As we quickly approach the winter season, we find that there is extra emphasis on managing your self care at this time. Why is this? With the onset of winter, a form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is triggered in many people. This might affect your mood and often results in a loss of interest or inability to complete daily activities.
This is where the importance of self care comes in. The term itself, ‘self care’, implies a variety of different meanings all of which ensure the wellbeing of your mental and physical health. Through the routine practice of stimulating habits you can complete your daily tasks when it may be difficult to do so otherwise.
There are two ways of practicing self care. The first is called ‘temporary’ self care – this gives you a short term yet, pleasurable experience; for example when going out for a meal with friends. Whereas, ‘enduring’ self care refers to habitual self care practices that, in the long term, reap permanent and positive effects in you.
Here are some self care habits to help you this winter:
Going for a Walk: Although this may seem contradictory due to the cold weather conditions, it is important to step outside of your home environment and explore the green space to connect with nature. With a reduced number of light hours in winter, we should take maximum advantage of what minimal natural light is available to us during the day.
Exercising: This doesn’t mean that you have to trek through the snow for an intense gym sesh. Rather, completing simple workouts at home will help you establish a routine and protect your physical health, as well as your mental health through the stimulation of the dopamine (pleasure) hormone.
Journaling/ Writing/ Reading: These activities allow you to reflect on your experiences. Through journaling, you can learn to cope with your emotions and track your goals. Here is a link to a comparison of online journaling apps you can choose from. Creative writing offers an escape from reality into a fictional world. Similarly, reading offers an intellectually stimulating activity which you can easily fit into a schedule especially if you have a long commute ahead of you.
Small Pleasures: If you’re running on a busy schedule, it can be difficult to dedicate a significant amount of time to yourself, so engaging in simple pleasures may be the easiest form of self care. This could range from lighting a candle (the scent affecting the aroma of the room and mood), but could even be as simple as watching TV in a cosy blanket with a mug of your favourite hot drink. This would help you relax after a long day whilst keeping warm in the winter.
Supplements: Self care includes taking control of your physical health. This can be through taking daily supplements such as, Vitamins which are micronutrients our bodies need to work properly. Most important is Vitamin D, which is obtained from sunlight (but also some foods like salmon and red meat). In the winter, the lack of Vitamin D has been linked to worsening SAD, psychosis and insomnia. For more information check out Heal Hub’s video on Vitamin D.
Consistent self care is a beneficial method of helping you manage your stress and anxiety, lower your risk of illness, and improving your physical and mental health during a dark winter.
Written by, Ikrah Iqbal
For Lyfeproof UK
