"How do I stop the winter blues from worsening my mood?"
"I hate the winter blues. What can I do about it this year?"
"I get so tired and depressed over the winter. Help!"
"I don't feel like getting out of bed until spring. I want to hibernate."
The winter blues can affect you a lot of different ways.
It can vary from a minor irritant, all the way up to severe depression (or seasonal affective disorder).
If you're concerned about feeling blue this winter, you can go into the season with a game plan to get through it with a great, big smile.
Follow the six tips below in order to beat the winter blues:
Engage in stimulating indoor activites.
If you're the type to go a little stir crazy after a while, maybe you should brainstorm some new and exciting ways to have a good time indoors. You can invite your friends over to play board games, watch movies, or just chat.
What are your best ideas?
Follow through on New Year's resolutions.
Engage your mind and body. Some people toss off New Year's resolutions as "not worth it" because the majority of people forget about them after January. However, you can be the exception to this rule with the proper enthusiasm. Make some specific, realistic goals for yourself, and as you achieve them, you'll likely beat the blues in the process.
What's your New Year's resolution?
Eat healthy.
It's easy to forego healthy habits during the craziness of the holiday season. Festive treats are thrown around and you may not have time to continue any exercise routines. Before you know it, spring's here and you feel frustrated that you let "winter win."
- If you've neglected your health during the holidays, then it's important to get yourself back into shape when they're over. When you're not treating yourself right, you won't feel right. This may be one of the reasons why you're having a challenge with the blues.
How will you prevent healthy habits from slipping away?
Think positive.
Negative thinking clouds your brain and brings more negative things into your life, so it's important to stop these thoughts in their tracks. You have the power to turn it all around. If the blues have gotten you down, chances are that there's a silver lining somewhere. You just have to do a little digging to find it. Be positive.
How will you stay positive? What affirmations will you say?
Spend quality, fun time with family.
After the holidays, it's important to continue other traditions of family togetherness. While you might not always have the ability to eat meals together, it's vital to schedule some special time for everyone to share together.
When will you pencil in family time? What will you do together?
Plan ahead.
It may help to plan your next summer vacation. You might even find some excellent deals by booking your vacation early. You can then escape the winter blues by visualizing yourself enjoying your summer vacation. An exciting activity to look forward to also reduces those winter doldrums.
What's your plan?
If the above suggestions don't bring you relief from the winter blues, remember that you can always talk with a counselor about your feelings.
The winter blues may affect you more severely than others, so, for your own sake, don't let it go untreated.
In most cases, if you follow the tips above and make a conscious effort to engage in exciting activities this winter, you can survive the winter blues and finally enjoy yourself.
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