Top 10 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

By Editorial Staff

Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Info Guru

Winter is tolerable as long as it doesn’t go on and on which it seems to be doing this year. If you’re tired of digging out of the snow, de-icing cars and trying to make a path from your house to the street so you can get to work and exhausted from layering on clothing, you may find that you are falling victim to the winter doldrums.

It happens to a lot of us. We don’t get enough sunlight in the winter, which can cause Seasonable Affective Disorder (SAD) also known as depression.

Here are the top 10 ways to beat the winter blues:

10. Laugh

Try to laugh at least once a day. Really. Just do it. Laughing is a great antidote to depression. Try to see the absurdity in your situation. If you are snow-bound or stuck on the side of a road in a mound of snow, cold all the time and irritable as a result and tired of the inconvenience of snow and ice and sub zeros temperature turn it around in your head and laugh about it.

9. Eat healthy

Eat a healthy diet and keep hydrating. This does not mean that you should go on an eating binge, which you will regret and, which will make you even more depressed the next time that you get on the scales. Eat foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals and try to stay away from the junk foods, which might taste very good but don’t do a thing for your weight or your mental well-being. Self-medicating with booze and drugs is not the answer either. Watch your alcohol intake.

8. Spa day

Make a day of it at a spa. Save your pennies so you can afford to indulge yourself. Get a massage, sit in the sauna, get a facial, pedicure, manicure and have your hair done. Get a make-over at a local department store. This is always fun and entertaining as well as indulgent.

7. Read

Go to the library or bookstore or hit an online bookstore and buy some books. Reading is an excellent way to get through the winter. Hopefully, you will find a tome that is so riveting you can’t put down. It’s impossible to be depressed and sad when you are engrossed in a fabulous book.

6. Garden catalogs

Rifle through the garden catalogs you got in the mail. Plan your garden. What vegetables and flowers are you going to plant this year? Heirloom tomatoes or giant sunflowers. This is a great way of looking forward to a time of the year where you aren’t freezing and isolated but are outside and warmed by the sunshine. Planning ahead is a good way to trick your gloomy brain into remembering that there is life after winter.

5. Exercise

Exercise. Yep. Get out of bed or off the couch and go to the gym or conduct your own exercise session in the living room. Do it by yourself or invite a friend to join you. Exercise increases serotonin, which is the mood elevating chemical in our brains. Furthermore, exercising will help you get rid of the extra pounds that always find their way to your butt and belly during the winter months.

4. Party

Have a party. Yes. As down in the dump as you might be, force yourself to call up your family and friends and invite them over for a “We’re tired of winter party.” Decorate your house using fake tropical palm trees and paper Chinese lanterns. Serve tropical drinks and wear leis around your neck. Do anything you can think that will trick your mind and spirit into thinking it’s hot outside. Engaging with family and friends will lift your spirits. Misery loves company. You can listen to their winter war stories and commiserate.

3. Light therapy

Use light therapy which should elevate your mood. This is the standard treatment for SAD. Purchase special full spectrum light therapy bulbs and fixtures engineered to simulate natural light. These lights are very similar to sunlight. Sit in front of the lights first thing in the morning. This should help boost your mood.

2. Vacation

Get out of Dodge. Hop on a plane and head for some warm, sunny tropical site where you can laugh at your friends who are snowed in back home. Call them and give them a good ribbing while you are rubbing on the sunscreen and drinking margaritas seaside.

1. Move