5 ways to get through cold season
Cold season! Somewhere in February/March when the cold days don’t seem to end and another round of illness seems to hit everyone, again, I tend to crack a little inside. Maybe that’s dramatic, maybe it’s not.
Over the years I’ve improved my winter resiliency and feel passionately about the things that have helped me get over the winter blues.
I hope if you have ever experienced the kind of scary sad feelings that can occur during this season (or any other) you know you are not alone. If your feelings feel too big to handle on your own please seek professional help!
I hope this doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but getting through the winter season untouched by Jack Frost and Seasonal Affective Disorder isn’t a one size fits all or a quick fix. That being said, these are my top five ways to get through this time of year that seemingly never ends…
tea my love for herbal, medicinal tea never ends. It is actually the first thing I started to implement regularly into my routine that catapulted the rest of these practices. I was consistent in making myself a warm cup of herbal Chamomile tea. The Chamomile picked fresh and dried from my backyard. It was simple, and took me 5 minutes a day. Yep, I could handle that- and if I could… so can you!
There are several Herbal teas that have amazing benefits. According to a Harvard Health article, Green teas have immunity boosting properties as do Ginger tea, chamomile tea and hibiscus tea. Chamomile tea specifically helps promote sleep and may help reduce anxiety.
movement-sun and outdoors! This doesn’t take much explanation. Time in nature boosts our moods! My experience of the midwest is that many people just don’t go outside in the winter…further catapulting themselves into a depression hole. Connection with nature is so important for our physical and mental wellbeing! With the exception of those days in the negative temps, I make it a point to get myself outside for a walk or other winter sport! Snow shoeing, hiking, cross country skiing…Even sitting outside around a fire!
The key to surviving cold weather… layers people.
cutting back sugar and alcohol Again, self explanatory. Yet, easier said than done in this society. One of my biggest tips for this is to go with grace. Holding too ridged of a standard for yourself in these categories may do more harm than good. Some people do best to go without entirely- and other do better if they allow themselves a bit of wiggle room without overdoing it. Find what works for you.
healthy, positive friendships This one, maybe more than any other, was monumental. It is said that you become the 5 people you hang around most. Even before I had 5 people consistently pouring into my life that were happy, healthy and successful, I made sure that my podcasts and other resources gave me that.
I asked myself, who do I want to be?
I started seeking that in my podcasts, Youtube content, online influences… Soon enough I had the mindset that matched the content I was filling my mind with. Soon enough, positive friendships followed!
You become what you engage with.
Therapy Nothing really clicked into place for me until I took steps to therapy. It was like I was giving myself a permission slip to care deeply about my healing. Everything I had learned and experienced came full circle for me. I connected the dots that I had already laid out for myself. A good therapist gives you that.
Making tea from home grown dried herbs. Echinacea, Lavender Hyssop and Calendula
If you can consistently give yourself all or a few of these you will notice a difference in your health… physically, mentally and spiritually! If you can improve your health even on a small scale by implementing these into your routine… would you? Please know that you are worth caring for, you are worth giving yourself self-care. You are worth it just for being you. Taking care of yourself properly helps you show up for others, too. Imagine the ripple effects of that!
