When it’s cold outside we retreat like hibernating bears to our warm caves, except for necessary forays to the workplace and to gather food. Those caves can be awfully comforting when the weather outside is frightful, but indoor living can also lead to the blues or even depression. What to do?
The trick is to commit to doing something outside the cave. Something that you enjoy or care about enough to motivate you. Something that makes you want to get up and out of your cave and participate in the vibrant, real world. Here are some tried-and-true ways to fight back against that winter inertia and expand your mind/life at the same time:
- Be a temporary dog or cat owner: There are organizations that match volunteers with dogs and cats for various periods of time (called “fostering” – here’s more on that). This can also afford you the chance to find out if you would like to have a pet of your own, and meaningfully help out a local shelter. Research suggests that pet ownership leads to better mental and physical health, and the popularity of cat and dog videos on social media reveals how much all our hearts are opened by these furry beauties.
- Join a club: Doesn’t matter what kind – book club, knitting circle, music lovers, birders. Anything that you enjoy sufficiently to motivate you to leave your cozy cocoon. Being part of a group involves a commitment to that group, and the guilt about not showing up might be enough to propel you through the door of your cave. Or start a club in your own cave so you don’t even have to leave.
- Move your body: Yoga is a great indoor activity to help you stay in shape over the winter. For those who can’t or don’t want to yoga, tai chi is a marvelously graceful, meditative form of exercise. And if you crave something more aggressive, tai chi has a martial arts side you can gravitate to.
- Take a class: Find a seminar, talk or class in something that you’ve always wanted to explore. Jazz, female writers, movie making, screenplay writing, jewelry making. Take it seriously and it might lead to a whole new career. At the very least, you’ll meet people who share your interest and expand your social circle. If you’re in NYC, The Center for Social Innovation and the 92Y are both really good places to start looking.
- Volunteer: Local hospitals welcome volunteers to read to the elderly or children. Churches and community groups are eager to recruit people to help out in soup kitchens and take elderly folk to appointments. Animal shelters need help to walk dogs and socialize potential pets so they have a better chance at getting adopted. By helping others you will also be helping yourself, and the rosy glow of your cheeks will be matched by the rosy glow of your virtue.
And a few more just for New Yorkers:
- Explore NY: This wonderful city of NY has an ever-changing roster of events on offer daily, many of them free. Every Friday, the Weekend section of the New York Times lists a variety of things to do in all five boroughs. Concerts (rap, pop, classical – take your pick), movies, museums, comedy clubs, plays, walking tours – they’re all here. Arrange to do them with a friend so you don’t chicken out.
- Check out the new Whitney Museum: It’s crammed with young and interesting looking people and the art is amazing. Then walk the High Line to see your city from a whole new perspective.
- Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge: Why? Why not? It’s a fun thing to do that many tourists enjoy but locals don’t think to experience. And Brooklyn Park at the other end is awesome. End up by taking the ferry back to Manhattan and see your city from the water. It will make you proud and happy that you live here.
When all else fails and the winter blues persist… Count your blessings, plan a spring trip, and remember what the poet said – “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
This is a terrific article! Thank you for reminding me of all these great helpers when I get seasonal depressinon. Soo many choices! For me, my favorite is taking the snowshoes out on the local golf course. Did that this past Sunday for sixty minutes and it was exhilarating! 😀
Overall, great suggestions! Finding time to walk outdoors when the sun is shining has always been a part of my winter strategy for staying up in the winter.. but not taking on more than I am able to accomplish is another. And celebrate the snow, if you live in a climate that supports snow – it reflects the available sunlight and improves your mood – get out and walk, ski, snowshoe, ice skate on a pond surrounded by snow – just make sure to protect your eyes from the reflected rays. 🙂
I make sure I get outdoors every lunchtime, and I sign up to a term of dance classes. Because I’ve paid upfront, I feel more motivated to go than if it were a drop-in where you can say “I can’t be bothered”. This winter I’m learning Beginner’s Ballet and I love it. Gives me something to look forward to each week. I’m also eating like it’s summer – i.e. lots of fresh fruit & vegetables to keep my immunity and energy up. Have started a cheesy DVD exercise class once a week at work which has given other people a boost too.
It’s sad that exercise is so challenging this time of year. I mope at the mere thought of going out in below zero (F) weather but I do it anyway (around a frozen lake, 4 miles of ice-covered path) because it makes me feel THAT good. The runner’s high is like nothing else. I get back from a jog and the improvement in my mood is almost metaphysical. 🙂
I used to have a roommate with SAD. She was also an artist and used to paint 6-foot tall paintings of her own “sad” face and plaster them on the available wall space. Imagine waking up to that every morning!!!! I was relieved when she moved out to California.
Re: Expending your social circle— especially in the winter, I find that it is helpful to try to get together with a few different groups of people on a regular basis. For example, my boyfriend and I will have dinner at his parents’ house once a week and have friends over for a casual dinner party once a month, and I’ll have a happy hour with coworkers every couple of weeks. With these regularly “scheduled” activities, the social calendar stays pretty full, preventing us from progressing too quickly through the ol’ Netflix queue.
I’m right now really dreading the winter. Unfortunately for me, I live in an area where there is almost nothing to do after work and most people I know just aren’t into going out after working 8 hours. This winter I’m planning on trying a few new hobbies or expanding on others. Thanks for all the great advice. 🙂
I’ve suffered from this for years and was never able to trick myself into feeling better. Last year finally went to my doc about it and he gave me a mild antidepressant that seemed to work good. It actually kept my mood better which made me feel like getting out and going to the gym, years before I would just turn into a hermit and stay in and the thought of doing anything made me depressed and not doing anything made me more depressed. So yes if all else fails go to a doctor, way better then beating yourself up for half of the year.
Amazing article! Well done 🙂 Chances are your friends are, if not diagnosably depressed, at least frustrated with the dark and cold as well. Planning Beat-the-Winter-Blues parties with themes gives everyone something to prepare for and be excited about, then do together, then gab about for a while after. Last winter my gang planned a pierogi-themed dinner, where every course involved pierogi in some way. We figured the comfort food and the company would do us all a solid. Pierogi chicken noodle soup. Pierogi lasagna. Pierogi-crust apple pie. Fruit pierogis. It was silly and fun and delicious. None of us were able to look at pierogis again for a few weeks, but that was ok because it gave us the boost we needed before we returned to our caves to sleep it off.
Very glad to see a posting such as this. It is a very serious reality that everyone should not take lightly. Personally, I know I need to embrace a more active lifestyle. I sit at a desk all day at work, and then go home at night and sit in front of a TV or computer for the remainder of my day. I need to snap out of that!