I woke up this morning to the best winter surprise.

A fresh layer of white powder that covered the ground, trees, and everything in sight.

Living in southern Ohio, we generally don’t get a lot of snow.

It’s usually a mix of warmer, rainy days with frigid sunny days. It’s always cold when it’s sunny and warmer when it precipitates.

So when it does actually snow, it’s a DELIGHT and I LOVE it.

But, I haven’t always seen snow and winter this way.

For most of my adulthood, winter has only brought despair. Even when it snowed.

From the onset of fall weather until the first signs of spring, my mind would fall into a deep sadness that I couldn’t ever explain in words.

The cooler temps. 

The longer days. 

The relentless illnesses.

All these things made my heart feel heavy.

It wasn’t until many years later that I learned that SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is very common.

“Seasonal affective disorder, though, is different. It’s a well-defined clinical diagnosis that’s related to the shortening of daylight hours,” says Dr. Matthew Rudorfer. “It interferes with daily functioning over a significant period of time.”

I also learned that SAD is more common in northern parts of the United States than the Southern parts.

And what I found made to start to question everything – because common doesn’t always equate normal.

So I set out to find the “cure” for SAD.

Winter is a season for rest, turning inward, and calming our bodies from the busyness of the year.

Although we cannot fully hibernate as human beings, the idea of scaling back in our daily demands during the winter is ideal for overall mental wellness.

However, modern culture resists this notion by keeping busy during the winter.

The hustle of the holiday season mixed with the every day life activities doesn’t allow us to fully embrace the slowness of the season.

As a modern society, winter is just another season. Just another few months out of the year. Just another day to make another dollar.

Could this be why SAD is so common?

Are we going against our human nature to slow down so much that it has a choke hold on overall health & mental wellness?

Have we lost touch of our deep human need for rest?

Are we simply doing too much?

While digging to find a “cure”, of course I came across all of the conventional methods like therapy, medication, and lifestyle tips to cope.

But I didn’t want a band-aid solution, and I didn’t want to just cope. I wanted to be rid of it.

And after a few years of deep, transitional lifestyle & mental changes, I have come to say that I have learned to embrace and truly love ALL of the seasons. Even gloomy ol’ winter.

Here’s how I cured my SAD & the winter blues

Of course, this is just my personal experience. After living this way for many years (ahem, decades), I found that SAD wasn’t a life sentence.

I didn’t need to wallow in despair when the last leaf of the season fell to the ground.

I am now in a place where I truly look forward to all of the seasons and have learned how to love & embrace them, instead of resisting them.

I started to embrace the cold

I started to find beauty in the crisp air and allowed myself to feel the coldness around me. Instead of fighting with the changing temps, I flowed with them by dressing for the seasons and getting outside as much as possible.

Over time, I started to feel joy with the cold. It’s amazing what happens when you stop resisting and start embracing instead.

I slowed down. A LOT.

Winter should be a time for rest and before now, I never truly embraced that. I’d always be planning the next thing. Setting lavish goals. Always pounding the pavement.

But once I started to just slow down and take it all in, I saw a noticeable shift in my attitude towards the colder months.

I started to practice gratitude daily

It’s something that not only helps with SAD, but overall mental wellness, and it’s such a simple thing to do. Everyone can benefit from practicing daily gratitude!

Setting out affirmations and always having those on hand are also great reminders.

It’s hard to be depressed and anxious when you focus on the good, wholesome things in your life.

I took care of myself

I started to lift weights & eat cleaner. I became more adventurous in the kitchen.

I started taking time for ME so that my mind wouldn’t go into those dark places. It’s amazing how simple diet and lifestyle can affect your mood – and it’s such an easy fix.

I added mood-boosting supplements to my daily routine

The icing on the cake was when I started taking mood-boosting supplements.

I am an active believer in taking the natural route when it comes to health, so I was never interested in medication to help. But natural supplements? Sure, I’ll take a look.

I really am minimal when it comes to supplementing and I didn’t want to take something cheap that didn’t give me the results that I was after.

I wanted to INVEST in my mental wellness and choose something that would work. And if not, I wanted my money back.

That’s why I tried out Happy Juice.

It’s a combination of nootropics & probiotics that are clinically proven to help alleviate anxious feelings and depressed thoughts.

I couldn’t believe it, but within the first week of trying happy juice, my obsessive thoughts were GONE!

My postpartum depression that I was too afraid to admit that I had? GONE.

My daily morning anxiety? GONE.

My lifelong phobia? GONE.  (you can read that whole story here if you’d like)

It’s not my goal to make this into a Happy Juice promotional, so you can read more about my happy Juice story here.

Even months after starting happy juice and taking it less than I was, I am still feeling the amazing effects of it! In fact, this is my first winter completely SAD-FREE!

Other natural ways to help with the Winter Blues

Although I haven’t been as consistent with these methods, they do help with SAD, winter blues, and every day anxiety.

Light Therapy

Light therapy is a very common & effective treatment to use for SAD.

Basically, it involves spending some time every day in front of a light therapy lamp (preferably in the morning) to elevate your mood.

You can do this while sitting at your desk to work, while eating breakfast, or even when you’re getting yourself ready for the day!

The light emitted from the lamp can (and has been proven) to help reduce your winter blues.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapty with essential oils can also be used to help lift your mood, and not just during the winter!

Your sense of smell is extremely powerful & can have a HUGE affect on your brain and the way that you think and feel.

There are so many types of essential oil blends to try, but my personal favorites are cheer up buttercup, smiles for miles, & good morning sunshine.

Diffusing oils is such a simple and enjoyable way to help alleviate a sad mood.

Make it extra & diffuse your oils in a cute diffuser like this one. How could you possibly be sad all day when you have something like this emitting the most pleasant smells!?

Affirmations

The brain is a powerful one and will start to believe anything that you tell it to.

When you experience something in a negative way more than once, your brain will start to form a pattern. Once that pattern has been established, it becomes a part of your brain’s program.

This concept is called neuroplasticity. This is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned.

Examples of situations where your brain demonstrates neuroplasticity include learning a new language, practicing music, or memorizing how to navigate around your city. It can also occur if you lose a sense, such as hearing or sight.

This is why affirmations can be so powerful.

You tell (and show) your brain how you are feeling and it can start to form new pathways that can give you the desired outcome that you’re looking for.

The brain is both complex and simple. If you want to change the way that you feel, then all you need to do is show the brain that this new feeling is safe.

You can easily do this by affirming that it is.

Using affirmations can greatly help re-program your brain so that you can start feeling happier thoughts. It’s a cheap & easy tool to use and it can also go hand-in-hand with gratitude.

I made these printable affirmation cards that you can use to help you beat the winter blues, anxiety, and everything in between.

 

Over time, all of these changes collectively changed my perspective about winter.

When summer started to fade and the fall began to take color, I stopped feeling the dread. Instead, I felt the excitement of change.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever learn to love winter, but here I am. Looking out the window & watching the snow fall with a giddiness inside of my heart that feels like it could explode.

If you’re in that dark place right now, I want you to know that there is hope & healing.

This is your reminder that you don’t need expensive medications & therapy to cure your winter blues.

You just need to allow yourself to feel your feelings and start making the changes needed in order to flip your perspective.

That’s it. You can totally do this!

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