Top Five Tips for Surviving the Winter Blues

1. Plan some leave – it’ll give you something to look forward to and break up the long period between holidays.

2. Ensuring you get a healthy amount of sleep – we are much more vulnerable to lower emotions (depression, discouragement, disappointment etc) when we are tired. Not only does regular sleep allow you to physically recharge, but it keeps with your emotional stamina healthy as well.

3. Maintain good nutrition – similarly, our diet has a vast effect not only on our physical wellbeing but also our emotional wellbeing too. Deficiencies in key minerals, enzymes and vitamins have a direct effect on our mood, energy levels and mental wellbeing.

4. Don’t stop playing – we have such fond associations of summer. One of the reasons for this is that, proportionately, we spend much more time at play during the warmer months. Whether outdoor sports or simply interacting with our kids at the beach or a park, time spent at play invests in our emotional reserves and lowers stresss levels. It’s too easy for this to drop off simply because Old Man Winter has come knocking on the door.

5. Begin something new – a new book, a new hobby or even just picking up or returning to a winter sport…it doesn’t matter what. The tendency during winter is to bunk down under the covers and withdraw from the world as it closes in on us. Picking up something new engages that creative part of our brains and promotes a much more positive psychology. It brings the elements of growth and development (the psychology of Spring, if you like) into winter.

Stay warm and stay safe and remember we are only a phone call away.