Getting through the winter

[PeacheyPeach]

I know we are not even in Autumn yet but I have a sense of dread about the winter months!!
I hate the cold and how dark it gets so early!
How do you all cope with the winter?
What do you do for activities so that you're not just at home with the curtains drawn by 4pm !!

What I want to do is curl up and read books and drink tea till spring.

However I've over-committed myself to far too many projects to get away with that, so I will hopefully be kept very busy till Winter's over.

Snuggle in - Blankets, Fairy lights, Vitamin d, Plan next year

Am excited fo this bonus weekend of sunshine we are going to have, feel like this is going to warm my bones up for a bit 😀
Have decided that I'm going to do some decorating over the next few months, I think having a project will help me stay focused,
I would like to have a large fancy dinner party in about January/February time aswell, you know when we start getting really bored, so a chance to get a bit dressed up and have all the candles and fairy lights on with fab food,

I do the same in winter, I don’t understand people moaning about winter- it comes evey year! Go swimming, gym, exercise class, walk or run or cycle outside during daylight hours. Evenings I go to a choir, or pub quiz, dinner out, cinema, theatre, do DIY. Weekends, go for longer walk or cycle, play tennis, go on day trips.

What is there to understand about the fact that Seasonal Affective Disorder is real and has a horrendous impact on some of us?

The past two winters have been particularly bad for me, and have seen me on the verge of suicidal at times; and this despite keeping active, getting out in the fresh air every day, taking vitamin D and using a sunlight lamp.

As soon as the clocks go forward, the bleakness starts to lift, but until then it is a daily battle not to give into it. It happening every year is hardly a consolation, rather the opposite.

It's the dark winter mornings that I find so hard, especially going back after the New Year. The first two weeks in January, persuading the DC to get up and ready when it's the last thing I want to do myself. Eughh. I grit my teeth and get through it by knowing that it'll get lighter by the end of the month. Plus I'll plant some very early spring bulbs now which may help.

Since I’ve had a dog I notice on my walks, January getting lighter as the shortest daylight hours have passed. I never noticed it happening that early before and It’s totally changed my outlook on January and February 😀

Nov/Dec - I focus on Christmas and slowly start to light and decorate the house building up the tree etc.

From Jan onwards, the days are growing longer again so I try very hard to focus on that. I do a lot of prepping for the new gardening year (sowing seeds under grow lamps etc) and even more checking up on dawn and dusk timings to watch them grow further and further apart.

I am obsessed with how soon I can have my early morning dog walk in the daylight again. However, I don't skip the walk - every now and again you are dealt a total blinder. Like last year's full moon, dawn happening while I am walking, total frost covered ground. The whole walk was in the light, first the moonlight reflected off the frost and then, slowly, the dawning sunlight. It was truly magical.

I hate winter too. And autumn. I'm already noticing how early it's getting dark. We can't stay at the park into the evening now. I don't absorb vitamin D very well I don't think (gut issues) so summer really helps me feel ok. And the kids sleep and get up so much better in summer too - dreading the morning school run and on to work battles. I suppose gratitude for what I have is helpful. I've decided that once we get to the spring equinox I'm going to write something positive on a piece of paper each day and put it in a jar. Then from the autumn equinox I can take them out and do a sort of daily gratitude thing. But SAD is real and no amount of hot chocolate or twinkly lights can make autumn or winter fun. Roll on summer now.

My uncle emigrated to Australia due to SAD. Even when he lost his job out there he was happy because a walk in a sunny beach at dawn and dusk made him feel ok.

Where would people recommend to soak up some lovely winter sun?

I also have SAD, can't bear the January- April time period, and would love to have a wellness break or a week away to look forward to around March. Have found Lanzarote for instance a bit cold (though better then here!) in February.

@NeedTheSeaside Acorn lights These are the ones, I got them last year.

@YorkieTheRabbit thank you, they're lovely.

ima bit wary of the ones running off AS batteries, I was house sitting last year & had a scary experience with a set exploding then fizzing, they were intertwined in logs & it was all a bit worrying.

I really struggle. Last year I got an electric blanket and some fingerless gloves which helped with the cold.

Candles make things feel less gloomy. Nice winter warmer food. And trying to appreciate nature in winter.

I'm the same op...absolutely hate it. I can cope with the cold just about but the darkness is horrendous. I con myself that September and October are still summer...luckily the warm weather is helping with that. November and December are hell for me and I hate Christmas. I actually look forward to January because by then we've had the shortest day and we get a minute or so extra daylight per day and spring is just round the corner. So really I have just two months to get thru...Nov and Dec.

I can totally understand this. Light evenings make me so happy.

I immediately start looking for the light nights the minute it is the shortest day !!! I think I need to really save up and go for a fantastic holiday to the Caribbean in January February time!! I need a very rich benefactor who will come to my aid on this matter 😂
You know actually knowing that other people feel the same as I do is actually quite helpful as I often think it's just me being a misery !
Last year I was really bad and couldn't understand how people were fine and carrying on like it's the best time ever, so I am determined to change my mind set this year
Also I'm going to invest in hot water bottles!!!

My friend has Scottish roots and he does a fun and quite fancy Burns Night dinner 25th Jan every year, with tartan and candles and stag ornaments and haggis. Poetry reading, Scottish music and a quiz. It's lovely.
DH and I try to find a (long) good drama series or two and have 'date nights' in. Sunday roasts for sure!
Will also try and make Halloween and Bonfire Night a bit more fun this year.
For warmth and cosiness I got some electric blankets last year, and those battery church lights, no regrets. I've also treated myself to some new pyjamas and long sleeved nighties, heat tech base layer tops (uniqlo), cute cardi, warmer skirt and dress, thermal tights and a cheerful scarf. Last winter I lived in a horrible old fleece on top of a horrible old dress, in old broken slippers, and I think it sort of made me low level depressed.

I'm a runner and local to me is a charity event that involves running every day in November. I find the discipline of the challenge really positive as it gets me out in the dark which helps embed my winter running. I really don't like running in the dark but I dig in and embrace it!

@VanellopeVonSchweetz99 I think dressing in lovely cosy outfits but without looking like a crazy woman is the way forward for me to !!
I've been looking for lovely two pieces so that I am cosy and warm and a bit stylish but not managed to find anything yet xx
@Iamanunsafebuilding yes definitely exercising makes you feel better, making a challenge is a good idea, I need to definitely get better at getting some exercise done 👍

I feel exactly the same. Right now (3.45pm) I am considering going to bed to escape the gloom and just hibernate!

Fairy lights, red wine and candles 😀

Hygge . Read up on this Danish concept.