We’ve officially entered the hard months, the “dark ages” as the midshipmen at the Naval Academy say: the time of the year when the sun disappears and the pale complexions of your friends remind you that you had better take your vitamins or else you’ll have a cold to go with your pasty look.
I dread winter each year because many of my depression busters require sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. What does a girl who kayaks and bikes for sanity do in the winter? Lots of things.
Here are a few of them.
1. Give back.
Ghandi once wrote that “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Positive psychologists like University of Pennsylvania’s Martin Seligman and Dan Baker, Ph.D., director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch, believe that a sense of purpose — committing oneself to a noble mission — and acts of altruism are strong antidotes to depression.
The winter months are a good time to do this because the need is greater, the holiday spirit ideally lasts until February, and you don’t have the excuse of attending family picnics, unless you live in California or Florida.
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Site last updated: 21 May 2013
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Nice article on SAD. I’ve had a number of clients who have depression arrive with shorter days and cloudy skies. I have one client whose system is very sensitive to light – she starts her lightbox therapy on September 22, Autumn Solstice when the days start to get shorter.
I loved your tip on wearing color!
I try to follow most of your suggestions for my Bipolar. I don’t belong to a gym and I detest going outside on cold days, as I live in Iowa. I do go to an arhritis therapy class in warm water two days a week. Since I purchased the light box last winter, it has helped alot. I see the doctor once a month and I think I finally am on the right meds. I am 72 and I think this came on when I was a teenager. I was diagnoised at 35 and with help of my husband, I managed to raise three children, get them all through college, dispite all my hospitalizations. They are fine upstanding citizens. My husband has been with me though thick and then, for better or for worse for 49 years. Not all good ones! I still fight this desease every day of my life. I know there is more I could work on. I just wanted to thank you for all you do for and of us bipolar and addictive people. God Bless You.
Nice article! I also love your tip about colours. When checking my winter clothes, I found out that have more black, grey and brown colours. I guess it is time to renew my closet!
I love the month December but when a new year starts, it seems that the first three months take forever, particularly when it is rainy and grey outside. I am also a writer of a blog. In December I found out that we actually should be more positive after December 21, when winter actually starts. Because after this day, days are getting longer again. Although I am longing for spring, I tried to stimulate myself by thinking about this. More light is coming to us day by day. Maybe this thought will stimulate other readers as well. If you are interested in my articles about winter, please check my blog under general.
Thank you for the great information. I have suffered for many years with SAD. I like the tip on wearing brighter colors. I do feel better when I have a bright shirt on in the winter. I use a sunbox light box 20 minutes in the morning and it has saved me from dragging through the winter months. I’ll keep using the light till April. I can’t wait for Spring!
I suffered from SAD in the past and moved to a sunny/warm location 10 years ago, which took care of my problem, but for those that can’t just pick up and move, the SAD lights available online were also a help for me personally. Lots of other good tips here as well, thanks for sharing.