Ep 15 - Beating The Winter Blues: Seasonal Depression and Anxiety

Feeling anxious or depressed as the days get shorter? This episode of the More Than Anxiety Podcast with Megan Devito offers 10 actionable tips to help you navigate seasonal effective disorder so you feel happier, centered, and more joyful.

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll learn:

• The science behind Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and how it impacts your mood and energy levels.
• Why people living in northern countries with less sunlight might not experience higher rates of SAD (hint: it's all about mindset!).
• 10 practical strategies to combat the winter blues, including:
  • Taking vitamin D3 supplements
  • Letting natural light into your home or using a light therapy lamp
  • Balancing hibernation with getting outside for fresh air and movement
  • Choosing warm, nourishing foods that boost your gut health
  • Finding ways to laugh and lighten your mood
  • Creating a consistent sleep schedule
  • Getting sweaty with exercise you enjoy
  • Dressing intentionally to feel good about yourself
  • Connecting with loved ones for support and social interaction

This episode is perfect for you if:

• You experience anxiety or depression during the winter months.
• You're looking for practical tips to boost your mood and energy levels.
• You're interested in learning about the science behind SAD.
• You're ready to take control of your mental well-being and create a more joyful winter season.

Thanks for listening!

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Transcript

Welcome to the More Than Anxiety Podcast. I'm Megan Devito, and I am the Life Coach for women and teenagers living with anxiety, who want more out of life. I'm here to help you create a life you love to live, where anxiety isn't holding you back, get ready for a light hearted approach to managing anxiety through actionable steps, a lot of truth talk and inspiration to take action. So you walk away feeling confident in your ability to live a life that sets your heart on fire. Let's do This.
Welcome to Episode 15 Of the More Than Anxiety Podcast. I'm Megan and I'm recording this in my car this morning while my daughter is in a swim meet, so if the audio sounds differet, it's coming through my earbuds and it's just the way it's gonna be this week. I'm also recording this in early December of 2022. Where we are well into dark season. We're on Standard Time,and I believe this episode will come out just the day before the winter solstice. Not coincidentally, because I'm hearing it everywhere I go, today is all about helping you navigate winter, and the feeling of anxiety and depression you might feel when the trees are bare, the sun goes down way too early, and as I record this, comes up much later. As someone who is cold unless it's 85 degrees out and who thrives on sunshine, I start paying attention from the day of the winter solstice on looking for later sunsets and earlier sunrises and I'm always surprised at how quickly I noticed that it stays light a little bit longer in the evenings and gets sunnier or the sun comes up just a little bit earlier. So I am ready to start seeing some changes go in that direction. Now that we've hit the pinnacle of dark, let's start getting lighter.
So depending on where you live and what you love to do, New York, LA, somewhere in between, Canada, Europe... winter might be something that you absolutely dread, or maybe it's something that you look forward to. I think this is really interesting; while I was planning this episode, I started wondering about other parts of the world like maybe Scandinavia or Alaska, and my thought was that, in theory, since those countries are further north or in higher latitudes, they should have much higher rates of SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, than maybe say, Indiana where I am. But, the stats didn't line up. So I thought that was kind of crazy. And this is important for you if you struggle with feeling anything from the winter blues to the more extreme form of SAD, which is Seasonal Affective Disorder.  What SAD is, it's just this cyclical form of depression caused by changes in your circadian rhythm, which is a 24 hour cycle that regulates all of the hormones and the biochemical processes that happen in your body. So when it starts to get dark earlier in the evening, or stay dark later in the morning, it can really mess with your hormones and that can cause you to feel anxious, or depressed, or exceptionally tired, or even to gain weight - kind of like hibernation. But people don't hibernate, so for some people, as the hours of sunlight decrease in the fall and in the winter, their circadian rhythm can get disrupted. So, melatonin, just like the little gummies, or whatever you might take to help you sleep, and the neurotransmitter serotonin suddenly just drop in the winter and this can cause you to be, like I said, tired, depressed, grouchy, to want to eat more, and to put on some weight. This doesn't hold true for everyone. And the reason we know that this isn't necessarily true for everyone is because those countries that I mentioned that are even further north than where I am, where I do know people who struggle with this, don't necessarily see as high of rates of anxiety and depression; but they also have more darkness. So if you picture... I'll do a quick geography lesson from my teaching days... The further you go towards the top and the bottom of the Earth, like towards the poles, you see more dark in the winter and more light in the summer, just because of the tilt of the Earth and the location of the sun. So it's darker in Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Canada, Alaska for longer periods of time than it is if you are in Indiana, and certainly if you're further south, like in Florida or towards the equator. So yes, theres, you know, because we know that those countries don't have significantly higher rates of Seasonal Affective Disorder, something else is going on there. So yes, There could be a biological component to this feeling with your hormones and your circadian rhythm, but there's also another incredibly important component of why people feel sad and anxious during this time of year and that's really what I want to offer today; tips to help you tackle the winter blues. Or if you're more extreme with like full on Seasonal Affective Disorder from both the mental aspect and the physical front, so that you can truly feel better and set yourself up for less anxiety and more relief, no matter if it's December or July. So grab something to write on, or write with, and, or you can just be sure to download this episode and come back if you're driving, or if you're working out or whatever because you're gonna want to take notes.
I am offering 10 ways that you can start to beat the winter blues today. 10 simple things you can do that will help you make it through the darkest part of the season to help you when it's the lightest part of the season, because it's just all around general good practice for mental health.
The first one is to take vitamin D3. This was a big deal for me when I started working through my anxiety I was reading up on what can I do? What can I take? How do I make this go away? And vitamin D3 really helped me and it's helped a lot of other people. But D3 isn't actually a vitamin. It's a steroid hormone and it's manufactured in the body from direct exposure to the sunlight, without any pills at all. But during the winter when it's darker, and when we tend to stay inside more, because it's cold out, your body cannot create enough vitamin D3 on its own. So taking a supplement of D3 can raise that natural hormone in your body. Because the sunlight is weaker and more scarce in the winter, just by a bottle of D3 supplements to help make up for that less sunlight. There's a really strong correlation between vitamin D3 and reduced levels of anxiety, whether you're anxious or depressed in the winter, or all year long. Simple right? Grab some d3 Next time you're at the grocery or at CVS or wherever you buy supplements.
Number two, let the light that is available into your house, and/or invest in one of the high quality light therapy sunlamps. You can buy these things on Amazon. You can get them anywhere. So the more natural light, the better, but when the sunlight isn't enough, you can look at light therapy lamps. These are not the little tanning lamps. So yes, if you're know going to tan, it can help because obviously it's really intense UV light. But these lamps are really, for a lot of people, household necessities in areas that suffer from lack of winter sunshine, especially if you live further north, the closer to the polls and less sunshine in the winter. So for example, if you live in New Hampshire, or Alberta, Canada, in theory, you would be more prone to experiencing SAD than somebody like I said, who lives in Florida, Southern California. But This isn't to say you can't experience like mental health shifts if you're in the lower latitudes. Because if you stay inside and you're not getting that D3 from the sunlight, you can also have that experience living in closer to the equator, Mexico, wherever. If you don't have a light therapy lamp, you can start by opening your blinds before the sun ever comes up in the morning. Get up, let the light in as soon as possible, First thing. So heading outside, also where you're less shielded, by your roof and your walls can be beneficial, but that sunlamp, if you're not wanting to go outside and freeze your butt off, you can get one on Amazon anywhere from $20 to $400 depending on what you want to spend. I would love to tell you that I know the difference in the best one but I don't. You can use it on and off for like 15 minute time intervals during the day just to help your body get back onto a regulated circadian rhythm. Jump on Amazon, check out a light lamp.
Number three hibernate but only when necessary. Yes, I know when it's dark and cold. It's very tempting to just like wrap up, snuggle up and take a nap. And I will be the first to say that God bless you if you are the outdoor winter weather people, because someone, like I said, as somebody who's cold in the middle of summer, and someone who's happiest hanging out in my home, it's really easy for me to fall into cabin fever. As winter goes on for me, even though February is lighter than December, that's when cabin fever starts to really hit for me like I need to be getting out of my house. I start craving beach time. But finding a balance between hunkering down for the day and getting up and out takes intention. So yes, there is a time and a place to hibernate and to snuggle in, but there's also a lot of good that comes from being intentional about not hibernating. So binge, but balance; binge, Netflix, but balance. So even if you're an introvert who is freezing like me, the hardest part is really sometimes getting up and out the door and This is where mindset comes into the equation. Remember, I said that those people who live in like, I'm just keep using Scandinavia, because it's like the happiest place in the world, other than I know, Disney takes that tagline. But really, the countries of like Norway and Sweden have incredibly high rates of happiness, which is awesome but it's because of their mindset. And if you are relying on your body and your thoughts to make the first move, you're already starting from behind, because let's be really honest, it's easier to sit there and do nothing and it's hard to find that motivation. So if you're waiting on motivation to come, it may not be coming, I'm just going to be straight up honest with you. Motivation is very fleeting. It's not about motivation, it's about intention and determination. Here's what you can do, intentionally shifting your thoughts, to what you want, to the benefits of getting up instead of how hard it might feel for you, and actively choosing to, stand up first of all, get dressed, and head out, takes effort, it takes intention, and it takes planning. So I help people with this so often, and creating the routines and thoughts that allow you to find those feel good feelings before you take the first step, but then celebrating the success because you put on pants or whatever it took so that you can continue getting out of the house. And making plans or even changing that mental chatter inside your head is crucial. When you start making those changes and finding ways to do it, it starts to flip the switch on lots of other areas on your life. It's my favorite part of my job is to be able to hear what people are changing in their daily routines just based on what they're saying to themselves.
Number four. Are you ready? Eat warm, nourishing foods. Eat. It's so good! This is soup season for a reason and other than they're easy, lots of people love to eat soup. Foods like bean soup or lentils, squash soup, chicken noodle soup made with bone broth...they warm you from the inside out, and they introduce good bacteria back into your gut. Since winter also happens to coincide with being sick, if you're taking an antibiotic, this is really especially important. You can help heal your gut, which directly influences your mental health, by choosing foods like bone broth, miso, beans, legumes, and then topping things like chili or white chicken chili, whatever you like to make, with plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, because that introduces more pre and probiotics back into your body and you really need to replace those good bacteria in your gut after you take an antibiotic. So if you've been sick and you've been on antibiotics during the winter, really be intentional about choosing foods that are pre and probiotic. And while you're picking up the D3, maybe pick up a pre and probiotic at the store as well.
Number five, laugh more. That's sort of cliche. Remember, I told you I'm going to give you a cliche on every episode? Here I am again -  laughter is the best medicine. Whether your thing is watching really hilarious Reels or Tik Toks or you love slapstick comedy, or you have a kid who is absolutely hilarious at your house, intentionally seeking out things that make you laugh is great! Laughing releases endorphins like dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin and those hormones help you feel less stressed, and less sad, and less anxious. When you laugh. You also lower your blood pressure, and you release the tension that's being stored in your body. And the more you laugh, the less cortisol that is stored in your body as well, so you're proactively lowering your stress and anxiety levels from the baseline. So from the get go, when you're laughing, you're lowering the stress that's already in your body. When you binge on laughter, and learn how to laugh at yourself while you're at it, it's really powerful, because life is way too short to take yourself seriously all the time, isn't it? Finding something to laugh about - super powerful!
Number six. This is a hard one for me. But I started really being intentional with this last year and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. And if you like, if you're a skier or snowboarder, or you like to build snowmen, or woule like to ice skate, whatever it is that you'd like to do outside in the winter, two thumbs up to you! This is sometimes a struggle for me.  Layer up, go outside and take in some of the fresh air. There's something that takes intention about this. So just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean you and I shouldn't be out there. As long as you're layering up with a hat and maybe a warm jacket, maybe long johns, there's absolutely no reason not to go outside for a walk in the sunshine or in the snow. And I guess maybe in the sleet, if that's your thing. Because moving your body is powerful medicine, being outside is powerful, and when you want to feel less anxious or depressed. There's something about the sunshine in the snow that is especially beautiful. I love the way the snow looks, I don't necessarily want to touch it and be in it, but it's gorgeous. So even as the cold winter hater that I am, I can absolutely say that it's beautiful out. And This is also a fantastic time to practice refocusing your thoughts on what you appreciate and enjoy about the day. At the beginning of the episode, I mentioned that people who live in places like Norway, Sweden, Finland, all those northern places, where it's significantly darker for longer stretches of time, are the happiest people. Maybe you're wondering how this can be possible or true when SAD is an issue for you, and the answer is how they choose to view life. Your mindset is a choice. Even when your circadian rhythm changes, you still have choices. Yes, you may feel more tired, and how you choose to think about being more tired is a decision or a choice. When you actively direct your thoughts to what you are grateful for, what you appreciate, and what is going well, you change your brain and allow your brain to cultivate even more intentional good feelings. It is a straight up fact. It's called neuroplasticity and it is magic. Just remember that this doesn't mean you ignore what isn't going well, or pretend nothing is wrong. I don't want to create this pretend land of fantasy, or where you have to fake it. That's not what I'm going for. It just means finding what's going well and creating the energy and thoughts that help you solve for what isn't going well helps you be proactive, and intentional, and feeling good.
Number seven; create a daily sleep schedule where you choose to stick to a consistent sleep time, and a consistent wake time. Because when it gets dark at 5:00 or 5:30, and it doesn't get light again until 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning, you really might be tempted to go to bed extra early. Your body might tend to follow the sun, which is pretty much a natural process. But it can also make you more tired and more depressed or anxious. If you're sleeping too much, too much sleep can cause you to be more tired during the day. So if This is a pattern that you're stuck in, and you don't understand why you're so tired," I'm sleeping 12 hours, why am I so tired?", it makes sense. Most adults just need seven to nine hours. That's ideal. With a little bit of wiggle room on either side of that, like maybe you need six, maybe you need nine and a half, but if you're sleeping for 12 hours a day, it's too much. If you consider how you feel, to get up and do the things if you're tired or out of energy, a great first step is to choose a bedtime, add seven to nine hours and set an alarm. Then, actively get up and do something that you've been looking forward to.  This might take some thought ahead of time. So think about This. If your thought right now is I'm tired. I've been sleeping 12 hours a day! What is my problem? The first thing is you're sleeping too much. And the second thing is that when you're tired, it might be hard to think about things that sound fun, because you're tired. So the plan here or the 1st step here is to think of something that would be fun if you had the energy to do it. Then, change your sleep time and your wake time so that you're getting less sleep, which creates more energy than being intentional about that thing that you wanted to do. For example, maybe the thought is, I would love to take my kids ice skating but I'm exhausted. I've been sleeping too much. The plan is I'm going to bed at 9:30am getting up at six. And at 10 o'clock in the morning or four o'clock in the afternoon, whatever time works for you. we are going ice skating. And when we make this inevitable with a plan! So creating routines just keeps you focused on where you're headed and out of that spiral of indecision and apathy. And if you don't have one, you need to get one. And if you need help with that you need to talk to me.
Okay, number eight. Find a movement class that makes you sweat or find a way to move at home that makes you sweat. When you're creating your daily routine, which is part of creating a sleep schedule, be sure to add time to move your body. Whether you decide that it's walking outside in the snow, or you like working out alone or you miss going to the gym. Sweating is one of those things that really does make a difference. And we know it. We may not like it, but we definitely know it. I will add the caveat here that if you are sensitive to your heartbeat, or feeling out of breath, exercises extra beneficial when you do it in stages. I know This can be tough if you feel like every time your heart rate speeds up, something is wrong. However, I remember this part of my life and I love what I learned about myself from working out and how much better I feel after I'm done. And learning to recognize that I can work out, my heartbeat can go up, and I am safe, then also noticing that when I'm done, I feel accomplished. I feel tired in a good way. And over time I start feeling really, really good. That's powerful. That's again, why we start working these things in in very small steps. So we don't overwhelm them while I'm your nervous system. But we just start creating them in your routine so they just become part of your normal life.
Number nine, buy some great looking winter outfit so you don't feel frumpy. Or, if you don't have extra money to buy an outfit, start by putting on pants. I think this is a lesson that was well learned during COVID or at least I know that I saw the power of not sitting around in pajamas and sweats all day. Your posture, how you feel about how you look and even if you think it's shallow, it really does change how you feel about yourself, and your energy level, and your ability to feel better. So little things like getting dressed, showering, maybe putting on lipstick, make an incredible shift in your mood and your energy because nothing says I'm too tired, like wearing pajamas all day. And brains are tricky like this. If you break your routine, and every single day you're living in pajamas, of course you're tired. Of course you're not motivated, because you're telling your brain, we don't need to get dressed today. And that might seem silly, but it's true. It is incredibly powerful to put on actual pants. And I know that when you're depressed, feeling like taking a shower, and taking care of yourself falls to the bottom of the list of things that you feel capable of doing. I also know that finding a way to make it to the shower is a game changer for people. And it just is intention and finding that drive to take one step. You can do it. I've seen people do it. I've helped people do it, but it takes determination and intention, even when your body's fighting against you. And please, I mean, I'm not I don't want you to think that I'm downplaying how you feel I get it. I do. I also know it's possible.
And that leads me to Number 10. Number 10 is talk to someone make time for intentional weekly chats with your friend, with your therapist, with your coach, with your church group, someone. These can be for pleasure like going out and having coffee, or they can be for healing, or they can be for personal growth. And somehow all three of these things just happen to come together when you make communicating and connection part of your day. So having a set plan on your calendar again, creating that routine brings forward motion and purpose to your day and to your week, it gives you one more thing to look forward to. And if you aren't working with a coach, it moves you forward through the dark and cold winter and to summer and sunshine with incredible amounts of momentum! If you're talking to a therapist, it gives you some relief so that you can start creating some sort of plan with what's you know what you have to look forward to.
If you've never talked to a coach, you can schedule time to talk with me for free using the link in the show notes or by going to my website. It's my name, megandevito.com/workwithme.
So how are you going to know which one of these tips to start with? This is a question that like, "what the heck, how am I even supposed to know where to start, Megan? You just gave me like 10 things!" Pick one, or just start by picking your top three things that you were like, "Okay, maybe that one kind of jumped out at me." Those are great ones that obviously appeal to you the most. It's a great place to start. You don't have to do everything on this list at once. Next scheduled time on your calendar to actually do them starting tomorrow, or if you're listening to this first thing in the morning, start today. So if you choose a sleep routine, set your alarm right now and if you want to start moving your body more, lay out your exercise clothes tonight. If you want to have soup for dinner, go out today and buy the ingredients, but you have to take action! And once you've started, keep doing these things. If you enjoy them, keep them on your schedule, then start adding one more from your top from this list or from your top favorites on this list anyway. And so pretty soon winter is over and you're well into more sunshine and being able to get outside and you just keep moving forward with things that help you feel good.
If you're one of those people that's prone to the winter blues or anxiety or stress or you just lack motivation and you want to make sure that you don't fall into a rut this year, then click on the link that I mentioned right now, schedule a time to talk with me. Let's find a whole bunch of ways that you can choose from to make winter more fun, and to make the rest of the year powerful. You do not have to wait until New Year's! I don't know what it is about that like calendar thing where it's January 1 and suddenly, people think there's like some fairy godmother that shows up on the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to say, "And poof! Now the changes happen." Because honestly, it's the worst time to make changes. There's too much pressure and everybody falls apart. So right now, if you're listening to this, and you are feeling like, "You know what, I'm going to start these things!" Please don't wait because if there's anything I know for sure it's that New Years is funm and also the worst time ever to start. The best time ever to start is right NOW!  Whether you're listening to this in December or June right now. This is the time to start if you feel motivated, not in a couple of weeks. If you're thinking you're getting yourself together, it's too late. I will be back next week for episode 16 And I'll talk to you then. Make it a great day!
I hope you've enjoyed This episode of The More than Anxiety Podcast. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review so others can easily find this resource as well. And of course when you're ready to explore coaching with me, jump to the show notes, click the link and schedule time for us to talk. See you soon.