If you struggle in the Winter you are very welcome here

[hobnobsaremyfavourite]

On the back of my other thread today
Anyone welcome here to share tips for those of us who struggle with our physical and mental health over the winter

I struggle more overall in summer due to the heat, but find short days of winter awful. The effect of them on my mental health is different to anything I experience in summer.

One thing that helps me is to go against all the "cosiness" ideas and strip back my home decor a bit.

Most cosy things, while I like them in theory, only make me feel more trapped once the nights draw in.

I expected a less cluttered house to feel more depressing for feeling emptier, but it actually helps it feel lighter and more open, to me. And for all I dislike the process, it does remind me of new beginnings, and probably of spring cleaning, too.

It may not be for anyone who struggles with places that feel sparse though; I know that can trigger low mood in some people. But if you try it and don't like it, it's easily changed back, at least!

purple I've had a Lumie for 5yrs now. I wouldn't do winter without it. Worth every penny.

I think I need a SAD lamp. DH said that when the clocks change for summer, I literally change into a more joyful person overnight. And he’s right- the thought of the dark and cold over the next few months is making me feel awful today. I hate winter.

I struggle with cold hands and feet, every year it seems to get worse... on eof the worse feelings... even if you have 2 pairs of socks on 😬

This thread is perfect for me! The last couple of days (yesterday after being freezing at a theme park all day and today as our heating isn’t working properly) I’ve been feeling genuinely panicky and weepy about the impending winter. I know that sounds a bit bonkers and melodramatic but I always get a bit of SAD and last winter was really really tough!! I know we had a hot summer but I still feel like we only just had winter!! I’m still recovering.

I hate the cold, the dark, the wet, the having to layer up and force children to wear warm clothes and endless lost gloves plus there is the tiredness and anxiety which seems to spike! I do like Christmas and the coziness of twinkly lights but it’s outweighed by all the other crap of winter.

Loving some of the tips on here - will try more vitamin d and I’ve long wondered if I should get a lumie.

I was just thinking about this today. I find winter so hard. The lack of sunshine really gets to me, the light makes everything look dull and sad on cloudy days. Sometimes ypu can't see the sky for days and I find it so opressive. And the wind and rain and darkness, just awful. It makes me want to hibernate but with a toddler that is not an option!

I use a SAD lamp on my desk and have a Lumie sunrise clock for the mornings. Also take vitamin D every day. I make sure I have really warm and comfortable winter clothes because I hate being cold, and keep the house heated to 22.

I do love Christmas, so that helps me get through the first half of the winter. For me January is really hard because by then it feels like it'll go on forever, knowing that there may not be any decent stretches of warm, sunny weather until May or June. Usually we try to get away for some sunshine before Christmas which gives me a boost of energy to get through the rest of the winter, but sadly can't do that this year so I think I may really struggle.

The biggest change for me has been getting into gardening, and doing it all year round rather just sticking in a few new bedding plants in May.

It makes you think about the seasons (and the weather) in a totally different way. The end of the summer isn't sad, it means harvest, using up the fruits of your labour, berries, seeds, food for wildlife, getting ready for next year, getting ready for frost, and then things going into abeyance, at least on the surface, but actually the cold helping many things grow well then in the spring.

Obviously it may not be an approach that suits everyone, but anything that puts you in touch with the changing of the seasons, the light/dark and the weather and what it means for plants and wildlife helps, I think.

Humans have been farmers, growers, gatherers for centuries, it's only relatively recently that centrally heated houses and electric light allows us to shut out nature. And many other positive things besides, I'm not about to go and live in a cave or a mud hut! But I think we are instinctively used to the changing seasons and getting in touch with this and not shutting off our instincts may help.

We moved to Australia 11 years ago which I appreciate is pretty extreme. Obviously SAD wasn't the only reason but DH and I are just SO much happier here. Even now if we have unseasonal weather and less sunshine than we are used to we both get a bit down. Wake up to blue skies most days though and we are so positive and full of energy. I seriously could not live in Europe again however much I miss people.

Ahhh you are my people. I need a SAD lamp too. I wish we could hibernate all winter aa I just look forward to summer all year round. I can manage a couple of days just around Christmas time when it’s ok to not work and just stay in and enjoy the cold and pretty lights. The rest of it meh. I want summer back

I've finally found my place on MN. 

The winter always feels so long and is so difficult with such short days. Going to/from work in the dark is just miserable. My difficult months are November - end of February when we normally go away for some winter sun and to break the cycle. Not going to be possible this year as I'll be due to give birth any day. The winter feels long already. Feel like the lows have kicked in a month early this year.

I'm going to look into a Lumie this year I think, got to do something to try and improve how I felt from last year. Seems like it could be a really good starting point. Have also invested in some great sensory lights which emit gentle coloured lighting rather than the harsh whites of the office environment which I find very peaceful in the evenings and early mornings when on a colour cycle rather than one static colour.

Hello. Owner of a Lumie, runner when possible, breakfasting with sertraline and vit D here.

Hate this tone of the year!

@PleaseTryAnotherUsername I'm back on the Sertraline wagon too.

Going to try swimming regularly this winter too, I lose all enthusiasm for being outside when it's pouring down with rain ☔️

You have reminded me to order some Vit D spray.
I’ve ordered a large bottle and will leave it by the front door so we can all use it.
My DD has severe anxiety and I think I read that Vit D can help.

I’d love to go on holiday during winter, I really dislike January and feb. I have to walk my dogs twice a day and I can’t tolerate the cold on my hands.
I bought some sealskin gloves last year but they don’t work very well considering they were quite expensive 😩

I don’t do cosy either.
I like curtains open and light, open bright spaces
Went to cinema yesterday at 7-25pm
Cold and pitch black. Just a few months ago...warm and Inviting
Left at 10-15pm....0 degrees
In July we would’ve still had daylight

I struggle so much with the cold.
It’s only 35 days to our sunshine holiday...ticking them off

-4c in Glasgow this morning and a hard frost.

It's bright sunshine this morning though so I'll be on the park bench soaking up the light after the kids are packed off to school.

I don't mind the dark so much, but hate the bleak white winter sky every day, and I hate driving on icy roads and the whole palaver of starting and de-icing vehicles.
I worry about the cost of heating the house and I hate being cold...
Whinge.

I have depression all year round but it's so much worse in winter, I turn into a zombie. I tried a lumie light and a dawn wake up one but neither stuck. I've just discovered LED light bulbs and have ordered a very bright one for my bedroom which won't require any extra motivation to use. I've also gone a bit DIY mad and am planning to paint the bedroom bright white and put in plants and pictures of sunny places. Here's hoping!

I know I don't like going out on dark nights so I just accept that I will have many more nights in in winter and catch up on films and tv, which I don't really watch in summer. Or I try to go out early in the evening instead, then I can look forward to being back in bed soon.

I rolled my eyes at the whole 'hygge' trend a couple of years back but I did buy one book that helped. Basically, the author said forget all the stuff about candles and blankets, real hygge is the feeling you get when you exert yourself then come in from the cold. Norwegians aren't put off hiking by a bit of cold and dark apparently. I found that quite motivating/impressive and did actually manage to do it that year. I may read it again when the darkness kicks in.

This year's heatwave also helped in that I found it so unpleasant and difficult to function I decided I would on balance prefer to live here than somewhere that was hot all the time. It's the light I need, not the heat.

Up early on my first day of leave, gym session done and going to get a walk in later whilst it’s still bright and light
Determined to set positive patterns from the start

It's not the dark that gets to me but the cold.

I'm one of those people who seems to feel the cold terribly, conversely I'm quite comfortable at around 38c when everyone else is complaining about the heat.

I'm not so bad in the run up to Christmas but I find Jan/Feb vile. I really do hate it.
Also, I seem to have a permanent cold from mid October until late March, which often becomes an ear/throat/sinus infection. The joy!

I'm a right grump in winter too.

Thank you for starting this thread, I'm hoping for some useful tips to drag myself through.

At last - I've found my people!

Like several PPs, it's the shorter daylight period and the switch back to GMT that seems to bring my mood right down, so this autumn I'm trying out a PoW camp strategy I read about, where the PoWs beat the morale-sapping effect of having a 4.30am reveille and head-count by setting their watches two hours forward and treating it as a 6.30am start.

I left my watch one hour ahead yesterday and I propose to pass the winter months on FoulMouthed Summer Time and see whether that improves my outlook. Anybody want to join me?

My people!

I despise winter with a passion. I feel shit. I am never warm and my mood drops. My husband who has a serious MH illness also has SAD and I can guarantee his depression will be awful and we will end up in a crisis at some point.

I fucking hate winter.

I need to go buy a SAD lamp.

I'm baffled by people wittering on about snuggling under blankets and watching movies. Don't they have jobs to go to? School runs? Housework or shopping to do? I don't have time to spend half the year acting like a sick child on a day off school and the cold and dark make life more difficult. I also dread DS2's hyperactivity ramping up. He has ASD and narrowly missed a diagnosis of ADHD too. He thrives in the summer and needs lots of outdoor play and exercise. The hygge brigade trill that there's no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing but they won't convince me that going to the park after school/work and playing in the splashpad in the sun for a couple of hours is just the same as it being dark and lashing with wind and rain 🙄 There is also the fact that nice summer weather lasts a few weeks if we're lucky but cold and grey is months. I think I need this thread.

I like the countdown to 21 Dec too. Time going so quickly in general I'm going to take as a boon. I hate all the flowers going - my front is still full of colour though. I've planted more evergreen stuff this summer so it looks good in winter & will sow some seeds in Dec & do planning for next year. I'd love a holiday in Jan/Feb to look forward to!

FoulMouthedMother Ha, PoW strategy, I like your thinking.

Nobody has actually mentioned liking snuggling under blankets DrCoconut. And yes I do manage to squeeze in the odd movie here and there. Depression is not a case of acting like a 'sick child', just so you know.