Maintaining good mental health over the winter months

[EssCee]

12 months ago, I started on Sertraline and had been feeling SO much better, after an especially rough patch with anxiety/insomnia.

Recently though, I've been feeling slightly worse again, maybe caused by being overwhelmed and stressed with work. Every single night, I'm having dreams about lots of minor things going wrong (feels like a stream of these dreams every night) and my mood has been noticeably lower.

My mood is usually affected in the winter months anyway, so I really want to safeguard things now to maintain good mental health over the next few months.

I've decided to cut down on alcohol and caffeine for the next couple of weeks. I go to the gym already, so I'll maintain that.

Anyone have any further tips? I'm scared of things unravelling, as it did last year.

Not sure, I am feeling the same struggles with the winter months coming. I notice a difference right away with my moods once the days get darker and darker. Why does it feel like this happens so fast and then lasts so long, but the summer light goes by way too fast.

I find myself getting down about things more often and more easily. It sucks. I am going to the gym almost daily, getting outside and keep busy w 3 kids and a dog...but I can feel myself with a low mood. I know its this stupid SAD......so friggin annoying.

Wish I had some good advice....other then keep up with the gym, meet up w friends....not sure what else to suggest. I am also trying to cut back on drinking and coffee (have one cup of coffee a day and drink a few nights a week).

Getting outside during daylight every single day helped me a bit last winter. Normally first thing, as it's too easy to postpone otherwise.

Sunrise alarm clock and SAD lamp help me a bit but getting outdoors, the earlier in the day the better, helps the most.

Would second the sunrise alarm clock. A relatively small amount of expense for an immediate and palpable difference to my well-being

This may seem batshit to you but I’ve got into cold water swimming this year and it is making a great difference. I’m on sertraline long term and know I have to fight the urge to seek temporary relief with wine (helps me sleep but increases anxiety when I wake up).
The cold water gives me the best sleep and makes me feel so much sharper mentally. There’s a lot of evidence to support it.

I agree, getting outside, especially in a park or a garden will do two things, firstly the fresh air really will do you good, breathe deeply and fill up your lungs especially if you are lucky enough to live near the sea or woodland. Secondly the sunlight, what there is of it, will have a effect on not only your mental health ,but also your physical health. There is also some evidence that setting our body clocks to good sleep patterns needs the stimulus of light as well as darkness so it may help you to sleep better.

Thanks so much for replying... and sorry to hear others are worried about this too.

I go outside daily already as walk dog to school, and then another walk when I collect later. And I haven’t needed an alarm clock for many years tbh, as I have more of a problem with staying asleep.

@Bettybantz Did you ask the GP to keep you on Sertraline long term? Or, is was it their suggestion? As it stands, I can't imagine coming off it at all (and I wonder if I have been low on serotonin all my life without realising!).

Read up all you can on anxiety and depression, once you understand it better, it loses its grip. You will become more aware of what triggers it.
l am interested in how we are able to manage our minds, l read something once about "the battlefield is never anything to do with whats happening outside of us, the battlefield is always in our minds.". Its how we perceive and respond to situations.
In the winter months l learn as much as l can about all kinds of things, l look forward to it, l see it as a special time, a time also for slowing down, not a time to be dreaded, and l agree, fresh air and exercise, to be outdoors in nature is better than medicine. A friend of mine journals and takes a photograph every single day of the year, something that catches her eye, something to remind her that every single day can be a good day, or have something good in it.

@Moonface123 Yes, I agree about perception. I read a great book last year called The Untethered Soul, which was really helpful for me at that time which was along the lines of 'you are not your thoughts'. I sometimes meditate, but to be honest, my days are so full, it's the first thing to be dropped when my calendar is full on. Sometimes I think the sertraline has supported me with coping with much more, but there can be such a thing as doing too much - which is not good for you!

I've been looking at sunrise alarm clocks for a while now - the lumie ones - I meant to get one last year but I struggled to chose one. Can someone recommend theirs please? Thank you.

No, I just kept getting repeat prescriptions then next thing I knew nine years had passed. I did try and come off them over summer when I was doing three or four swims a week and feeling amazing but the shit rapidly hit the fan and I’m back on them again. I just think I have low seratonin and need a boost to balance it.

I also feel way better when I take a decent multivitamin every day and get enough sleep