A good friend recently said ‘it's a lot easier to tell someone to be open about mental health than it is to be open about your own.’ As an aspiring therapist, I always want to encourage people to be open about their struggles and feel that they can discuss them with me, but that is much easier said than opening up about my own mental health issues. So, here's me discussing a mental health issue which I frequently struggle with, and I'm sure many of you will, too.
I’ve been hyper-aware of the time of sunset for as long as I can remember. In the Spring I’m elated as I see the time slip later and later, as the evenings grow longer and trees greener. But as soon as the summer solstice hits, I get a gnawing feeling as I realise that the days are now shortening and winter is creeping steadily closer. Winter means darkness at 4pm, it means grey days filled with rain, it means just the weakest glimmer of sun when it infrequently shines. In previous years I have put my depressed mood, lack of energy and frequently tearful state during the winter months down to university – the deadlines and being stuck inside the library day upon day causing me to feel stress and anxiety far more than in the summer months. There’s no doubt that these added pressures did nothing to help my mental state, but I have come to realise in the past couple of months that, in the absence of any academic pressure, I’m still feeling myself slipping into this a less motivated and generally lower state of well-being. And I’m quite sure that I’m not the only one who feels this way.
To give it it’s proper name, what I’ve just described is a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It’s estimated that 1 in 3 people in the UK experience symptoms of SAD each year, with women 40% more likely to experience symptoms than men. It’s evidently a hugely prevalent disorder, yet it’s one that we rarely discuss with each other, brushing it off as ‘the winter blues’. But what if we didn’t have to just struggle through the winter months? What if there are ways we can combat SAD and allow us to enjoy a sense of well-being 12 months of the year? If you were biologically susceptible to getting heart disease, you’d take steps to reduce your risk of getting it, such as taking up exercise and quitting smoking, right? So if humans are biologically prone to getting SAD, we should be taking steps to combat this - we don’t have to fall victim to our own bodies.
We can’t change the fact that winter comes every year, but we can work to change the way that we cope with it. With lockdowns being reinstated left right and centre, many of the usual methods we may use to combat SAD are now banned – going round to friend’s houses for dinner, going to the pub, going away on weekend trips. After doing a bit of reading about the biological, cognitive and behavioural factors behind SAD, I’ve come up with a few things that I’m going to personally try in the hope that it boosts my mood at this driech time of year, and I would encourage you to try them too if you feel your well-being starting to dip:
1. Get a SAD lamp
Light therapy is an established treatment for SAD, backed by a multitude of research. The idea is that the light produced encourages your brain to reduce the production of melatonin (the hormone that makes you feel sleepy) and promotes the production of serotonin (the hormone which acts as a mood stabilizer), which has been found to improve people’s moods significantly. You can get these lamps in various designs, such as desk lamps (so you can have it on whilst you work/study) or a portable light box (take your lil box of sunshine with you wherever you go). You can get one for somewhere in the region of £30-40 on Amazon or for a little bit more on John Lewis (fuck you Jeff Bezos).
2. Get as much natural sunlight as possible
People’s work and study schedules may mean that they’re leaving and returning home in the dark at each end of the day. Even a walk around the park at lunchtime might help, or a quick early morning stroll before you start your working day. For the hardy Scots among us, you might even be tempted to source an extension lead and sit outside to do your work (if you’re lucky enough to have a patch of outside space within an extension lead’s length of your abode). Gloves, hat and a flask of tea: you are unstoppable.
3. Identify enjoyable activities I can do inside
I have come to realise over the past few weeks just how bad I am at sitting still. I’ve been incredibly fortunate in that I had an ace summer of running around a lot of Scottish hills, rarely sitting still for longer than a day or two. Many of the activities I enjoy are based in the outdoors, but, after a very wet, very dark and very scary stroll around the woods at night the other week, I’ve discovered that maybe I need to find more indoor hobbies to pass the time. Whilst I love binge-watching shitty reality Netflix shows (if you haven’t watched Below Deck yet, what have you been doing with your life, get it on NOW), I feel like this overall negatively impacts my mood as I start to feel guilty about the hours I’m losing spent staring at a screen. Disclaimer: you really don’t need to feel guilty about this, it’s totally acceptable to do this your heart’s content if that makes you happy! Personally, I think having something to work on whilst I watch really helps, like painting, sewing, or any kind of craft project. Keeping your hands and mind busy is key, AND you'll have a really cool knitted blob to show off at the end of it.
4. Try to be more active
Whilst I love getting out and exercising in the light summer months, I find that I really struggle to motivate myself to get out for a run or a cycle in the winter. A drop in energy levels and self-esteem are associated with SAD, and I personally feel are big barriers for me in terms of my activity levels. But evidence shows that the more frequently you take part in active, pleasurable activities, the higher your energy levels and the better your wellbeing. It doesn’t have to be something huge, even just getting out for a little walk will help blow away the cobwebs and re-energise you.
5. Start your day right
I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that getting up in the mornings during winter feels like an extreme sport. It's just too easy to hit snooze and remain burrowed in your duvet. But I've recently found that there are a few things I can do in the morning that make getting up easier, and definitely start me off on a positive mood: putting on a podcast as soon as I wake up (Scotland Outdoors is v interesting and wholesome), opening the curtains ASAP to get some natural daylight (makes you feel more awake) and doing a wee bit of morning yoga. I still can't properly touch my toes after 7 months of fairly frequent yoga, however I definitely think that just getting your body moving improves your mood significantly.
6. Reach out to other people
Whilst we are isolated from each other physically, we can still communicate with each other digitally at the touch of a button. One thing I have realised in recent days is that whilst you might feel isolated in your melancholic feelings, those around you are probably experiencing the same thing, which is partly why I wanted to write this. Reach out to your family and friends, check in on each other, send each other memes. We’re all struggling through a shit year together, and absolutely no one’s mental health remains untainted by this pandemic. Be kind to each other, and to yourself.
I’m always happy to talk if anyone needs some memes or a more serious chat about mental health, important societal issues, or the politics of Below Deck. But here are some more resources if you or someone you know is struggling:
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