How I avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder during the Minnesota Winters

Minnesota winters contain a lot of things that I love, but one major downside of living up here is that the dark and cold months of winter can really wreak havoc on my mood. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real thing, especially up here in Minnesota, where on the winter solstice we are only granted about 8 hours of daylight. 

 I’ve experienced a mild version of the “winter blues” throughout most of my adult life, but it didn’t affect me very strongly until my mid 30s. The first year that I got pulled deep into the Seasonal Affective vortex, I didn’t really understand what was happening. It started right around my birthday in mid-January, which is a time I’m supposed to feel celebrated and happy. But I didn’t feel happy at all, instead I felt like my mood was dark and heavy. I felt sluggish and weighted, like I was moving through honey. I had no motivation, no drive, no interest in the things that normally made me happy.

I faked my way through that first season, because I’m a mom, and while I wanted to just hibernate in my bed until I felt better, the kids didn’t stop needing the things they needed just because I was feeling sluggish. 

When it happened again the next winter, I told my nurse practitioner about how I’d been feeling, and she wondered if I might be experiencing seasonal affective disorder. She told me to get a light therapy lamp and gave me a few other pieces of advice. I can’t recall the exact advice she gave me but I do remember the relief that came along with having a name for this mood struggle I was having. 

The next year when I felt that familiar pull, I was armed with more information and ready to go to battle against this annoying seasonal low mood. It’s taken me a few years to find strategies that work for me and while I’ve not (yet) been successful at completely avoiding SAD, I am learning that there are many things I can do to lessen its impact on my life. 

Many of you have likely also experienced the winter blues to at least some degree, so I wanted to share some of the practices that have helped me to keep it in check. 

How I keep the winter blues at bay:

Awareness. 

Being able to name what is happening, understanding that there is nothing wrong with me, and knowing that this feeling is not permanent all help me to avoid the downward pull of SAD.

When the low mood knocks at the door, I don’t  fight against it or freak out about it. I just say “Oh, hello winter blues, I see you there. I’m going to try to take care of you and nurture you, but you don’t get to hijack me.”

I am kind and gentle with myself and try to remember that I can handle the difficult emotions that come along with these seasonal moods. Shining a light on what is happening always diminishes its effect on me. 

Move my body. 

In the darkest and coldest days of winter, my primitive desire/instinct is rarely to get outside and move my body. My primitive instinct is to hunker down, get in bed, and conserve all of my energy. I basically want to hibernate. While I do think there are days that hibernation might be called for, it rarely serves me long term. 

For me, making the choice to get in bed and hibernate is sort of like making the choice to eat an extra large slice of chocolate cake. It seems like the obvious right choice in the moment and feels amazing while I’m eating it. But an hour later I will feel awful. 

My body needs to move every day. Even if it’s just a brief walk, it is very important to my mental and emotional health that I move my body in some way. I know that if I follow my primitive desire to stay in bed and not leave the house, the low mood always gets worse. 

Do I always make the right choice in the moment? Of course not, my primitive brain is sometimes like a toddler throwing a tantrum and I end up giving into it. But I’m learning and slowly getting better at taking care of my future self, even when it is not easy.

Get outside 

One of the things that helped me when we moved to Minnesota was that we lived within walking distance of the kids’ school, so we walked or biked them to school every single day. This forced me to bundle myself up and get outside, even on days that the temperature didn’t make it to zero degrees. 

This sounds like torture as I write it, but it was actually an interesting lesson for me. When I look at the weather app and it says -1, my instant thought is “Nope.” and I will refuse to go outside. But if I have to pick my kids up from school, and driving seems ridiculous because we live 2 blocks away, I just do it. I just go outside and walk to pick them up. I complain to myself as I bundle up, but I do it anyway. 

And then I get out there and start walking towards the school and 9 times out of 10 it is a really lovely experience. Yes, it is cold outside, but not nearly as bad as I had made it out to be in my mind. 

I’m not going to spend hours frolicking in the -1 degree temps, but getting out there for 15-20 minutes improves my mood every single time. 

I also learned that while being outside during daylight is best, being outside after dark can also be good for my mood. This is important because with 8-9 hours of daylight, it’s often dark by the time I get home from work. Sunshine and natural light are important (and I do try to get outside in the daylight hours whenever possible), but simply being outside in nature is what my soul really craves. 

Tighten up on all things Self-Care

When I say “self-care” I’m not talking about warm baths and massages (though those are nice…) Instead, I’m referring to how I take care of myself mentally, emotionally and physically during these months. I know that I’m prone to lower moods during this season, so I do what I can preventatively to soften the effects of the winter blues if they do arrive. 

This involves paying attention to the way I eat, my alcohol intake, my sleep hygiene, and exercise. 

Food – I try to focus on eating nourishing foods during this season. Unfortunately, I tend to crave sweets, carbs, fats, and all things unhealthy when the lower moods start to hit. And in those moments, I can make the case to myself that eating these sweet carby foods is what I need. 

It sounds something like: I feel sad and I deserve to eat a tub of ice cream – eating the ice cream will make me feel better. 

But what I’ve learned is that eating the ice cream (or the chips or cake or whatever) does not make me feel better at all. It provides pleasure in the moment, but that pleasure in the moment is paid for later with the overall well-being of my future self. It will deplete my energy and make the low mood even lower. 

Alcohol – This is a tough one for many of us, I know, but I try to drink infrequently during the dark and cold months of winter. Our society tells us that we should drink a glass of wine (or 2 or 3) if we’ve had a tough day and that we should have cocktails to celebrate basically anything there is to celebrate. So avoiding alcohol can feel difficult. 

However, it is common for all humans to experience feelings of anxiety, depression, or low mood as alcohol is leaving the body, and this can be hardest on people experiencing seasonal affective disorder. I know that drinking makes my winter blues worse every single time and so I have learned to minimize the booze during these months. 

Sleep – Sleep is a big deal for me. If I don’t sleep well one night – or if I am not sleeping well in general, I have a tendency to be a bit more emotional. I’m grouchy and irritable, and I don’t think my most creative, productive, or positive thoughts. While we sleep, our brains are engaged in activities that are not only necessary for our survival, but that have a profound impact on our emotions and our overall quality of life. 

I do my very best to make sure I get 7-9 hours of sleep every night and it makes a big difference in how I feel. I try to do all of the typical sleep hygiene things, like:

• • Go to bed at same time each night
  • Avoid screens before bed 
  • Have the bedroom dark and cool
  • Try to wake up at the same time everyday
  • Avoid eating after dinner

Accept  

Lastly, I’ve been working towards being able to accept the idea that feeling a bit more tired and moving a bit slower might actually be natural during this time of year. Maybe we are supposed to slow down? Maybe winter is supposed to be a time of turning inward, of relaxing, of breathing. This can be a delicate balance for me, because I don’t want to slow down to the point of sluggishness, but there is beauty in being gentle with myself, in slowing down and resting. I move my body and get outside each day, and then later I might curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. And instead of calling myself lazy and fighting against this desire to be still, I try to relax into it and allow it. 

Seasonal affective disorder affects everyone differently, but it can feel painful and isolating when it occurs. If you are someone affected by SAD, remember that there are things that you can do to lessen the effects and to maintain your mental and emotional health during these cold and dark winter months. Take care and be gentle and kind to yourself during this time. Most importantly, remember that you are not alone and reach out for support if needed. Let’s not let seasonal affective disorder get in the way of us living the lives we deserve.