How to Tackle the Winter Blues
It’s thought the winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), affects around 2 million people in the UK and more than 12 million people across northern Europe. It can affect people of any age, including children.
Key symptoms:
- depression
- sleep problems
- lethargy
- overeating
- irritability
- feeling down and unsociable
Here are some friendly tips on how to support your mental health:
1. Keep active
Research has shown that a daily one-hour walk in the middle of the day could be as helpful as light treatment for coping with the winter blues.
2. Get outside
Go outdoors in natural daylight as much as possible, especially at midday and on brighter days.
3. Keep warm
Being cold makes you more depressed. It’s also been shown that staying warm can reduce the winter blues by half.
Keep warm with hot drinks and hot food. Wear warm clothes and shoes, and aim to keep your home between 18C and 21C (or 64F and 70F degrees).
4. Eat healthily
A healthy diet will boost your mood, give you more energy and stop you putting on weight over winter.
5. Take up a new hobby
Keeping your mind active is good for the mind.It could be anything, such as playing bridge, singing, knitting, joining a gym, keeping a journal, or writing a blog. The important thing is that you have something to look forward to and concentrate on.
7. See your friends and family
It’s been shown that socialising is good for your mental health and helps ward off the winter blues. Make an effort to keep in touch with people you care about and accept any invitations you get to social events, even if you only go for a little while.
8. Join a support group
Think about joining a support group. Sharing your experience with others who know what it’s like to feel low during the winter is a very therapeutic method, and can make your symptoms more bearable.
9. Seek help
If your symptoms are so bad that you can’t live a normal life, see your GP for medical help.
Want more information?
Follow the link to NHS inform, click here.
