If you find that your mood drops in the winter, the first thing you might consider - or the first thing that might be mentioned if you are looking for some help - is the impact of sunlight. This is an important factor and one that is worth looking into (I won’t pretend to be a biologist here, but there are some interesting effects of sunlight on various aspects of our bodies and brains, including the rhythms that govern sleep) but there are other factors to consider. Here is one of them:
Activity changes in the Winter
In warm, bright weather, it is that much easier to get outside. When it is cold or raining it is less appealing to go and have a little stroll than it is when it is a lovely sunny day. You are less likely to just pop outside and have a little read or a coffee. Certain outdoor activities are harder or perhaps even impossible to do.
None of these things are earth-shattering on their own, but they can stack up over time.
It might mean that your time outside decreases and maybe your social life does too. Maybe you end up exercising less, you might end up having spent most of the day indoors, feeling a little blurry-eyed or groggy by the end of the day. You might even end up feeling more isolated or lonely.
If this sounds familiar to you, it is worth thinking about how you might tackle some of this. There isn’t one right answer, but here are some things that can help:
Make it easier
If you know that getting outside makes a big difference to you, but you know that if it is cold or rainy you just end up talking yourself out of it, then try to make it easier. Make it so that there are fewer steps to think about, that it is less of a faff. Leave your wellies and your coat by the door. Get a flipping massive brolly if you can.
Do it anyway (even if it’s not as good)
Some things are worse in the Winter than in the Summer. You might like playing a sport or doing an activity outside, but in the Winter it has to move inside or it has to take a different form. Maybe you can still do it outside but it just feels a bit grim. If it isn’t as good, it can make us feel like there is no point doing it at all, but that means we end up with nothing.
If you can get yourself to go and do stuff anyway, at least you don’t end up with nothing at all.
Work with it, not against it
Sometimes the absence of one activity makes space for others. It can feel like you havehad something taken away from you or denied from you, but there is something useful in finding things that you feel like you are actively choosing instead. It might be something small like choosing a hobby that you do more of in the Winter (incidentally, this is one that helps me – I choose to do more model painting in the Winter. Would I rather have a lovely sunny evening? Yes, no question, but I also look forward to my dark evenings painting). Or, it might be something bigger, like doing a class or arranging things to do with friends that are outside of your usual Summer activities.
Some things are also better in the Winter. Real wood fires. Candles. Blankets. Yorkshire puddings. Stews come back into the meal rotation in my house and actually I look forward to that.
None of these things will solve everything in one fell swoop, and there are other reasons the Winter can be difficult, but making some small choices can make a difference overall.
Something to think about
Which of these things makes the biggest difference to you at the moment?
Something to do
Give one of them a go!
Thanks for reading! Until next week,
Ted
P.S. I'll be painting tonight, just FYI.
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