you in the winter. Why? Because it might have all of your attention. I don’t know about you but when I try something new, I have to focus and really think about whatever it is that I’m trying to accomplish. Trying something new is a rush because you don’t know what is going to happen and that’s okay. Maybe you want to try a new exercise class or recipe you saw on Pinterest, go for it. Try a new restaurant out or a food that you’ve never had before. Step out of the comfort zone and don’t let the winter hold you back.

Invest in a sun lamp 

Lastly, this is something I just learned about a year ago. Some people are affected when they don’t get enough sunlight or vitamin D which is pretty important if you ask me. Luckily, there’s something call a sun lamp or light therapy which gives you that vitamin D and I’ve heard it makes you feel better. Learn something new every day, right? It gives you that natural sunlight that we’re lacking during the winter hours. I would say it’s a great invest me, I don’t have a sun lamp but I go have natural-light lightbulbs.

Obviously, I can’t tell you what to do or how to overcome something but I can give some suggestions and feel like I’m doing a little good in the world. If you try any of these out, let me know especially the sun lamp! My lightbulbs are pretty popping so I would suggest those, as well.

What will you be doing this winter?