I'm finding the dark days and nights so difficult. What can I do?

Thrush baths 😂I live very far north and these things help me: SAD lamps (provided by occupational health at work), double dose Vitamin D, whatever form of exercise gets your endorphins going, get out every day it’s not raining sideways, cleaning/tidying/sorting is good for the days it is raining sideways, embrace the dark nights - tv, board games, Lego. I also follow Sejsejlija on Instagram, she lives on Svalbard and they have three months of complete darkness so it makes me grateful for the daylight we do get!

I was just about to say this. I got mine for £8 on vinted. It’s the basic model. No radio etc but that’s fine.

In the evenings I’ve got timers on so DC don’t come home to a dark house & nor do I (DH wouldn’t think to turn lamps on and nor would DC). I’ve also draped warm white fairy lights round the front garden - again on a timer. Our house looks so welcoming compared to my neighbours now.

As well as lamps on timers I’ve got an oil burner which I burn each evening and some candles too - mostly unscented but they create a lovely feeling.

We can’t avoid the dark but we can embrace it I guess.

I would second a lumie lamp alarm clock. I've had one for years and waking to gentle light simulating sunlight, rather than a loud alarm in the dark.

Getting outside in the natural daylight - the light levels inside are often a fraction of those outside. It helps reset your body clock and your mood. Vit D supplements from October to March. Planning in activities you enjoy, socialising, exercise/activity etc. all known mood boosters. Making your home cosy and inviting, blankets, candles, lights. I say this as someone who's had a rubbish year and wants to ward off mental health issues going into the winter time.

'Thrush' baths (baths with loads of bath bombs, essential oils, bubbles etc). Hopefully you don't actually get thrush, I read it in a Stacey Solomon book and really love fancy baths. It needs a better name though!

It might seem silly but I got some fancy LED light strips that do multiple colours that I can control from my phone and draped them around the living room as well as some lamps with fancy smart bulbs.

I then set them all to random crazy colours and have them slowly morph and rotate though colours all night. The room feels so bright and colourful it really helps my mood.

The lights also can be controlled remotely and set up to automatically come on just before you are due to arrive home so you are walking into a colourful wonderland instead of a dark house. I also have the heating come on too so it's nice and warm.

I have difficulty sleeping in winter, as though my body doesn't know which part of the day is for sleep and which for being awake. But to find your SAD lamp causes it must be a real kick in the teeth!
I find mine irritating and I don't think it improves anything but at least it doesn't seem to make anything worse.

If you’re working inside all day, go for a walk at lunchtime!

I’ve always disliked the winter, if I had my way I’d love it to be summer 12 months of the year!
I always feel so yuk in the winter, this year I’ve started feeling like that so much earlier and I think it’s because we’ve hardly had any sunshine this summer!
it doesn’t help the fact I start work 7 am and finish 4/5 pm, so most days I hardly see any daylight!

Book a little weekend break somewhere sunny? Rome, Tenerife, Majorca

I detest the winter months too, I get it. The SAD lamp stopped me sleeping, even though I only used it for the minimum amount of time recommended, that was annoying.
Definitely agree that getting out and walking in daylight has to be done every day, no matter how cold, just wrap up.

My own solution for the last couple of years has been to have a winter sun holiday to break it up (have a week in Egypt planned for February) but I appreciate that I am lucky and it is not an option for everyone.

@FlippertyFlopperty

Make sure you still get outside as much as you can during daylight hours. Also, remember it’s only the dark! You can still go out in it. Walk, run, or just wrap up and sit outside.

I sat out for an hour reading my book today.
Woolly hat and a big fur blanket around me.

I am the opposite. I love this time of year. I revel in it but I suffer quite badly in the Summertime because I simply hate it. So I understand that feeling of pulling the curtains in the morning and getting that sinking feeling. I don’t have any solutions OP but I can honestly understand how the lack of light, or in my case abundance of light can have such a negative impact on your mental health.

Do you do any of the things people have suggested?

Take a high dose of Vitamin D every day and get outside as much as you can - even if it is grey and miserable.

Buy a 1500 lumen daylight temperature LED bulb for the room you spend most time in. It's made an ENORMOUS difference to me. I work from home and I found it almost impossible before I got these lights because I was stuck in the gloom. These make a huge difference - I have them in 2 rooms. You need lamps for the evenings or it's way too bright but they're really worth it for the day time.

Yes, we've been living through it for years and survived.

It’s winter. Thats what it is. 🤷‍♀️

Recently there's been hardly any sun here in the north west. Dry yes, but the lack of sun even during daylight is getting to me. I don't mind so much it getting darker earlier if it's been sunny during the day.

I absolutely second getting a SAD lamp. I used to be like you, used to really struggle with it until I got one of those lamps that I sit in front of for at least half an hour every morning. It’s made such a huge difference that this is now my favourite time of year!

Get as much natural daylight as you can during the day as well

Try to remember it is lighter than this time in December.

Try to look out at/get out into daylight as much as possible.

Try to enjoy the autumn colours.

(I hate it too. Hate coming home in the dark. Having to drive in the half dark is shit)

Have a 'Thanksgiving' meal. Like Christmas dinner but in November! Pumpkin pie is lovely and quite easy to make.
You could do a winter barbecue, with people wrapped up warm, sparklers, dancing in the garden with fairy lights. Basically Invite people round, have a laugh.
Movie nights with popcorn and Bailey's hot chocolate?
Quiz or game night, where everyone donates a small prize?
Making sure you are outdoors as much as possible during daylight. So maybe meet people for lunch or window shopping followed by a nice cosy pub?
There's lots of stuff to do in the colder months, and socialising I think helps.

This Autumn has been absolutely beautiful. The colours on the trees are great and it's been dry. Yes, grey and misty but it's much nicer than last year. I look forward to hibernating a bit. I always start exercising and drinking less so I can emerge in March looking and feeling ready for Spring. Could you get outside and really look around you and try and appreciate the seasons?