Winter Depression---Practical Tips From A Sufferer
Without Prejudice
I have been a sufferer of S.A.D. For more than two years and am not an expert but a fellow sufferer and offer some practical tips to get by in the cold winters where the lack of light affects your mind and body.
Firstly see a doctor as S.A.D. Is now regarded as an illness, and that statement comes from the show The Doctors. And like any illness needs to be treated. Anti depressants help some, light therapy help some and I find these practical tips work for me. And might just work for you, too.
Stick to a routine, for me winter Depression starts in late April and ends mid August. So for that three months I stick religiously to a routine.
I always get up ridiculously early, anyway, so I begin work, writing and stick at it until I feel done. I always turn on all the lights, until the sun comes up and then open all the blinds to soak up all the light I can.
Try and get outside if the weather is good as half an hour in sunlight is worth eight hours of artificial light.
I play with the dogs, examine the garden, pull out weeds, spray them, feed plants, fill up the dogs water, throw sticks, throw balls and generally tidy up any detritus from the previous day.
Break up all jobs into small ones, as your energy is limited and there are days you feel that it's all too overwhelming, and if you have done all the small tasks there is not one big mess to try and get your head around.
Realise that Winter Depression is not forever. It's three months. And to be reasonable some people like the gloom. I know that Iris Murdoch, the writer did.
Here is an excerpt from Martin Amis on Iris Murdoch and hubby John Bayley.
I have been a sufferer of S.A.D. For more than two years and am not an expert but a fellow sufferer and offer some practical tips to get by in the cold winters where the lack of light affects your mind and body.
Firstly see a doctor as S.A.D. Is now regarded as an illness, and that statement comes from the show The Doctors. And like any illness needs to be treated. Anti depressants help some, light therapy help some and I find these practical tips work for me. And might just work for you, too.
Stick to a routine, for me winter Depression starts in late April and ends mid August. So for that three months I stick religiously to a routine.
I always get up ridiculously early, anyway, so I begin work, writing and stick at it until I feel done. I always turn on all the lights, until the sun comes up and then open all the blinds to soak up all the light I can.
Try and get outside if the weather is good as half an hour in sunlight is worth eight hours of artificial light.
I play with the dogs, examine the garden, pull out weeds, spray them, feed plants, fill up the dogs water, throw sticks, throw balls and generally tidy up any detritus from the previous day.
Break up all jobs into small ones, as your energy is limited and there are days you feel that it's all too overwhelming, and if you have done all the small tasks there is not one big mess to try and get your head around.
Realise that Winter Depression is not forever. It's three months. And to be reasonable some people like the gloom. I know that Iris Murdoch, the writer did.
Here is an excerpt from Martin Amis on Iris Murdoch and hubby John Bayley.
The Bayleys were eccentric - "out of centre" - in their complementary brilliance (he is a novelist, a quondam poet, a literary critic of effortless fluidity). But they were also famously eccentric in their temperament and habits; and if you're an American, you don't know the type. They're the kind of people who like being ill and like getting old, who prefer winter to summer and autumn to spring (yearning for "grey days without sun"). They want rain, gloom, isolation, silence. "We had no TV of course," writes Bayley, commalessly; and the reluctant acquisition of a radio feels like a surrender to the brashest promiscuity. The Bayleys were further cocooned and united, it has to be said, by their commitment to extreme squalor.
At their place, even the soap is filthy. "Single shoes [and single socks] lie about the house as if deposited by a flash flood...Dried-out capless plastic pens crunch underfoot." An infestation of rats is found to be "congenial, even stimulating". Every where they go, they have to hurdle great heaps of books, unwashed clothes, old newspapers, dusty wine bottles. The plates are stained, the glasses "smeary". The bath, so seldom used, is now unusable; the mattress is "soggy"; the sheets are never changed. And we shall draw a veil over their underwear. On one occasion a large, recently purchased meat pie "disappeared" in their kitchen. It was never found. The kitchen ate it.
That's how bad depression can get. And yet, Iris was a talented, beautiful writer, one of the best writers of all time.
So be obsessed about having great clean, nice smelling, surroundings. Strive to shower, dress yourself every day, even when you don't feel like it. Make your bed, everyday, do your dishes every day. The first thing to go in Depression is the ability to take care of yourself. Routine becomes habit so stick to your routine and it will be an unconscious habit which will become your level playing field. Forcing yourself to do things when you don't feel like it, no matter how small, will give you an incentive to keep going.
Keep a gratitude journal and once very day write three things in your journal. No matter what, just remember to be grateful for what you have.
It might be the fresh air outside or that the postie came early, but just write. There is a correlation from the handwriting to the brain and it works, trust me.
Prepare beforehand for Winter depression. Think of the good things about winter. Prepare for rainy cold days by having projects to do, books to read, crafts you like. I prepared for months before hand this year. Put projects aside for the winter and imagined how happy I would feel when they were done. Thought of the pleasure of painting something, the repair of something, making something beautiful out of something old or broken.
If you keep your bedroom a beautiful haven you will feel good every time you go in there. And read or sleep but keep it fresh and sweet smelling. You sleep better on clean sheets. Change to flannelette if you feel the cold. Make that day a definite statement, today I changed the sheets to winter ones, so that you can recognise when you change back to cotton sheets. Yahoo, the spring is here !
Be warm, not just the artificial kind, but warm in yourself, surround yourself with colour, music, soothing, candles, light them. Dusk does some of the best and it's good to indulge yourself when you are not feeling quite on par. Dusks vanilla and strawberry candles are to die for and although not cheap are worth every cent.
Not to sound too hippy, make a dream board, cover it in pictures of Summer things, boating, swimming, sea, bikinis, affirmations, things you want.
Make stress easier by paying your bills, saving money, consume less, find free things, most of the world is going the same way, want less, love what you have more. The simple things in life are often the best. The love and support of family and friends, the laughter in situations, a good belly laugh can be a natural antidote to stress. Laugh at yourself, don't take yourself too seriously. Life us still a beautiful thing, even when you feel down.
Be interested in others lives. Ask about them, how they are and genuinely listen. But above all else take care of you. Get good sleep even if at times you feel like you are only resting your body. Play mind games, crosswords, sudoku, candy crush, chess, do them when you need to relax your mind. Thy help to ward off senility so enjoy them.
Night Nette xoxo
Be warm, not just the artificial kind, but warm in yourself, surround yourself with colour, music, soothing, candles, light them. Dusk does some of the best and it's good to indulge yourself when you are not feeling quite on par. Dusks vanilla and strawberry candles are to die for and although not cheap are worth every cent.
Not to sound too hippy, make a dream board, cover it in pictures of Summer things, boating, swimming, sea, bikinis, affirmations, things you want.
Make stress easier by paying your bills, saving money, consume less, find free things, most of the world is going the same way, want less, love what you have more. The simple things in life are often the best. The love and support of family and friends, the laughter in situations, a good belly laugh can be a natural antidote to stress. Laugh at yourself, don't take yourself too seriously. Life us still a beautiful thing, even when you feel down.
Be interested in others lives. Ask about them, how they are and genuinely listen. But above all else take care of you. Get good sleep even if at times you feel like you are only resting your body. Play mind games, crosswords, sudoku, candy crush, chess, do them when you need to relax your mind. Thy help to ward off senility so enjoy them.
Night Nette xoxo
