How I’m Coping with the Time Change
It’s been a while! I’m going to pretend that the delay in posting was entirely due to me working on grad school applications and that there was no procrastination involved. I’ve been pretty busy – including taking a trip to Connecticut to see Yale’s Divinity School – so nothing much has gotten done on the Content at Minimum project. I thought instead I’d offer some tips for managing the transition to winter.
I know that for some people winter is already bearing down, but I live in a very warm place where summer lingers far longer than any other season. While some kids are wearing coats over their Halloween costumes, we’re often still experiencing highs in the 90s at the end of October! Even though our weather will continue to be warm and sunny overall, I find that the end of Daylight Savings each year marks the start of a difficult season for me.
People with chronic illnesses may be familiar with the idea of an ‘October slide’ where many people’s symptoms get worse over the course of the month. That doesn’t tend to be my experience, perhaps because our weather here doesn’t change until later. Instead, I begin to slide in November right when we change the clocks and for the past five or so years have found December to be the worst month for my health, especially my mental health.
It wasn’t until I graduated college that I realized my winter blues had more to do with the season than fall semester finals. This year, I’m hoping to be more prepared, and I thought I’d share what I’m going to try.
- Shift my sleep schedule to better align with daylight hours. This is a big ask for me! However, I’ve been able to keep a more consistent sleep schedule thanks to medication, so I’m hoping I can keep falling asleep at a decent time and wake up a little bit earlier in the mornings.
- Keep up with my vitamin D supplements. Luckily, I’m very good about taking all my medication and supplements so this shouldn’t be a problem.
- Open the windows often and spend more time outside. Like I said, I live somewhere very warm and not only does our summer stretch on forever, but we easily get temperatures in the high 90s and often above 100 degrees during the hottest months. Winter is a blessed break from that and the perfect time for outdoor activities.
- Indulge in seasonal treats and traditions. Finding positive things about winter can really help. I’ve already bought some hot chocolate! Some other things I’m looking forward to eating are pumpkin empanadas and panettone with mascarpone cheese. My partner and I are planning on getting a Christmas tree promptly on December 1st.
- Use lots of lights. Although I prefer to save electricity, I keep a lot of lights on during the darker months. We don’t wait until December to put up Christmas lights throughout our house. I like that they turn evenings from feeling dark and dreary to dark and cozy. Candles are also great, but I’ve developed an allergy to the Bath and Bodyworks ones I used to burn and will have to find some new, cleaner options. I also have a happy light that can help with seasonal depression, but I’m often not very good about using it in the mornings.
- Do my best to accept that I may just feel bad. In the past, it was very distressing to feel like I had suddenly lost control of my health and mood every year. Now that I know it’s a pattern linked to the season, I’m going to try to accept that things may just suck for a while. I’m hoping that acceptance paired with more indulgent forms of self-care (yay, fancy baths!) and distractions (yikes, grad school deadlines!) will help me cope.
I hope this list will be encouraging to anyone else who finds winter a struggle! If you have any good tips for coping with colder weather and shorter days – especially if you’re in a wintrier climate – please let me know in a comment.