Looking after yourself during the Autumn and Winter months

[cjt110]

I myself have felt an impending feeling of dread, drudgery or just moroseness now that the seasons are changing. I remember thinking "Oh god, I hate this time of year" Not because of the cold, the inclement weather or otherwise but my moods seems to take a nose dive.

So, how do you keep on top of things during these months....

I'm not sure either OP - so I'll be interested to see what people say. I hate winter too and suffer with low mood - particularly in Jan/Feb - when it's cold, dark and everyone just hibernates. I love the other three seasons though (bar hay fever in spring and sodding leaves in autumn, which take so much clearing up )

hello lovey

Just lots of hot, nourishing food, doing nice seasonal things. Planning for xmas

Hey!!

Yes to the food - but I end up eating rubbish and getting fat lol.

I'd say I;m at my best mentally for a while but I really did feel the "Eurgh" when I had to do the school run yesterday.

I use a sad light in the morning, try and make sure I get outside once a day even on weekends for a walk and take vitamin d supplements, the sad light helps my mood massively

Lumie alarm clock is really helpful in the mornings and means you don't need to have artificial lights blazing first thing

I eat lots of lovely wintery food - sausage and mash, Shepherd's pie etc. I know a lot of this can be fattening but soups are a good alternative.

I buy myself some autumn/winter scented things like candles, room sprays etc. and use these liberally.

I relish dark, rainy weekend afternoons when you can curl up on the sofa with a good book and the fire/heating on with bed socks on.

I am out for a walk every day with the dog which makes me feel better

I also try and exercise at least four times a week so I feel "on top" of things (don't know how to describe it)

I also give myself permission to treat myself a bit whenever I need it because the weather can feel so "meh". This needn't be expensive or regular but something like taking my book to read on the train to work rather than working, or buying a packet of skittles at lunch time to nibble on through the afternoon. Just little things

I actually also turn it around and think "well okay but what's good about this weather?"

For me that's:

• No screaming kids playing outside every evening
• No grown men hoofing a football around the park when I'm walking my dog
• No invitations to sit in pub beer gardens or go to BBQs with people you're only vaguely acquainted with
• No grass cutting to be done

Lots of soup
Vitamin d
Sleep
Fresh air
Good books and tv

I'd say my good thing about this weather is being cooped up, even stuck in traffic, in a warm car and not outside in the cold.

At least an hour outside every day works wonders for me, and a SAD light or daylight bulb for the really dark days. I take a multivitamin everyday, and generally eat well anyway. About 10 years ago, I used to suffer dreadfully with winter depression and used to put so much weight on. I have to make myself stay on top of it otherwise my mood can fall very easily.........

Long walks
New knitwear
warming candle everywhere and real fires again
warm days but no longer boiling hot, so we can still outside
Snuggly film afternoons with blankets
More sleep
Less social pressure
Time to think about the new year and planning for change
christmas countdown
roast vegetables for winter salads
red wine
autumn walks in the forest
collect beautiful leaves

Running outside in "daylight"
Colouring my hair to a richer colour as my face gets paler

It tends to hit me from November when the clocks have changed. It would ease off from March, but I seem to cop the tree pollen these days

*eat outside

I suffer from Summer SAD (everyone laughs but it is really a thing!) and find my mood is improving literally every day now! I have so much more energy and just generally feel a lot happier! This summer was particularly difficult for me and I slept through a lot of it!

It's hard for me to find positives in summer because most peoples positives are negatives to me. So the main thing I rely on is telling myself it won't last forever. And that is true of all seasons! I think that accepting I won't feel great but acknowledging it won't last, actually does help. I also tried to make the most of any cooler days we had. So conversely you could try and get outside when the weather is warmer/brighter.

It's horrible though. It would be lovely to just enjoy every season! But I know how hard it is when your mood is affected in this way.

Fairy lights or pretty lights can help make things cosy on an A/W evening.

Dress up warm & go for walks regularly, it's easy to use rain as an excuse to stay inside or use the car

Eat healthily & watch out for alcohol intake. The dark nights make me more likely to eat chocolate & drink wine as a treat!

I make loads of delicious soup, but I eat far too much comfort food and don't get out enough. Last winter was particularly bad, because the weather was just awful for several months - bitterly cold, loads of snow, bleugh! I think I need to rejoin the gym probably. I don't have a dog to get me outside every day and the school run is only 7 mins each way, which isn't enough to be called exercise.

What I really need is a place I can spend the winters, somewhere with a more pleasant climate, where it doesn't snow, where the sun shines .... sigh ....

My plan for this autumn/winter is to keep up my running regime which I started this year and have been really good at motivating myself so far. Hopefully this will get some daylight on my skin and some fresh air as well as all the other benefits.

Good nourishing food, soups, etc

Live yoghurt, kefir and other fermented goodness to hopefully keep coughs and colds at bay, similarly keep sugar and processed meat to a minimum (all to boost the gut bacteria)

Scarf, at all times out of the house, once the temp drops below about 15*. Been doing this for 3 years and it has reduced the number of colds. And meticulous handwashing, both me and dc.

Provided I can keep myself well, my
Mood tends to stay ok. Once the millionth cough, cold, Noro, bronchitis, had swept through the 5 of us one by one, I tend to feel pretty fed up of winter!