Hello Wintertime Sadness – December SAD and How to Deal
That time of year again, holiday cheer (stress) and December SAD. Find out what SAD (seasonal affect disorder) is and how to deal with wintertime sadness.
It’s more common than you think. People get bummed during colder months. Check out these 10 tips that can help you feel better easily. No need to ignore or smother down your sadness, learn how to deal with it instead.
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
So, what is seasonal affective disorder? This is a type of mental health issue that is related to changes in season. While the most common form of this happens in colder months, sometimes they occur in the spring or early summer, more information on that here.
It’s not just winter blues. December SAD, and other types of seasonal affective disorders, are a form of depression, and we need to take steps to elevate our mood and motivation.
Symptoms
Here are some symptoms you need to watch out for in late fall and early winter. You may start to feel a loss of interest in many activities you used to enjoy and have less energy. This leads to you feeling listless, sluggish, or down more often than not. Even though you’re feeling more and more tired, you may have trouble sleeping at night or you may start sleeping too much.
Cravings also tend to hit, causing us to overeat, gain weight, and reach for more junk food. Many individuals also have trouble concentrating, and start to feel guilty, hopeless, and worthless. All this is a cocktail of wintertime sadness that can really affect our quality of life.
Winter Sadness – December SAD Tips
So, here are some things you can do to help yourself when you’re experiencing seasonal affective disorder. Don’t settle, don’t think it’s normal to always feel bad. The tips are listed from easiest to do to more difficult. However, know that all of these tips are very much doable and simple. They do not take too much time and can easily be added to your daily life.
1. Mindful Moments
Mindful moments are extremely beneficial if you want to work through your emotions. When we feel negative, it’s hard to just suddenly become positive. Mindfulness allows us to be in the present moment and observe our thoughts without judgment. In this more neutral state, we are better able to notice negative feelings, work through them, and let them go. Mindfulness helps create a state of mind that is more calm and centered. This helps us to let go of things that are troubling us. Check out this guide here on how to use mindfulness daily.
2. Work with Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for a positive time. This is because even the most simple things can bring us joy. We tend to take things for granted, and when we start to count our blessings, we can better appreciate and feel thankful for what we have in our lives. Even on days when we feel down, we can give thanks that we have air to breathe, a son that rises and gives life, or a roof over our heads.
3. Get Cozy
There’s nothing better than making yourself into a blanket burrito and cozying up when it’s cold. Science says go for it since getting cozy and being warm tends to make us feel better emotionally. Next time you’re feeling down, wrap yourself up in your favorite blanket and provide warmth to your body and mind.
4. Meditate
Meditating is another great habit that takes little time or effort. Meditation can change your life, as shown in this guide here. It takes no extra tools or things you have to buy, making it accessible to everyone. Meditation helps to regulate your emotions, particularly due to the breathing you use when you meditate, which calms the mind and fuels inner peace.
5. Find Light
Some scientists believe that seasonal affective disorder, particularly the one that occurs in colder months, is related to a lack of light exposure. We need sunlight as it helps regulate our circadian rhythm and helps us produce vitamin D in our skin for our body. Vitamin D is a hormone and nutrient that is used in almost every biological process from metabolism to cell repair, and more. Treat yourself to some light this winter, getting in natural light whenever you can and substituting natural light with a sun lamp when you need to.
6. Daily Movement
Movement should make us feel good. Our body needs movement to increase cardiovascular health, as well as mental health. Exercise tends to release happiness chemicals that make us feel better. Movement allows more circulation through the body which helps us physically feel right. Even if you feel down, try out some yoga or daily walks to get the benefits of some movement!
7. Get Offline
Being chronically online is not just a recipe for brain rock, it’s also terrible for our mental health. Scrolling through social media tends to alter our production of dopamine. This means we need those minute-long videos to feel something and require constant stimulation. When you get offline and start taking mindful moments or daily walks, you can perform a dopamine detox that can raise baseline happiness, which is particularly important during wintertime sadness!
8. Goal Setting
Goal setting is something you can do instead of your daily dose of internet. Set goals and break those goals down into achievable steps. That way, you can celebrate and get a natural boost of dopamine every time you accomplish something, no matter how small it is. You’re going to feel amazing once you realize how far you’ve come, especially if you track your goals in a journal!
9. Reach Out
Another great tip to deal with December SAD is to reach out to people. We are social creatures, and even the most introverted of us need support every now and then. Reach out to the people you love to benefit from a social experience. Try a one-on-one chat or a dinner with friends or family. Feeling supported when things get rough is one way to help deal with any issues you’ve got going on.
10. Heal Your Inner Child
Some small steps you can take in order to heal your inner child are doing activities you enjoy. Think of things you used to love as a child, climbing a tree, playing with the dirt, raking up leaves just to jump in them. Try doing some of those things now. Watch funny movies, eat candy for dinner, or fingerpaint.
Healing your inner child takes work, and most of the time requires professional help and treatment. If you have the means, request an appointment and seek help. In some cases for seasonal affective disorder, it’s definitely best to seek professional help. This is especially important if you can’t find the motivation to do any of these tips. There’s always help for those who seek it.
The Takeaway
Wintertime sadness is a thing, and many people deal with it. Fall and winter come around and December SAD hits hard. Try out these tips in order to help lift your mood and motivate yourself today.
Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutritious food, exercise when you can, and take care of your mental health. The small daily habits you cultivate become the basis for overall wellness. Don’t forget about microbiota health too! Gut microbiota affects the entire body, from the skin to muscles, to immune and mental health! Get all the resources you need about microbiota health for free here!
