5 Self Care Tips to Help You Beat The Winter Blues (SAD)

Briana Eva

February 18, 2023
Lifestyle | Wellness

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Seasonal depression, SAD & the winter blues

The January blues used to hit me like a ton of bricks

Spring arrives, we get so excited that we forget that winter even happened. Summer flies by faster than anyone is ever prepared for. Fall seems to drift by slowly at first, with Halloween and Thanksgiving keeping us eager and entertained while the cold creeps in. Then, it’s CHRISTMAS time! Everyone is frantic and jolly, rushing to buy gifts and make plans — so hectic, (in my house it is anyways). So hectic, that it’s easy to forget it’s winter already. After Christmas festivities, some of us have New Year plans, some of us don’t, but we all usually take time to recoup after the holidays, regardless. Now it’s mid January, and we’re all noticing that we don’t have much going on. We have nothing to look forward to, we might be strapped for cash because of the holidays, and not to mention it’s dark by early afternoon! Another week goes by and we find ourselves struggling to keep our eyes open, maybe we notice we gained some weight from the 5 pies Aunt Suzy bakes for every holiday meal, or that we just aren’t smiling or laughing as much as we normally do. That’s when we realize its hit us again — the winter blues. Some call it seasonal depression, and others refer to it by its medical term, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but I like to call it “the winter blues.”

Why do we get so blue?

Contrary to the belief that SAD is a disorder that people have and will always have, I have been told, and experienced that there are, in fact, many ways to avoid it, and ultimately, rid of it entirely. In order to do so, we have to take a look at the reasons causing our mood to be so low during the winter months, and alternatively find another way to replenish what we need to be happy and healthy during that time.

My winter blues

I’ve gotten the winter blues since I was in high school. Every winter, I would slowly feel myself drift away from reality, feel my body weaken, my eyes heavy and my ambition dwindle. When asked why I was acting different, or why I was hiding out, I would simple say “I have seasonal depression, I get it every year,” because that’s what I believed.

In 2015 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. In my journey of changing my routine, eating habits, and learning how to cope with my immune deficiency (as well as seeing numerous different doctors), I learned quite a few things about my health that I was never aware of. Things I was being told because of my autoimmune disease, but would have definitely benefited me even before I struggled with my disease. Things I wish I would have known for my 23 years before my diagnosis — things that can absolutely help you as well.

Below, I have listed 5 ways to help you not only say goodbye to the yearly winter blues, but also how to cope with the blues when you do get them.

1. Vitamin D

When sunlight hits our skin, we produce vitamin D. Vitamin D helps our body absorb calcium, an extremely important mineral needed to ensure that our bodies properly function. Calcium keeps our bones strong and our muscles moving. It helps keep our blood flowing, our hormones from going out of wack and also ensures that our nerves properly carry out messages to all parts of our body. Without a healthy amount of calcium, our immune system, nervous system, and muscle function would start to fail us.

In the winter, sunlight is scarce, and sometimes obsolete which can quickly cause a low amount of vitamin D and calcium in our bodies leading us to feel tired, weak, sore, dizzy and even depressed. Even if our bodies aren’t deficient in vitamin D, it might be a good idea to add some into your morning routine if you are feeling down or have the tendency to feel down.

My thoughts: While I am not a doctor, I will not recommend any specific dose or any promises, but I will tell you that every single one of my doctors recommend vitamin D in the winter, and the majority of them take it as well. I take 2,000 IU in the winter and 1,000 IU in the summer, and it seems to have helped with my year-round blues and brain fog. I recommend talking with your doctor to see what dose they recommend.

Note: I have noticed a large decrease in the amount of infections/viruses I get in the winter since taking Vitamin D, which is amazing!

My recommendation

2. Light Therapy

Sunlight isn’t just good for the absorption of vitamin D and calcium, it also helps reduce the levels of melatonin (a hormone that makes us tired) and increase the levels of serotonin (a hormone that affects our mood) in our brains.

Using a light therapy device, such as the one below, is known to be highly effective in the treatment of SAD, or, the winter blues. The light mimics natural outdoor light, which can help with symptoms of being depressed and overly tired. Doctors recommend that the light has at least 10,000 lux to be affective, as well as 0% UV light (or as little as possible, if necessary.)

My recommendation

How to use a Therapy light

Doctors recommend using a therapy light for at least 20 minutes a day within the first hour of waking up every morning. It’s recommended that the light sits about 16-24 inches from your face and that you keep your eyes open as they normally would be while using the light. I would follow the instructions given on the user manual guide from the manufacturer who makes your light.

If you have any eye problems, talk with your doctor before using a therapy light. If you do get a light with UV, it does have potential to cause damage to your eyes, so I recommend finding one with no UV light. (Most of them have none!)

My thoughts: I received a light from my mom for Christmas 4 years ago and I never used it (I thought it was just a gimmick). Then, last year I had a friend recommend it who said that she had seen great results, and another family friend who also uses one and “loves it.” So, I spoke with my doctors and the doctor I spoke with actually used one daily as well, he said that it definitely helps with his SAD. Since then, I’ve heard many great things about them, and after doing much research, I purchased another one (because we can’t find the one I got for Christmas,) and I just started using it. I really love it because you can use it while you do anything! I put mine on my desk while I blog and I don’t even know it’s there. You can use it while doing your hair, makeup, or just scrolling on your phone. It’s very convenient, and hey, if it helps, it’s worth it!

3. Exercise

Keeping active in the winter is a must. When I say exercise, I don’t mean hard core running or lifting weights, I just mean staying active. While we all may think we’re getting just as much movement during the winter as we do during other seasons, we probably aren’t. Think about how much time you spend outdoors in the spring, summer and fall. Even simple steps going from one store to another, walking to the campground, going to the park, barbecue, birthday party, beach or wherever it is you go when it’s nice out. All of those steps you are missing out on in the winter. Movement is crucial to the functioning of our systems and our minds, and when we decrease the level of movement in our bodies, we can get tired, foggy and even depressed.

My treadmill
& recommendation

It’s recommended that we get at least 10 straight minutes of walking a day to maintain a healthy physical activity level. Walking just 10 minutes a day has numerous health benefits, such as:

proper blood circulation
healthy sleep cycles
good energy levels
staying focused
it reduces risk of premature death
and increase life expectancy
helps you burn calories
maintains muscle mass
prevents many conditions such as: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes
relieves stress and anxiety
helps reduce symptoms of depression
and the list goes on and on…

My thoughts: This isn’t something I like to admit, but I have spent way too much time indoors, and specifically, in my bed. When things get rough with my illness, I hide out in my bed — sometimes for weeks straight. During the first year-and-a-half of Covid, I was given strict instructions to remain housebound due to my weakened immune system, medications I am on, and of course, my increased risk of complications. During that time, I gained 20 lbs, had high blood pressure and numerous episodes of being unable to breathe deeply. Doctors told me I gained the weight from my medications (which is possible), my blood pressure was from anxiety (not likely) and my breathing difficulty was from panic attacks (could be). After numerous visits to different doctors, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try different things. Low and behold, once I started walking for 20 minutes a day, the high blood pressure and fast pulse rate (120+) I had on a regular basis vanished and now, I only experience those things while flaring from my illness. I also realized that the breathing issue was due to severe acid reflux, which is a common secondary condition of Crohn’s and that my getting out of bed and maintaining a proper upright position, helped with the reduction of acid reflux symptoms. I also learned that walking helped maintain my weight and bloating, which ultimately helped reduce my acid reflux symptoms as well as the health of my digestive tract.

I absolutely 100% recommend walking everyday. I purchased the treadmill above and have been walking on it almost daily while blogging. I LOVE it. I feel better, think better and have more energy. Even if you don’t want to walk everyday, just get active!! I know it’s hard to want to get up and move in the cold winter, especially if we have chilly homes as well. But, the less active we are, the less energy and ambition we have.

4. Hydration

Another common misconception is that water intake is more important during the summer. In fact, hydration is just as important in the winter as it is in the summer! While many of us don’t realize we are even doing it, we tend to drink less water in the winter. Winter is cold, water is cold… no one wants to drink something cold when they are already cold! We aren’t carrying around water bottles as much as we are in the summer, and well, out of sight, out of mind! We also don’t realize we are dehydrated in the winter like we do in the summer. Because the lack of moisture in the cold dry air, we tend to sweat less while in colder climates. Sweating is a common sign that we need to drink water to hydrate, but because we aren’t sweating as much in the winter, we don’t realize that we are still losing just as much water, so we don’t hydrate like we would in the summer. Also, we’re cold in the winter, and we tend to relate heat, or being warm, to dehydration. Lastly, our mouths, lips and skin are already dry from the air, so we don’t generally look at that as a sign of dehydration, rather a sign of winter weather.

During the winter, our bodies work extra hard to keep our body temperatures regulated, using our bodily resources, like energy and water, to do so. The cold temperatures alone make our body and immune systems weaker, which is why we are so prone to infections during the winter. Staying hydrated is important to ensure we stay energized and clear minded while our systems are working hard and impacted by the cold and dry weather.

Among the cold and dry air itself, and our own bodies fighting against us, we can also get quickly dehydrated in the winter due to many other reasons, such as, infections or viruses, indoor heat and even our blankets. When we have an infection or virus, we tend to sweat more, move less, and maybe even go to the bathroom, or vomit, all of which causes dehydration fast. Indoor heat is a source of dry air, and dry air is dehydrating. Bundling up in the winter leads to sweating without us even realizing it, and because dry air eats up moisture quickly, sometimes we don’t even know we are sweating as much as we actually are.

My thoughts: I drink the same amount of water year-round — 120 fluid ounces. I carry around my 40 oz. Stanley and fill it up 3x a day. What I think is most important is electrolytes. We don’t realize how many electrolytes we are losing from sicknesses, dry cold air and many other things. I started filling up my Stanley with half water, and half sugar free Powerade every morning. This has really helped my energy, hydration and brain functioning levels. I mix the two because the dye in the Powerade is bad for our digestive tract and gut flora, and when mixed with water, it distributes it some so that it isn’t so harsh on the walls of our stomach. I also bought my husband a gallon jug for work, and since he has drank one of those a day, he feels much better! Staying hydrated is a key ingredient in a healthy mind, body and soul! Here are some electrolyte supplements I recommend:

Our recommendations

5. Keeping our soul & mind healthy

There is no shame in saying we get down sometimes, it’s human nature. We all get a little under the weather, and in return, we should all have some healthy ways to cope with the struggle. As I mentioned above, I thought I had SAD back in high school, and still thought I did until a few years ago actually. Until I realized something…

The cold hard truth behind SAD

I had always known the reasons why I had “SAD” but I hadn’t understood that people actually thought SAD was a real mood disorder in which they couldn’t avoid. That, in my case at least, is simply untrue. The truth is, I had SAD from high school until a few years ago, because I created SAD for myself. I know, I know, you probably think I’m some conspiracy theorist who thinks she can just cure herself of anything, but that’s not what’s going on here — just hear me out. The key to overcoming SAD, or, the winter blues, is the willingness to acknowledge, understand and cope with the underlying issues that are causing us to create these symptoms for ourselves. I know doctors tell us that light therapy will work, which, it will definitely help, or that another form of treatment is medication (a.k.a. antidepressants) which, don’t get me wrong, I am not against — I have been down that road myself. BUT, the cold hard truth is that the treatment we all actually need for the winter blues, is treatment of our mental health, and maybe a life coach. Both of which, in most cases, (if you are only dealing with seasonal depression or the occasional depressive bout), can be highly effective when dealing with them on our own.

My Winter Blues

I grew up in a household that was very active, not active in that we exercised, but we were active in the way we constantly had something going on. My family was always on the go. Almost every weekend we were camping, fishing, going to water parks, going to grandmas, going to the movies, going skating, etc. We lived a pretty entertaining life. While we didn’t have many luxuries growing up, my parents found other ways to keep us all actively entertained. We went so much so that as an adult, I don’t know what to do with myself if I have nothing to do. That’s just not an option for me. Which is exactly where my winter blues came to life, and where a lot of other peoples’ SAD comes into play as well.

As a young child, and in middle school, I didn’t care about the weather. I was going, going, going — I didn’t care about the cold, I was going to build that snowman or igloo even if it was freezing out! I just wanted to have fun and play, as we all do at that age. But, when I reached high school, the brisk air mixed with my chilling realization that I was too old for what once kept me occupied, seemed to hit a little different. I didn’t want to play in the snow, go sledding or even be in the cold air anymore… I wanted to be with my friends. Typically, in the wintertime, there isn’t a ton to do, so gatherings were rare, and activities infrequent.

Moving on to after high school, (which felt just the same). I went camping, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, shopping, flea marketing, etc, and had barbecues, gatherings, drinks on the patio at supper clubs, walked the strip to bar hop on weekends with friends, got ice cream from Culver’s every chance I got and even drove around just to cruise and listen to music. (Ooooh, I just had to take a brief pause from writing to go and reminisce over the good-old-days with my husband. All this fun young adult talk made me feel adventurous and wild again!) Anyway, all of those things I did, I did during the summer. When winter came, it was nothing but slush, cold, indoor game nights and darkness (the sky, I mean.) I mean, even going for a drive, or to get something to eat was an issue sometimes because of all the snow — that’s no fun! All of the summer excitement ending left me feeling very depressed and down.

This went on for years, the same thing every winter. Feeling down, depressed, tired, and fragile from January to May, hence my thinking I had SAD. I even started getting worse when I hit my early 20’s. January was terrible for me, because not only was I already sluggish and depressed, but now I had little to no money to spend, (because I spent it all on my extravagant Christmas gifts), and because of that, I was stressed and anxious as well.

I felt very ill for a while before my Crohn’s diagnoses, which caused me to lose friendships from not being able to do things as much, and also caused me to miss out on a lot of events. Eventually, a few years after my diagnoses, I was pretty used to not going anywhere, and I had very few friends as alcohol wasn’t good for my illness and that’s a majority of what goes on in Wisconsin, and I never knew when or where my illness would hit me, so I couldn’t make plans anymore. I just stuck to attending family events and hanging out with my hubby, (fiancé at the time). By this time, I had been taking vitamin D, electrolytes and upped my water intake for a couple years already. During one of those winters is when I first noticed that my SAD had lessened, by a ton, and that I hadn’t had the winter blues for a couple years.

Then, I opened a vintage/antique home decor shop on main street in my hometown. It was amazing, I absolutely loved traveling the states hunting for unique treasures. At the time, I felt as if it were something that had saved my sanity. That year, and the next two after that, my SAD hit me STRONG. This time, I didn’t lack energy or ambition, I was just very depressed. Which made sense, because there were no antique flea markets, junk events, or picking trips to go on during the winter. I couldn’t do what loved in the winter like I could in the spring, summer and fall. Not to mention, being open on weekends made me miss out on a lot of family events that happened on Saturdays, so I had that going on for me as well, AND my husband took a job that caused him to travel on the road for weeks at a time. So I got pretty lonely and depressed during those few winters.

It was then that I realized what my cold hard truth was

It was me, and had been me all along. Putting aside the fact that I didn’t have many friends, because well, that didn’t bother me much at the time, and putting aside my illness, I was the cause of my sadness — of my winter blues. I realized that I wasn’t focusing on what I should have been focusing on, and because of that, I was neglecting my mind, body and soul, leading me to feel depressed, weak and emotional during the winter. I was focusing too much on what I didn’t have during that time, rather than what I could explore, or what I could do to help myself feel better during that time — the alternative things I could enjoy and benefit from in my life.

I researched for days, as I always do, and finally, after being certain of what I wanted, I ordered a few self-help books, (including one amazing book that had helped me in the past, which I highly recommend — I will review them below). I also downloaded a meditation app, yoga app, and ordered some canvas and paints.

Over the course of the next year I changed my life, or more so, my outlook on life, which changed my life. During that time, there was struggle, there was pain, there were hard truths that I had to overcome, and there was a lot of selfish behavior that I had to let go of to be able to live to my fullest potential, but in doing so, and experiencing all of that, I have completely rid of my seasonal depression. I had to be able to see the cold hard truth to be able to move forward, and so I did.

My cold hard truth

My truth was that I had gotten used to living a life that entertained me contanstly. I got used to doing something at all times. The things I was used to doing weren’t possible during the winter, and because of that, I got very depressed and down. My truth was that I didn’t know how to handle being cooped up in a house anymore, and I didn’t know how to handle being patient and alone anymore. I got so accustomed to living in an exciting environment that made me happy all the time, that when winter came, and it was taken from me, I didn’t handle it well, which caused me to stress, flare, have anxiety, depression and to be extremely emotional. I needed to learn how to entertain myself again, without being entertained by the things I had normalized my life to be focused around. I had to learn to breathe and let go of what I could not control, and to live in the moments that I could. I needed to learn how to control what I could around me and within me to be able to be happy, mind, body and soul again.

After my truth hit me like a ton of bricks, I felt selfish, and cold. Although I wasn’t doing anything terrible, and I was generally only hurting my self by neglecting the truth, I still felt somewhat fooled by my own mind for making me believe that this unhappiness, this neglect of myself, was truly something I could just live through and brush off as “another year of the winter blues.” Not to mention my poor husband, who got the brunt end of my emotions and defensiveness.

Since then, which has been three years now, I haven’t had one winter of the blues. Some days, I must admit, embarrassingly at that, that if I didn’t know what month it was, I wouldn’t even know it’s winter! Although, I do have the luxury of working from home now, and not having to go outside much — I still do have to run errands. I finished three self-help books the first year, learned how to meditate, breathe accurately, learned CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), closed down my store because it wasn’t making me happy anymore, and most benefitting of all, I learned how to be patient. In doing so, I gained new and exciting ways to keep myself happy through winter, happy like I am in the summer. I bought a treadmill and started walking daily, I focused on self-care, and on planning my wedding. I started making floral arrangements, trying different self-care routines, started spending more time with my nephew, picked up photography, decorated a few homes, as well as my entire new home after moving, and I focused on my husband and I’s relationship — which has done us wonders. I started planning my year during the winter months to pass the time, I started hosting Christmas to keep myself busy and excited, I started writing again, I even started writing my first book, and I learned to be happy without the constant need for excitement and adventure.

Not only did I change the way I thought, my routine and my habits, but I also focused on healthier living and being in a healthier environment. I bought a humidifier, dehumidifier, air purifier and infuser to separately put in our bedroom specifically during different times of the year. I gave up candles because of the effects the toxins have on my system and I even tried CBD for a while to calm my nerves. (All of which I recommend if you need to address one of those problems. Each and every thing I did helped with something. I chose to stop using CBD because I gained more control over my illness and symptoms, which lessoned my anxiety. I also chose to stop with the infuser because I didn’t feel it was necessary anymore. I do still use the humidifier, dehumidifier, and air purifier. They have all helped me immensely in feeling better overall.)

Ultimately, I learned to be okay with not getting what I want for a while, and to alter my thinking and my behavior so that I enjoy doing things that aren’t necessarily the most amazing and exciting things I could be doing. I found happiness within myself in the ordinary things in life. I also turned my passion into a blog, which has kept me fulfilled and happy. I started my blog in December of this year, and I have not once even thought about my SAD. I replaced my sadness, depression, stress, anxiety, and my feeling lonely with embracing something that I loved, and always wanted to do, but never took the time to do before. What better time than to create something for yourself than the time you spend sad about what you can’t do, right?

Your cold hard truth

My thoughts: What I’m getting at in all of this, the moral to my looong story, is that you have much much more control over your SAD than you might think. You can absolutely alter your habits, thinking, and lifestyle to make yourself happy and energized, not only in the winter, but all year-round. It might take a little work, but, that work is worth it, and if you replace the time you spend sleeping, tired, or depressed about the winter, with focusing on how to change what isn’t making you happy and healthy, then you can do it fairly quickly. All it takes is to sit down and do what a lot of people have a hard time doing. If you can and are willing to do it, I highly recommend you do. Get yourself hydrated, check your vitamin levels, add some exercise or daily movement to your routine, add a therapy light if you think you want it, and then get to work on yourself. The sooner you figure out your cold hard truth, the sooner you can tell yourself you are going to overcome it, and then actually do it. Start there, and then explore what you’re missing in life, or what you need to do to overcome your cold hard truth, and the rest will come naturally, and it will feel wonderful.

My recommendations

5 Self Care Tips to Help you beat the winter blues
(SAD)

Briana Eva

February 18, 2023
Lifestyle | Wellness

Seasonal depression, SAD & the winter blues

The January blues used to hit me like a ton of bricks

Why do we get so blue?

My winter blues

Below, I have listed 5 ways to help you not only say goodbye to the yearly winter blues, but also how to cope with the blues when you do get them.

1. Vitamin D

My recommendation

Note: I have noticed a large decrease in the amount of infections/viruses I get in the winter since taking Vitamin D, which is amazing!

2. Light Therapy

Using a light therapy device, such as the one on the right, is known to be highly effective in the treatment of SAD, or, the winter blues. The light mimics natural outdoor light, which can help with symptoms of being depressed and overly tired. Doctors recommend that the light has at least 10,000 lux to be affective, as well as 0% UV light (or as little as possible, if necessary.)

My recommendation

How to use a Therapy light

3. Exercise

My treadmill
& recommendation

It’s recommended that we get at least 10 straight minutes of walking a day to maintain a healthy physical activity level. Walking just 10 minutes a day has numerous health benefits, such as:

proper blood circulation
healthy sleep cycles
good energy levels
staying focused
it reduces risk of premature death
and increase life expectancy
helps you burn calories
maintains muscle mass
prevents many conditions such as: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes
relieves stress and anxiety
helps reduce symptoms of depression
and the list goes on and on…

4. Hydration

Our recommendations

5. Keeping our soul & mind healthy

The cold hard truth behind SAD

My Winter Blues

It was then that I realized what my cold hard truth was

My cold hard truth

Your cold hard truth

My recommendations

I absolutely love this journal. I have purchased two and both times they helped me through what I was going through. It may not be for you, but give it a try!

Great Book. An absolute must read if you want to change your habits and way of thinking.
(Especially if you want to address your anxiety)

I don’t have any experience with this workbook, but I’ve heard good things!

This journal is fun and straight to the point! It’s very blunt and almost vulgar at times, so I don’t recommend it for everyone, but if you can get past that, it will help!

I didn’t know this existed until today actually, and the reviews look great!

I absolutely love this journal. I have purchased two and both times they helped me through what I was going through. It may not be for you, but give it a try!

Great Book. An absolute must read if you want to change your habits and way of thinking.
(Especially if you want to address your anxiety)

This journal is fun and straight to the point! It’s very blunt and almost vulgar at times, so I don’t recommend it for everyone, but if you can get past that, it will help!