Beating the Winter Blues

This blog will likely serve as a reminder to myself more than a profound and/or thought-provoking entry. If it helps someone else, all the better.

I have always been a bit too sensitive to the weather: in the warm weather, I feel as though I am reborn and in the extreme cold I feel as if I might just die. If not the wind whipping through me, the bitter cold making me miserable and getting me sick, the ice turning my casual gait into more of a penguin-like shuffle (sudden lack of dignity - oh the humanity), it will be the shrinking window in which I can see the Sun that kills me. It's tougher to leave the house - hell, it's tougher to leave my bed! I try and do my due-diligence and take my daily D-Vitamin chewable, stretch and head off to the gym, eat happy foods and visit the tanning salon (ahh, sweet warmth). But sometimes this isn't enough. And I don't know that I will ever learn what will, in fact, solidly be enough to get me through an entire winter. But! Here are a few things that I have learned make quite a difference:

1. Migrate
Obviously this is for the few of us that can manage this. Things will hold the majority back, whether it be finances, not being able to miss a day at work, family, responsibilities, what have you. I personally have only been able to head to Florida once in my life, and just for a week, but boy! Was it worth it. You can't control the weather, but you certainly can hide from it and get a little reprieve once and a while.

2. Music
I have been known to get in my fair share of music ruts - listening to the same old favorites for months at a time - and this is fine, sometimes. But when the seasonal depression hits you like a sack of potatoes, you've got to fight back with new, powerful ammunition. New songs. Killer beats. Fun drum lines and excellent guitar solos. Often times I think about venturing into some new tunes, but my immediate feeling of being overwhelmed stops me dead in my tracks. The best way I have found to get some fresh jams on the playlist is to pick a category you like on a free music playing app and decide on an uplifting version of it. New music, under a category you like (don't roll the dice too much in your fragile state; you're likely to abandon the whole idea) and it's sure to make your day a little more positive. (I like a station called Sunshine Indie Pop.) As you listen, you can even make a youtube playlist for yourself of your absolute favorites to turn those really horrible freezy mornings into productive, kick-ass days.

3. Projects
Again this is provided you can afford the time. If you are an artist (creating art, music, written word, etc...), set time aside specifically for this act. Start out with once a week, maybe, and if you like it you can always double/triple-down. (I typically bake/cook or write.) If you're handy - or have been meaning to learn to be - you can get around to that time-consuming DIY home improvement project you've been meaning to get to. Accomplishing little (or larger) projects will get those endorphins going.

4. Exercise
When is this not good for you (provided you don't overwhelm yourself and get heat-stroke or something)? You don't have to pay your local gym a monthly membership fee if the thought of leaving your house in the bitter cold gives you nausea. Go for a run, a walk, stretch, learn yoga, checkout youtube and find something that works for you and for free. Not having any savings at the end of the season will not help your frosty state. And you'll likely want some extra fun money for when the weather turns and your friends come out of their caves.

5. Read
Books, magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes - read them all! If you are like me and even less likely to take part in social activity when the driving weather gets sketchy, your mind will not be as active as in the warmer months. You will have less sunshiney dynamics to play off of and your poor little brain will starve in a way. If you simply cannot get into reading, I suggest adding puzzle games to your daily routine. Grab the sodoku, crosswords or word searches and get to work.

Do your best while the weather is doing its worst, future-me! There are better times ahead and more adventures to be had.