Tis the season to be jolly…

So it’s that time of year again, the nights are drawing in fast towards the shortest day when it would appear the sun struggles to show itself. As the song goes, ‘Tis the season to be jolly’ but for many people this time of year is anything but jolly as they experience a mood change known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is also known as winter depression. The change of season can have an impact on our body and mind and therefore our mood and for some this can be considerable including extreme feelings of lethargy, fatigue and depression.

If you have experienced or are experiencing the symptoms of SAD then it is possible that the change in season creates a tipping point for you. The good news is that due to the way the mind and body interact there a number of things that you can do to re-address this balance reducing and alleviating these symptoms.

Spend time outdoors near nature, go for a walk and increase your exercise when it’s light and maximise the amount of full spectrum light you are exposed to each day. Consider replacing some of the light bulbs at home or work with natural daylight bulbs and make a point of getting some fresh air at lunchtimes.

Diet can play an important part so trial for a few weeks reducing your intake of processed foods as well as wheat, dairy and alcohol and increase foods that are as close to their natural state as possible including vegetables, nuts and whole grains and make sure you are drinking at least 2 litres of water per day and see how much better you feel.

The winter months for many are less active and quieter so any unresolved emotional issues from the past can come to mind. This is a normal and natural process to enable us to let go of emotional baggage. Where we put our attention affects how we feel so it can be uncomfortable if we dwell upon the past. Therefore it’s a great time to clear that old stuff once and for all which will have a positive effect on your overall mood. In the past this it was believed that this was generally a painful and lengthy process however with the leading edge techniques available now you can clear emotional issues from the past comfortably in about one to two hours.

Another effective way of lifting how you feel is each day creating a list of fifty things you are grateful for in your life and spending some time focusing on those things. This fun and simple exercise gets easier the more you do it and within a few weeks life will feel very different.

So if you get a bit down over the winter months commit to yourself to do these things for three weeks and you might surprise yourself and find “tis the season to be jolly!”