Easy Ways to Fight Winter Depression

It’s wintertime, finally! Time of joy, New Year’s spirit and… depression? Yep, unfortunately. Many of us have faced this problem: the colder it gets, the more challenging it becomes to pull yourself together and get busy with something. You might not know, but this winter blah is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD – hmm, seems like scientists know a thing or two about irony…

There are a lot of effective ways to deal with this and we are going to share some of them. Ready to take notes? Here we go.

Sports

One of the best ways to fight this annoying winter blah is to include sports in your daily schedule. We know that it’s very hard to motivate yourself for any activity when it’s heavily snowing. The only thing that will likely make you happy is a cup of marshmallow coffee and brownies (just a tiny piece). But do some exercising once, and you’ll have a positive outlook till the end of the day, also your stress level will decline markedly.

Whoa, easy there! Don’t rush headlong into the nearby gym for full membership. Quick walking or even snowballing is enough to fight depression. Believe us!
Actually sports should become a part of your everyday routine, because it’s a good way to not only fight depression, but improve your overall health (especially, when combining sports with healthy food).

Besides, if you are angry, there are a lot of punching bags in the gym – bet, you know what to do with them (but don’t try it with your boyfriend though).
On the other hand, yoga, pilates, tai chi are less aggressive, but very relaxing at the same time. So you can easily get rid of stress (and keep your boyfriend safe) only by practising these activities.

Books and Movies

Books and movies can become the best friends of yours when fighting depression. Once you immerse yourself in the book, your brain starts thinking only about its plot – you are becoming a part of the narration, as if you are the author of the book or the main character. As a result, you completely forget about the things that have made you depressed before you start reading. The same thing is with movies: just relax and watch some stupid comedy, or soap opera. It always helps. Either you’re an avid reader, or a movie watcher, you’re free to decide which genre to choose in order to make yourself feel better.

We’ve presumed to advise you a few movies and books that might be included into your plans for the upcoming weekend.

Books:

• Eat, Pray, Love or Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert – Both of these books will bring a sparkle of inspiration to your life;
• Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey – This bestseller author will give you a deep insight into the male mentality and will do it in an easy-to-read manner;
• A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza – This is an outstanding book about family relations, grievances and joys.

Movies:

• Lost in Translation – This is a romantic comedy-drama film with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as movie stars. The good old story about love and loneliness;
• Lilo & Stitch – Yes, exactly. It’s a cartoon, but a very good one. It doesn’t have anything to mourn over – it’s all about friendship and support;
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory – The family movie that will dip you into the world of magic and mystery.

Hobby

Have you ever put your hobbies into cold storage? Well, it’s high time to release them. Start doing something you’ve always wanted to, and you’ll definitely fight the winter blah! You can enroll for Chinese courses, take up photography, or start painting (what if you are the next Leonardo da Vinci?) It will not only help to take your mind off things and problems that are bothering you, but also cultivate your talents and probably shape your future.

However, if nothing from the list above works, the only thing that might help you is consulting a therapist. Deep depression is a serious disorder that should be treated. It doesn’t affect your body, but it does harm your mental health. So, make sure to recognize the signs of depression early on, and ask for professional help.

Anyway, we hope that one of the four points will be just the thing for you. Feel free to share your own recipes of fighting depression in the comments section, so that we could go through the winter blah together. Take care!