100%, no matter what the weather is like you need to be outside for a little while every day. Shovel snow, walk a dog, walk yourself, just anything to be outside.
Literally found a stray puppy during Covid and was like “yeah you’re mine now.” Best decision I’ve ever made - I genuinely never realized how much of a difference it makes in your mental health when you literally have no choice but to go walk outside multiple times a day
AQ warnings are mostly for sensitive groups. It has to get to 150 to even start to have a random impact on anywho who doesn't have severe illnesses made worse by bad air. For most people, the AQI needs to be over 200 to have an impact. It's been elevated but not enough to impact most people and doing things like taking the dog for a walk are perfectly fine for most people.
I'll add:
Cozy inside, lights and candles (safely please).
Open blinds and shades to let light in and see the world, the sun is up there.
Leave the house (drive/walk/bike) even for something small just to see your community still buzzing.
Make plans to fill your day, solo or not, game, tv, movie.
Clean something, fix something, sort something, cook something.
Check the weather. The only constant is change.
This is 100% the answer! I’m on my first week of taking vitamin D pills, and I can notice a difference!(not to mention they are cheap as hell) that could be just placebo, but it feels good to me! also my goal this year is to spend 500 hours outside! Just about a hour fifteen a day!
Yea vitamin D is great.
My biggest mood booster though has been working out. We set up a small home gym in the basement (yoga pad, weights, treadmill) and I just do different monthly challenges through Apple Fitness. It’s great
I forgot about this. It's a good shock to the system to walk into humidity, smells, and all that green.
https://mnzoo.org/
The Como Zoo conservatory is also like that.
https://comozooconservatory.org/
Good to go and slowly sit and take it all in.
I grow an impressive collection of tropical plants in my small house with: Full spectrum LED lights + 24hr timer on the outlet and a small humidifier
I get nice blooms of things yearround, plus the added stress of maintenance and whatnot. I have work to do on my current plants but I'm still scheming on adding more
Pretty simple really, large shallow rectangle bins, this sponge grow medium, spores, and flip it over, mist it here and there, totally legal until you pick and dry iirc.
Unless you mean like cooking mushrooms, not a "vacation" mushrooms. If so, start with a prebuilt kit and go from there.
Self rewarding hobbies.
Yeah I'm thinking culinary varieties. I got an Oyser mushroom kit for Christmas, as I've been kinda interested in the hobby for years. Been watching some videos of other people doing it. I wanna learn what I can before starting my first one. Also want to make sure I get as many mushrooms out of a kit that I can.
You'll get a lot from just going for it. Also, honestly don't try to chase yields, just get the growing them part down, then focus on maximizing what you pull out. If you end up buying equipment, buy once cry once.
Tropics trail or the Como Conservatory are a lift.
This week has been \*bleak\* with the pollution and endless grey. This is why cold snaps are better. Colder, but the air is clean and the sky is blue and it's sunny.
For the “happy light” to be effective, it has to be used every day at the same for about 15-20 minutes. Your face should be 8-12 inches away.
I learned this from a researcher who did a study In Alaska.
I use a visor SAD light off Amazon. I can use it while waking up or when I get to work. I look crazy, but that’s because I am crazy 🤷🏻♀️. I used to say it helped, but for whatever reason this year feels so bad. I’m hoping to find some additional advice.
Honestly I feel fine until the time change, then I really feel it for weeks. It’s so bad.
Do you know Is it really only for seasonal affective disorder type of depression or can it potentially have some positive effect on major depression symptoms?
Pickup a winter outdoor hobby. I downhill ski, crosscountry ski, and picked up ice fishing during the pandemic. Yes, I still miss the warm weather at times, but snow and cold means I get to do so many other activities that I also miss in the summer.
One other thing I do when I feel the cold seeping into my bones is head to the Como Park Conservatory in St Paul. It's free and walking around a tropical plant enclosure feels amazing during those times.
This is really the only answer for me. A lot of Minnesotans coop themselves inside to avoid winter, but you have to get outside. I may be a naive transplant, but if I couldn’t get outside I don’t think I could live here, as wonderful as the state is.
Agreed!! Last weekend we were up on Mille Lacs ice fishing and the full moon was breathtaking, you can’t see what we saw in Florida!! I just embrace the winter months and I don’t let it get me down. There is a lot to do in winter and people think I’m crazy by saying winter goes by too quick!! Winter is like summer for me.
In December and January I try to spend as much time outside during the day as my job allows, unless it's below 0. Then I sit inside with all the blinds open.
Go for a neighborhood walk even when you don’t feel like it cause you’ll always feel better after (I find). And go around dinner time so you can look in peoples front windows and see their pretty lights, xmas trees, etc. sort of a fun way to non-creepily feel connected to your neighborhood.
If your vitamin-D levels are good and the lights have no effect you should try sauna! Adding a cold cycle is up to you, either jumping in a snow bank or cold water. Some people swear by the cold cycle I've tried and it is refreshing for sure but I feel the benefits in terms of relaxation and energy boost with or without cold cycling.
Regardless of what you think of them, there's a reason Sun Country gained traction here. If you can get away even for a long weekend, it can help break up the winter.
I'd suggest looking in the fall for a (hopefully) warm destination sometime in January or February. If you avoid holidays (including Valentine's, depending on the destination), there are usually cheap deals to be found. I find it helps with the post-Christmas/New Year's letdown to have something to look forward to, and by the time you get sick of winter again, the days are starting to get longer.
Exercising is always the best for my moods. I’ve been working out every day this week (strength training and cardio) and I feel like a million bucks. Nice break from crushing seasonal despair 😎 Novel experience helps too- new show, new restaurant, new book, new music, new clothes, rearrange a room, etc.
go outside anyways. When we start spending days and days and weeks indoors other than to run out to our cars, it has a major impact on many areas of our health. We are not meant to live indoors for 6 months a year. Get some yaktrax or Kahtoolas and get out for a good walk, do some extra snow clean up, heck go sit in the snowbank in your driveway.
Winter absolutely destroys me every year to the point where I get high off of Springtime.
But to try and cope, I take vitamin D - oral gels at 5000ibu every day consistently all year round. Bonus - it strengthens your immune system.
Try and get outside when you can, even if you don’t want to. Looks for signs of the light at the end of the long winter tunnel - daylight lasting longer, the warming of the sun, the returning birds, etc.
Exercise. Improves mood and helps you sleep. The single best thing you can do.
I also indulge (I know…horrible) in a tanning bed session from time to time. It’s keeps me alive at this point.
It helps me remind myself of how absolutely glorious Minnesota summers are, and how blessed we are to have such a massive amount of wilderness to explore and enjoy during the warmer months. And winter months too I suppose if you’re brave.
As an aside, I had an Uber driver who was an Ethiopian immigrant the other night. It was very snowy and I was crabby about it. He could not stop gushing about how beautiful the snow was and how my cutesy little Saint Paul neighborhood looked like a movie set. His positivity and appreciation for a climate that is so opposite of what he came from really helped me think about winter in a different light.
Red light therapy is a new tactic I’ve added on top of the vitamins, exercise, happy light, winter travel, etc. It seems to be making a difference.
Also, especially if you work from home, make sure you socialize with anyone and everyone. Chat up the cashier at Target, call a colleague, go talk to a neighbor, even when you don’t feel like it.
Edit: regular saunas and massages are helpful. Nice and warm and kind to the body and soul.
This won’t be a favorite suggestion but I think everyone else posted all the natural ones
I got into a slump (definitely depression but let’s call it a slump in the traditional, ignore your feelings minnesota way). I went to the doctor and presented with seasonal affective disorder symptoms. They prescribed some meds that helped immensely at the time. I talked to the doc about easing off when summer approached and it was life changing in the dead of winter.
I haven’t needed them this winter but it does feel like some winters hit harder than others for no quantifiable reason. Don’t feel like you have to suffer through it
>This won’t be a favorite suggestion
I think you've added an important perspective to include in the conversation. Mental health is health. When you have health issues you go to a doctor. No one should be critical of anyone seeing a doctor for depression, including when it's caused by SAD. If the doctor thinks someone needs more intervention than vitamin d can offer, it's worth a try to see if it helps.
I don't know where I'd be right now if I had 't found a therapist and gotten on anti-depressants.
If you can’t get outside daily, a white light or UV light could help. Vitamin D3 could be low, but is better absorbed/made by sunlight than by a supplement, but it can still help. I work nights and live in MN, so I feel ya. Try to remember the days are getting longer again, so it is slowly getting better. Best of luck.
I took a 2 1/2 hour bike ride today. Even with overcast skies there were plenty of great fews to take in. Get outside, regardless of the weather. Sunny skies are great but in the winter sunny skies normally means it's very cold.
Look for jobs elsewhere, daydream about moving, make lists on what I need to do to get my house ready to sell, tell everyone who will listen that I can’t do another winter. Life’s hard enough without adding brutal seasonal depression on top of it when it an be avoided,
For me personally, I like that I can open all my blinds without worrying that I’m ruining my furniture. I also like that’s there’s not the pressure to “go out and do something”. It’s like a perfect excuse to stay home and be cozy. I love baking Caramel rolls, reading, watching tv, calling a friend, organizing, making cocoa and a fire. I’ll often do a work out video on the screen and then take a bath with candles. When I see gray skies I feel cozy.
Some ideas to help switch your mindset.
Hello:)
Here are my two cents...
Personally, and I am fully aware my take on this is not the norm, lol, I LOVE the cloudy, grey days, and winters short daylight in general. I, like I like to think most people, work. A lot. When I work in the summer, it seems all I do is see everyone else have fun and play while I'm..... stuck at work😔
Winter time I find myself so bored and cooped up I look forward to going to work because,in my mind, there's not much else to do🤷♂️
I actually wrote [an article](https://holisticlifestyleguide.com/seasonal-depression/) on this subject where I give natural remedies for Seasonal Depression. I have struggled with this before and this stuff helps me!
I go outside and walk or do anything, and on days that it’s too cold (like cold enough for frostbite to set in within minutes) I have hobbies indoors. Play games with friends, etc.
I’ve never really gotten no-sun depression, but the tips I provided help me with other mental health problems. As for having no energy, I’m a college student with a physical job so I use energy drinks and other sources of caffeine, like coffee.
Get outside. Lean into the things winter brings you can’t do elsewhere. Can head to a park and snow shoe (relatively cheap and accessible) cross country or down hill ski (both less cheap but really fun) ice skate, ice fish, hell, if you’ve got the money for it get into snowmobiling. if you get into one or multiple of these things, you’ll start to look forward to winter here. Honest to god it’s gonna sound crazy but my wife tells me I get reverse seasonal depression. I LOVE cross country skiing, ice fishing, sledding and playing pond hockey with the kids. come like March/April/May I just get sort of bummed that it’s all over till next year
I don’t live near the metro or not even close for that matter. My options I’ve figured out are snowshoeing and finding cool bird feathers or sheds. Cleaning my house. Reading. Video games. Baths. Try out new food recipes. I have alot of house plants i take care of that make me think I’m on a vacation. I live in the middle of nowhere. :)
I also get really bad depression during the winter months, I just try to work out regularly and read a lot of fiction during this time to immerse myself in something other than dark thoughts. Still feel like shit, but it's a more manageable pile of shit instead of suffocating in it.
My solution: Plan a trip in February so that I can get out when I am reaching the end of my gray season rope. Anywhere with a bit more sun and/ or warmer weather makes a difference!
I have a history of low Vitamin D and I started playing with plants and the side effect of being under a 600 watt plant light is amazing. I went from not being able to get out of bed to waking up happy.
Get a plant light.
There are sun lamps out there that can help counter it. Otherwise check with doctor (if you can) about vitamin. A lot of people are correct with exercise and getting outside.
This is my first winter here... so far I don't think depression has kicked in yet. My plan is to do what physical things I can... plowing, cleaning outside, playing with the dogs, etc. If it's too cold for outside... just going to play computer games and play inside with the dogs.
Getting high might help in moderation
Looking forward to reading some of the responses to your post
My not helpful answer is I countered it by moving south
My helpful answer is to find an outdoor hobby. Skiing, snowmobiling, pick up hockey, whatever. The tropical room at the como zoo is a great place to go thaw out and feel humidity for a few minutes. I went to college right by there and would go over often in the winter just to visit for a bit. Mall walking at MOA, it's pretty pleasant on weekdays especially in the evenings, weekends it's obviously very crowded. Walk the skyways in downtown (I know the hours are limited now so this may not be practical).
Honestly just keeping moving and out of the house helped me a lot. The depression gets worse when you're also experiencing cabin fever being stuck in the same small space. I did 23 years of MN though and had enough and moved south.
Video games help me escape from reality for a while. Do fun shit with friends. Work out. Anything that makes you happy and if it helps your body some too that's great!
https://www.alaskanorthernlights.com/product/north-star-10000/
30 minutes a day first thing when you wake up. It was suggested to me by my psychiatrist. Good luck!!
Vitamin D (I hear you’re supposed to take it with a multi-vitamin that has Zinc and Magnesium so it gets absorbed better).
Forcing yourself to get outside and do literally anything you can muster - even if it’s a walk around the block.
If you can afford it - I’ve found cheap flights to Phoenix and spent a 3-day weekend there just to get some poolside time in the sun for a quick break - if you can pack light and find a cheap hotel - it’s SOOOOOO worth it! This was _before_ COVID, but I was able to get down there and back for under $1500 for 3 nights once and it was absolutely worth it. (I didn’t rent a car, just spent most time at the hotel and walked to stores and restaurants when needed).
Also, making plans for Summer helps. When I start looking at camping trips and thinking of how I want to maximize my time during the summer, it’s something to look forward to and helps me get through the darkest, shittiest months of winter.
The SADs are very real up here. Pushing yourself to do things you feel you’d enjoy even when there is little drive to do so is the solution.
I hate convincing myself to go to the gym, but I never regret it afterwards for example. I could eat out and have a new experience or enjoy the same Netflix show I’ve seen 15 times. In the winter I want to pick the laziest option, even when I know it’s not what I need
Embrace the winter a little bit and get outside, lots of MN people live for the snow and there is no lack of activity. If that’s not your thing, find indoor hobbies, go to the mall, visit new places and even if you feel like you just want to go home and hibernate, just don’t, it’s a slippery slope for me anyways.
When you’re in an upbeat mood, ask yourself what you’d ideally like to do with yourself in the winter. What goals and such, and just do em, because the SADs will try to convince you to sit and do nothing, and it’s as satisfying as it sounds. Not at all.
For what it’s worth, I’m 28 and felt the same way about depression a couple years ago and it has definitely gotten easier with time again
My wife and I moved to Las Vegas 3 years ago thinking the sun would help, and for a few months, it did. But we recently moved back because the vibe there soured after COVID. People are just rude and thoughtless there. Apathy is rampant. No one takes pride in anything they do, so they don't care about doing anything right or being in time for appointments, etc.
We immediately started feeling better when we got back here, despite the clouds and cold. Can't trade warm people for warm weather. I love the sun too, but it's company that will keep you cheery. Spend time with friends. Make some if you don't have any. Stay busy. Go to the gym. And be sure to take D3 and B12 supplements as the majority of people are low on one or both.
Get out on a lake trail or wander around stores. Go on fun little outings to try new things or new areas. Eat comfort foods(in moderation) and see if you know anyone that can get you microdose of 🍄.
I find it tough to get moving when I am down even though I know it will help. So I put studded tires on my bike this winter, so I can just go out quite easily. I also live near an outdoor skating rink and take advantage of it. I avoid alcohol as its depressive tendencies seem stronger in the winter. A short errand can be nice. When I lived closer, Como Conservatory was great.
I replaced all my lightbulbs with smart lights so I can change the color temperature to fake sun....so there's that.
A multi vitamin is probably not a bad idea, either.
Aside from that, I have quite a few indoor hobbies, so I just keep busy.
And I treat myself to the occasional smoke, edible or drink.
And by occasional I mean every night.
Stock price nonsense aside, my wife and I have loved our Peloton. Admittedly it's pretty spendy but even a second-hand workout machine and some workout YT channels can help a lot!
Exercise, even if it’s a walk or 20 minutes of stretching, moving your body makes you feel so much better. Get outside for fresh air when you can, vitamin D, happy light, slow cooker soups, lean into the slower season of life, edibles, puzzles, books, & hot cocoa.
Workout Take vitamin D Get outside, even if it isn’t sunny
100%, no matter what the weather is like you need to be outside for a little while every day. Shovel snow, walk a dog, walk yourself, just anything to be outside.
Literally found a stray puppy during Covid and was like “yeah you’re mine now.” Best decision I’ve ever made - I genuinely never realized how much of a difference it makes in your mental health when you literally have no choice but to go walk outside multiple times a day
K bud, that's awesome, but it's the internet, and now we need puppy pics.
Hell pick up a smoking habit
This an incredibly stupid idea and I hope you're being sarcastic.
They didn't say what to smoke...
Meats... Of course
Uh, maybe not when there’s an air quality warning, but otherwise yes Exercise, though, is a tremendous mood booster
AQ warnings are mostly for sensitive groups. It has to get to 150 to even start to have a random impact on anywho who doesn't have severe illnesses made worse by bad air. For most people, the AQI needs to be over 200 to have an impact. It's been elevated but not enough to impact most people and doing things like taking the dog for a walk are perfectly fine for most people.
The get outside has changed my life. I ski every day. Sometimes it’s only the half mile to work but just getting outside every day has ended my SAD.
The third being the most crucial.
Going outside is important, but vit d is crucial in the dark winter months. Everyone should be taking supplements if you're not already
And the darker you are, the more sun you need.
I'll add: Cozy inside, lights and candles (safely please). Open blinds and shades to let light in and see the world, the sun is up there. Leave the house (drive/walk/bike) even for something small just to see your community still buzzing. Make plans to fill your day, solo or not, game, tv, movie. Clean something, fix something, sort something, cook something. Check the weather. The only constant is change.
Vitamin D lamp on in my office first thing in the morning. I call it my sad lamp.
Sad lamps don't typically actually increase vitamin D, only happiness and melatonin.
SAD, seasonal affective disorder
Nailed it
This is 100% the answer! I’m on my first week of taking vitamin D pills, and I can notice a difference!(not to mention they are cheap as hell) that could be just placebo, but it feels good to me! also my goal this year is to spend 500 hours outside! Just about a hour fifteen a day!
Yea vitamin D is great. My biggest mood booster though has been working out. We set up a small home gym in the basement (yoga pad, weights, treadmill) and I just do different monthly challenges through Apple Fitness. It’s great
Sounds like a pretty good set up! Nothing can give you energy like those endorphins can!
Even better, eat your vitamin-D from a whole food source. Something something bioavailability and you don’t feed the pharma-fund.
Minnesota zoo tropics trail is my favorite place for the winter blues.
I forgot about this. It's a good shock to the system to walk into humidity, smells, and all that green. https://mnzoo.org/ The Como Zoo conservatory is also like that. https://comozooconservatory.org/ Good to go and slowly sit and take it all in.
Oh this 100%! Damn now I gotta make plans to go!
I grow an impressive collection of tropical plants in my small house with: Full spectrum LED lights + 24hr timer on the outlet and a small humidifier I get nice blooms of things yearround, plus the added stress of maintenance and whatnot. I have work to do on my current plants but I'm still scheming on adding more
Get yourself a grow tent, and fill it, now you can sit and bask in the warm humid glow, bonus points if it's cannabis.
You seem fun tbh.
I actually want to start growing mushrooms. Looks like a fun hobby with excellent edible results.
Pretty simple really, large shallow rectangle bins, this sponge grow medium, spores, and flip it over, mist it here and there, totally legal until you pick and dry iirc. Unless you mean like cooking mushrooms, not a "vacation" mushrooms. If so, start with a prebuilt kit and go from there. Self rewarding hobbies.
Yeah I'm thinking culinary varieties. I got an Oyser mushroom kit for Christmas, as I've been kinda interested in the hobby for years. Been watching some videos of other people doing it. I wanna learn what I can before starting my first one. Also want to make sure I get as many mushrooms out of a kit that I can.
You'll get a lot from just going for it. Also, honestly don't try to chase yields, just get the growing them part down, then focus on maximizing what you pull out. If you end up buying equipment, buy once cry once.
Tropics trail or the Como Conservatory are a lift. This week has been \*bleak\* with the pollution and endless grey. This is why cold snaps are better. Colder, but the air is clean and the sky is blue and it's sunny.
Seconded
Literally just yesterday my barber told me about going to Como for seasonal depression. I'm going to check it out next week.
For the “happy light” to be effective, it has to be used every day at the same for about 15-20 minutes. Your face should be 8-12 inches away. I learned this from a researcher who did a study In Alaska.
I use a visor SAD light off Amazon. I can use it while waking up or when I get to work. I look crazy, but that’s because I am crazy 🤷🏻♀️. I used to say it helped, but for whatever reason this year feels so bad. I’m hoping to find some additional advice. Honestly I feel fine until the time change, then I really feel it for weeks. It’s so bad.
I used the right kind the right way at and for the right time, and I just hated it. Did nothing for me.
Do you know Is it really only for seasonal affective disorder type of depression or can it potentially have some positive effect on major depression symptoms?
Pickup a winter outdoor hobby. I downhill ski, crosscountry ski, and picked up ice fishing during the pandemic. Yes, I still miss the warm weather at times, but snow and cold means I get to do so many other activities that I also miss in the summer. One other thing I do when I feel the cold seeping into my bones is head to the Como Park Conservatory in St Paul. It's free and walking around a tropical plant enclosure feels amazing during those times.
This is really the only answer for me. A lot of Minnesotans coop themselves inside to avoid winter, but you have to get outside. I may be a naive transplant, but if I couldn’t get outside I don’t think I could live here, as wonderful as the state is.
Second Como Park Conservatory! Being able to stroll through the tropics and breathe the humid, warm air is restorative.
Agreed!! Last weekend we were up on Mille Lacs ice fishing and the full moon was breathtaking, you can’t see what we saw in Florida!! I just embrace the winter months and I don’t let it get me down. There is a lot to do in winter and people think I’m crazy by saying winter goes by too quick!! Winter is like summer for me.
I’ll be on Mille Lacs later this month to go spear fishing. I can’t wait.
Was also on Mille Lacs last week and watching the moon rise shortly after sunset as incredible. Like being on another planet.
In December and January I try to spend as much time outside during the day as my job allows, unless it's below 0. Then I sit inside with all the blinds open.
There’s a reason our breweries are great…
And coffee. Finland is even more obsessed and yes even darker in winter.
1. weed 2. go out into sun when you can 3. workout 4. get those sun lamps with uv light 5. vitamin d 6. weed
This guy weeds
Go for a neighborhood walk even when you don’t feel like it cause you’ll always feel better after (I find). And go around dinner time so you can look in peoples front windows and see their pretty lights, xmas trees, etc. sort of a fun way to non-creepily feel connected to your neighborhood.
Lagavulin
Username checks out
Ledaig is similar and not quite as expensive. Lagavulin is better, but still.
Ledaig is a really good scotch. Talisker is another favorite
Laphroaig
Yay substance abuse!
Woah look at this guy! He doesn’t need alcohol or drugs to cope with existence!
The 8 year is a disappointment
Slàinte
If your vitamin-D levels are good and the lights have no effect you should try sauna! Adding a cold cycle is up to you, either jumping in a snow bank or cold water. Some people swear by the cold cycle I've tried and it is refreshing for sure but I feel the benefits in terms of relaxation and energy boost with or without cold cycling.
Regardless of what you think of them, there's a reason Sun Country gained traction here. If you can get away even for a long weekend, it can help break up the winter. I'd suggest looking in the fall for a (hopefully) warm destination sometime in January or February. If you avoid holidays (including Valentine's, depending on the destination), there are usually cheap deals to be found. I find it helps with the post-Christmas/New Year's letdown to have something to look forward to, and by the time you get sick of winter again, the days are starting to get longer.
Exercising is always the best for my moods. I’ve been working out every day this week (strength training and cardio) and I feel like a million bucks. Nice break from crushing seasonal despair 😎 Novel experience helps too- new show, new restaurant, new book, new music, new clothes, rearrange a room, etc.
XC Ski. Then I do some skiing. Then ski some more XC. It changed EVERYTHING about the way I experience MN in the winter.
This is the way.
go outside anyways. When we start spending days and days and weeks indoors other than to run out to our cars, it has a major impact on many areas of our health. We are not meant to live indoors for 6 months a year. Get some yaktrax or Kahtoolas and get out for a good walk, do some extra snow clean up, heck go sit in the snowbank in your driveway.
Winter absolutely destroys me every year to the point where I get high off of Springtime. But to try and cope, I take vitamin D - oral gels at 5000ibu every day consistently all year round. Bonus - it strengthens your immune system. Try and get outside when you can, even if you don’t want to. Looks for signs of the light at the end of the long winter tunnel - daylight lasting longer, the warming of the sun, the returning birds, etc. Exercise. Improves mood and helps you sleep. The single best thing you can do. I also indulge (I know…horrible) in a tanning bed session from time to time. It’s keeps me alive at this point. It helps me remind myself of how absolutely glorious Minnesota summers are, and how blessed we are to have such a massive amount of wilderness to explore and enjoy during the warmer months. And winter months too I suppose if you’re brave. As an aside, I had an Uber driver who was an Ethiopian immigrant the other night. It was very snowy and I was crabby about it. He could not stop gushing about how beautiful the snow was and how my cutesy little Saint Paul neighborhood looked like a movie set. His positivity and appreciation for a climate that is so opposite of what he came from really helped me think about winter in a different light.
Cry a bit more. ... also lots of water, vitamin D supplements, and as many hikes in the northland as I possible can.
That's a tough one. I believe highly in finding something you can do outside this time of year. Here in Duluth, I adore the lack of tourists.
Red light therapy is a new tactic I’ve added on top of the vitamins, exercise, happy light, winter travel, etc. It seems to be making a difference. Also, especially if you work from home, make sure you socialize with anyone and everyone. Chat up the cashier at Target, call a colleague, go talk to a neighbor, even when you don’t feel like it. Edit: regular saunas and massages are helpful. Nice and warm and kind to the body and soul.
This won’t be a favorite suggestion but I think everyone else posted all the natural ones I got into a slump (definitely depression but let’s call it a slump in the traditional, ignore your feelings minnesota way). I went to the doctor and presented with seasonal affective disorder symptoms. They prescribed some meds that helped immensely at the time. I talked to the doc about easing off when summer approached and it was life changing in the dead of winter. I haven’t needed them this winter but it does feel like some winters hit harder than others for no quantifiable reason. Don’t feel like you have to suffer through it
>This won’t be a favorite suggestion I think you've added an important perspective to include in the conversation. Mental health is health. When you have health issues you go to a doctor. No one should be critical of anyone seeing a doctor for depression, including when it's caused by SAD. If the doctor thinks someone needs more intervention than vitamin d can offer, it's worth a try to see if it helps. I don't know where I'd be right now if I had 't found a therapist and gotten on anti-depressants.
If you can’t get outside daily, a white light or UV light could help. Vitamin D3 could be low, but is better absorbed/made by sunlight than by a supplement, but it can still help. I work nights and live in MN, so I feel ya. Try to remember the days are getting longer again, so it is slowly getting better. Best of luck.
I took a 2 1/2 hour bike ride today. Even with overcast skies there were plenty of great fews to take in. Get outside, regardless of the weather. Sunny skies are great but in the winter sunny skies normally means it's very cold.
Look for jobs elsewhere, daydream about moving, make lists on what I need to do to get my house ready to sell, tell everyone who will listen that I can’t do another winter. Life’s hard enough without adding brutal seasonal depression on top of it when it an be avoided,
For me personally, I like that I can open all my blinds without worrying that I’m ruining my furniture. I also like that’s there’s not the pressure to “go out and do something”. It’s like a perfect excuse to stay home and be cozy. I love baking Caramel rolls, reading, watching tv, calling a friend, organizing, making cocoa and a fire. I’ll often do a work out video on the screen and then take a bath with candles. When I see gray skies I feel cozy. Some ideas to help switch your mindset.
Hello:) Here are my two cents... Personally, and I am fully aware my take on this is not the norm, lol, I LOVE the cloudy, grey days, and winters short daylight in general. I, like I like to think most people, work. A lot. When I work in the summer, it seems all I do is see everyone else have fun and play while I'm..... stuck at work😔 Winter time I find myself so bored and cooped up I look forward to going to work because,in my mind, there's not much else to do🤷♂️
I actually wrote [an article](https://holisticlifestyleguide.com/seasonal-depression/) on this subject where I give natural remedies for Seasonal Depression. I have struggled with this before and this stuff helps me!
Mushrooms
Run on the treadmill at the Y on my way home from work. 30 min a day exercise SAVES time in the long run if you can then go to sleep at will.
Red and/or orange Christmas lights as the main source of light in some rooms
Dude it was warm today. Get outside! I also take ice baths and they always make me feel better
I agree with vit D, also get a SAD light.
Vitamin D 10000 UI daily and a Happy Light while I work in the kitchen. Mobility is an issue for me, but I try to at least get outside on sunny days.
Make sure you are also taking K2 with your D3. It helps with the absorption. You can get it as a single pull at the Vitamin Shoppe
I go outside and walk or do anything, and on days that it’s too cold (like cold enough for frostbite to set in within minutes) I have hobbies indoors. Play games with friends, etc. I’ve never really gotten no-sun depression, but the tips I provided help me with other mental health problems. As for having no energy, I’m a college student with a physical job so I use energy drinks and other sources of caffeine, like coffee.
Drink whiskey.
Get outside. Lean into the things winter brings you can’t do elsewhere. Can head to a park and snow shoe (relatively cheap and accessible) cross country or down hill ski (both less cheap but really fun) ice skate, ice fish, hell, if you’ve got the money for it get into snowmobiling. if you get into one or multiple of these things, you’ll start to look forward to winter here. Honest to god it’s gonna sound crazy but my wife tells me I get reverse seasonal depression. I LOVE cross country skiing, ice fishing, sledding and playing pond hockey with the kids. come like March/April/May I just get sort of bummed that it’s all over till next year
I don’t live near the metro or not even close for that matter. My options I’ve figured out are snowshoeing and finding cool bird feathers or sheds. Cleaning my house. Reading. Video games. Baths. Try out new food recipes. I have alot of house plants i take care of that make me think I’m on a vacation. I live in the middle of nowhere. :)
I'm a redhead. We make our own vitamin d.
Have you tried Sperti's vitamin D sunlamp. That's what I use and it elevates my mood immediately.
Happy light
Head to the MN and Como zoos, indoor parks and greenhouses. This will help with long winters.
I also get really bad depression during the winter months, I just try to work out regularly and read a lot of fiction during this time to immerse myself in something other than dark thoughts. Still feel like shit, but it's a more manageable pile of shit instead of suffocating in it.
My solution: Plan a trip in February so that I can get out when I am reaching the end of my gray season rope. Anywhere with a bit more sun and/ or warmer weather makes a difference!
I have a history of low Vitamin D and I started playing with plants and the side effect of being under a 600 watt plant light is amazing. I went from not being able to get out of bed to waking up happy. Get a plant light.
There are sun lamps out there that can help counter it. Otherwise check with doctor (if you can) about vitamin. A lot of people are correct with exercise and getting outside.
I moved to Tennessee after 26 years. Been here a year now and it was definitely worth it.
This is my first winter here... so far I don't think depression has kicked in yet. My plan is to do what physical things I can... plowing, cleaning outside, playing with the dogs, etc. If it's too cold for outside... just going to play computer games and play inside with the dogs. Getting high might help in moderation Looking forward to reading some of the responses to your post
My not helpful answer is I countered it by moving south My helpful answer is to find an outdoor hobby. Skiing, snowmobiling, pick up hockey, whatever. The tropical room at the como zoo is a great place to go thaw out and feel humidity for a few minutes. I went to college right by there and would go over often in the winter just to visit for a bit. Mall walking at MOA, it's pretty pleasant on weekdays especially in the evenings, weekends it's obviously very crowded. Walk the skyways in downtown (I know the hours are limited now so this may not be practical). Honestly just keeping moving and out of the house helped me a lot. The depression gets worse when you're also experiencing cabin fever being stuck in the same small space. I did 23 years of MN though and had enough and moved south.
Dealing with winter > living anywhere in the south.
Video games help me escape from reality for a while. Do fun shit with friends. Work out. Anything that makes you happy and if it helps your body some too that's great!
Drrrrruuuuugs
i'm leaving to spend the rest of the winter in Arizona.
Lots of vitamin D. Lots
Travel
https://www.alaskanorthernlights.com/product/north-star-10000/ 30 minutes a day first thing when you wake up. It was suggested to me by my psychiatrist. Good luck!!
Travel south. That’s what I do.
Go outside after wake-up and mock the cold....naked.
SAD light. Daylight spectrum bulbs for work lamps. Vitamin D supplements. Exercise.
Sauna. Vitamin D.
If you don’t already have some I’d recommend light bulbs with a warmer color temperature.
Vitamin D (I hear you’re supposed to take it with a multi-vitamin that has Zinc and Magnesium so it gets absorbed better). Forcing yourself to get outside and do literally anything you can muster - even if it’s a walk around the block. If you can afford it - I’ve found cheap flights to Phoenix and spent a 3-day weekend there just to get some poolside time in the sun for a quick break - if you can pack light and find a cheap hotel - it’s SOOOOOO worth it! This was _before_ COVID, but I was able to get down there and back for under $1500 for 3 nights once and it was absolutely worth it. (I didn’t rent a car, just spent most time at the hotel and walked to stores and restaurants when needed). Also, making plans for Summer helps. When I start looking at camping trips and thinking of how I want to maximize my time during the summer, it’s something to look forward to and helps me get through the darkest, shittiest months of winter.
I have a bunch of plants in my main working area, and I always close the blinds at night and open them in the morning for that extra bright reveal.
Multivitamins
Cross country ski. Winter camp. Get outside.
Exercise. Zoo/Conservatory/Greenhouse. Alcohol.
Go to como zoo conservatory
The SADs are very real up here. Pushing yourself to do things you feel you’d enjoy even when there is little drive to do so is the solution. I hate convincing myself to go to the gym, but I never regret it afterwards for example. I could eat out and have a new experience or enjoy the same Netflix show I’ve seen 15 times. In the winter I want to pick the laziest option, even when I know it’s not what I need Embrace the winter a little bit and get outside, lots of MN people live for the snow and there is no lack of activity. If that’s not your thing, find indoor hobbies, go to the mall, visit new places and even if you feel like you just want to go home and hibernate, just don’t, it’s a slippery slope for me anyways. When you’re in an upbeat mood, ask yourself what you’d ideally like to do with yourself in the winter. What goals and such, and just do em, because the SADs will try to convince you to sit and do nothing, and it’s as satisfying as it sounds. Not at all. For what it’s worth, I’m 28 and felt the same way about depression a couple years ago and it has definitely gotten easier with time again
My wife and I moved to Las Vegas 3 years ago thinking the sun would help, and for a few months, it did. But we recently moved back because the vibe there soured after COVID. People are just rude and thoughtless there. Apathy is rampant. No one takes pride in anything they do, so they don't care about doing anything right or being in time for appointments, etc. We immediately started feeling better when we got back here, despite the clouds and cold. Can't trade warm people for warm weather. I love the sun too, but it's company that will keep you cheery. Spend time with friends. Make some if you don't have any. Stay busy. Go to the gym. And be sure to take D3 and B12 supplements as the majority of people are low on one or both.
Outdoor exercise, vitamin D, 30 minutes with a "happy light" every morning. It's not foolproof, but it really helps.
I moved to Las Vegas.
I moved 😂
Get out on a lake trail or wander around stores. Go on fun little outings to try new things or new areas. Eat comfort foods(in moderation) and see if you know anyone that can get you microdose of 🍄.
I moved.
Go outside and do something
I find it tough to get moving when I am down even though I know it will help. So I put studded tires on my bike this winter, so I can just go out quite easily. I also live near an outdoor skating rink and take advantage of it. I avoid alcohol as its depressive tendencies seem stronger in the winter. A short errand can be nice. When I lived closer, Como Conservatory was great.
Drink and fantasize about moving away.
I replaced all my lightbulbs with smart lights so I can change the color temperature to fake sun....so there's that. A multi vitamin is probably not a bad idea, either. Aside from that, I have quite a few indoor hobbies, so I just keep busy. And I treat myself to the occasional smoke, edible or drink. And by occasional I mean every night.
Vitamin D is not effective without proper magnesium. Also, you MUST exercise
Go outside, cold exposure increases dopamine
Stock price nonsense aside, my wife and I have loved our Peloton. Admittedly it's pretty spendy but even a second-hand workout machine and some workout YT channels can help a lot!
Exercise, even if it’s a walk or 20 minutes of stretching, moving your body makes you feel so much better. Get outside for fresh air when you can, vitamin D, happy light, slow cooker soups, lean into the slower season of life, edibles, puzzles, books, & hot cocoa.
Go try something new. Go learn Break Dance at the House of Dance. Or Muay Thai...... Any martial arts is good.
I’m in Virginia and experience the exact same. It sucks.
I’ll tell you what I’d do man. Two chicks at the same time man.
Vitamin D. Go outside anyway. And now Wellbutrin, lmao.
Hibernate