How to Overcome the Winter Blues and Find Wellness

Being an attorney is hard enough; but for some, it’s even harder during the winter months. In part this can be due to the reduced daylight, colder temps, and the stress that the holiday season can bring. So, let me be the first to acknowledge that when I was living in Montana it was always harder for me to eat right, keep up with my exercise regimen, and get enough sunshine during the cold and dark winter months. The good news is that it needn’t be this way.

Truth be told, years ago one of my responses to the darkness of winter was to take on a low mood that brought about a drop in my energy level. Over time I learned that the absence of sunlight was part of the reason this would happen. If your experience with winter is similar, recognize the situation for what it is and do something about it. You could invest in light therapy lamps that mimic natural sunlight, start to take short breaks during your workday to get outside to take in a little sun, or make sure your workspace is near a window in order to maximize your exposure to natural light. 

For me things got really hard once the COVID lockdowns became part of our day-to-day lives because the lockdowns further exacerbated the “keeping up with my exercise regimen” problem. This situation was what got me to the point where I could finally say to myself enough is enough, no more excuses.

If you find yourself making excuses regarding exercise, work to change that. The more active you become, the easier it will be to beat the winter blues. I started with cycling and have since added in tennis. What could it be for you? I know that making a change like this can be hard. Realize that it doesn’t need to be an all or nothing proposition, however. Just start. You might turn one of those short outside breaks mentioned above into a longer and longer walk or team up with one of your support systems and do something together. For example, play pickle ball with your spouse or go to the gym once a week with a friend. And always keep in mind Newton’s first law of motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted on by a net external force. So, once you start, do all you can to make sure your mind doesn’t become an external force that prevents your body from staying in motion!

Now, it’s time for a confession. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the mindfulness movement. Perhaps it’s because I apparently lack the cognitive skill of being able to create and sustain a state of meta-awareness on the contents of my own mind in the present moment without conceptual reification. Man is that a mouth full! 

Regardless, I have come to believe in the importance of mindful eating. Trust me, I know what mindless eating is like and what it can do to one’s body. Comfort food is called comfort food for a reason, and it is so easy to embrace all that goodness, particularly when one is under stress or feeling down – a common response to the cold months of winter, the stress of the holiday season, the pressure of the end of the year workloads, and the list goes on.

What got me there was coming across a book a few years ago called “Wheat Belly.”  Suffice it to say, that title described me to a T! Here again, I finally was able to realize that I needed to make a change and for whatever reason reading that book created my opportunity. Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t wake up the next morning forever more swearing off everything that had gluten in it. I simply decided to start to be mindful (think intentional) about my eating going forward. Protein became more of a go-to choice and portions became more reasonable. I slowly learned to replace bad carbs with good carbs and bad fats with good fats. Yes, I still enjoy the comfort foods now and again. I just don’t graze anymore, because I finally woke up to the reality that my body isn’t a garbage can. All this happened because I was open to finding my opportunity and I have felt better ever since. If unhealthy mindless eating happens to be a struggle for you as well, particularly doing the winter months, be open to finding your opportunity. It’s out there. All you need to do is look for it.

I could continue to share stories, stories that underscore the importance of social connections, getting a good night’s rest, setting personal boundaries, nurturing support systems, and again, the list goes on; but my hope is these few have been enough to hit the mark. The point I am really trying to make is this. Each of us is on our own journey, a journey that will have all kinds of unique twists and turns. During my own journey, one of the things I learned was the importance of recognizing and taking advantage of the opportunities each twist and turn represented. The challenge was in daring to take advantage of the change opportunities life set before me. That was the hard part. 

Now, hear me clearly. I’m not saying that I did all the work alone, never needing any help. I can assure you at times I most certainly did. What I am saying is that every decision to change had to start with me. I had to decide to take that first small step each and every time. What I found was that once I started to move, keeping the momentum up wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The same can be true for you. Will the path of change always be smooth and problem free? Nope. I have and will continue to stumble from time to time. All I can say is that’s life. When it happens, see it for what it is and just keep moving forward because finding wellness happens one step at a time.