When the Days Get Shorter: 7 Strategies to Support Mental Health in the Winter
As winter approaches, we always realize a more dramatic variation of the weather, but more importantly, we see significant mood swings and declined mental well-being.
Commonly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, this phenomenon exhibits almost the same symptoms that appear to be depression for those darker, colder months of the year.
If you're feeling more withdrawn than usual during the darker months and find it harder to engage in activities you once enjoyed, it might be a good time to consider KMA therapy to help you navigate these feelings and regain a sense of balance.
In this blog, we will discuss the reasons for poor mental health during winter and seven effective strategies to manage it.
Causes of Declined Mental Health in Winter
The first and foremost question is, "What causes a decline in mental health during winter?" Well, there could be multiple reasons for that:
Reduced Sunlight
One of the reasons for poor winter mental health is the much lower level of sunlight during the winter months.
Sunlight plays an important role in regulating our internal biological clocks, or circadian rhythms, determining when we feel awake and sleepy.
With reduced natural sunlight, the brain's rhythm will be disrupted, as will lower levels of the serotonin rhythm, which regulates mood, sleep, and appetite.
People with less serotonin in their brains tend to get depressed. Serotonin is the most significant cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.
Cold Weather
Another substantial mental health barrier during winter could be the cold weather itself. Extreme weather with extremely cold temperatures prevents many people from going outdoors and engaging in outdoor activities.
These are essential stimuli of endorphins that will maintain emotions and mental well-being. Moreover, the irritation of putting on warm clothes and battling with the cold often becomes unbearable, making people even more isolated and leading to depression.
Psychological Impact of the Season
Winters can be a contributing cause for people to feel lonely and anxious, where the holidays are celebrated with joy, and the expectations can grow and become overwhelming, becoming a cause of depression.
The shorter days make one feel that time is slipping by and life is going away, creating a sense of nostalgia for older times and a fear of the days to come.
Why Winter Affects Mental Health?
Understanding the Impact of Winter on Mental Health
As winter looms ahead with shorter days and lower temperatures, a natural transformation often occurs physically, but changes in emotion mirror this equally.
The influence of winter on mental health is multilateral, meaning that it impacts not only the mood but also the energy level and general state of being. This time brings for everybody what is referred to as the "winter blues." It influences the nature of our activities for a considerable number of people.
For others, though, this is just a starting point of SAD - which can be more clinically stated as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Common Mental Health Challenges in the Winter
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
You just get down in winter, and there's a reason why. This is Seasonal Affective Disorder, an instance of depression that often hits the mind during seasons.
Moreover, you feel gloomy because it is cold and gray, which can indeed make people quite lethargic, increase someone's appetite for carbs, and withdraw them socially.
This can be a behavioural response of your body to sunlight deprivation, which definitely triggers really serious distortions within your internal clock and mood-regulating hormones.
Regular Depression
Whereas SAD is strictly seasonal, regular depression may flare or first occur during the winter. There are fewer sunny days and social activities, which may aggravate the feeling of sadness and hollowness.
If you are depressed anyway, winter will feel heavier. The winter season is certainly not made for everyone. For many, it is a season that can strain mental endurance more than any other.
Anxiety
It's also the peak of winter, with holidays looming over you and the pressure surrounding them: finances, getting back to family reunions, and deadlines that seem to be met before the turn of the year.
You may feel you are indeed in a pressure cooker when something has to let loose steam. Pressure needs identification so that it does not go out of control.
Increased Isolation and Loneliness
After all, many will hibernate into winter and stay indoors because of it; this would exacerbate the loneliness of elderly people and many others who remain behind, and that is a bad situation for your mentality.
Then, being connected by telephone or video would help make it better.
Stress
Let's remember that winter blues are stress factors! From getting ready for holidays to all those familial dynamics, so much happens that adds to what is considered "winter blues."
Proper management of stress is imperative for retaining one's sanity during these months.
Be it meditation, daily exercises, or just plain learning the art of saying no before things get to you so as not to be unmanageable, managing your stress is a necessary evil, and one needs to discover one's proper method of doing so.
7 Strategies To Support Mental Health in the Winter
Here’s how you can manage your mental health so it is easier to get through the winter season:
Maximize Exposure to Natural Light☀️
During the darker months, proper optimization of natural lighting is of the utmost importance in fighting Seasonal Affective Disorder and keeping mental outlooks bright.
Open blinds or move furniture to sit close to windows to create a more colourful room. In the morning, you must also use a light therapy lamp.
They mimic natural sunshine and could help increase levels of the key to mood and energy enhancements. Such preventive measures are justified only for severely affected winter daylight short days.
Stay Physically Active💪
This makes the exercise an antidote against the winter blues and enhances physical and mental health. These exercises improve one's brain levels concerning endorphins, the natural chemicals used in lifting mood.
Indoor exercises, especially yoga and pilates, prove very useful; when the weather allows, one can enjoy a brisk walk outdoors and feel that nothing might hurt.
This counteracts the effects of SAD, and one will be energized throughout the colder period.
Nurture Social Connections🤝
As Aristotle says, "Man is a social animal." Social bonds are essential to emotional well-being throughout the winter.
Even friendships and family relationships, kept up with digital means or even safer in-person gatherings, may cut the feeling of isolation and loneliness that would otherwise build up.
Virtual community events or volunteering for social causes may help find meaning and purpose in the present.
It's social engagement that is too precious to people interested in supporting their mental health while looking to banish winter blues more effectively.
Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation🧘♂️
Mindfulness and relaxation practices, such as meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation, can help reduce stress and anxiety, common during winter.
These practices help center the mind, bringing about peace and reducing the overwhelming feelings often accompanying the colder, darker months.
Incorporating these techniques into daily routines may help maintain a calm and focused mindset, which can be essential for navigating the challenges of winter.
Maintain a Healthy Diet🥗
Diets also affect mental health in winter; people tend to consume fewer fresh consumables and more comfort food, which can reduce the required nutrients.
A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals boosts brain health and improves moods. When nutrients like fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and leafy greens are taken appropriately and balanced, they will fight the physiological and psychological effects of winter.
Develop a Regular Sleep Schedule💤
Proper quality sleep is necessary to maintain winter mental health. Winter can disturb your internal body clock, affecting your sleeping pattern. This can trigger mood swings and irritation.
A regular sleep pattern is crucial for maintaining circadian rhythm and ensuring proper quality sleep with an improvement in mood.
Making your sleep place rest-friendly may also improve the quality of sleep. Improved light regulation, avoiding or reducing noise levels, and maintaining comfortable temperature levels are contributing factors.
Seek Professional Help if Needed🩺
There is a point when you realize the winter blues are not just something one gets occasionally due to seasons. But if symptoms don't heal and cause a marked impact on your performance, it is time to seek professional help.
The approach to the treatment of SAD, as well as any case of depression, goes about how it uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and sometimes it requires some medications to be in the picture, too.
A good mental health expert will offer the correct strategies and help ensure you receive proper care to match your signs.
Conclusion
Managing mental health during winter can become a challenge. You might have to spend some sleepless nights covered by thought, but here's the solution for your winter blues. If you’re ready to take the next step, book a Free 15 minute discovery call with one of our registered psychotherapists. If you aren't ready for that just yet, our Therapy 101 Quiz is a great place to start. It’s designed to help you explore how therapy might support both your personal and professional growth. Find strength in support, and see how therapy can make a lasting impact.
