How To Improve Your Mental Health During Winter

@hellolovelyliving exploring the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, CA

While most of us are trying to stay productive while managing work, family life, and personal aspirations, our mental health is always a topic of conversation. This time, we’re addressing how so many of us start to suddenly develop depression and mood swings when the days get shorter after the fall season. The winters can have a negative impact on our mental health, but there are ways to combat it. Today, let’s take a look at 5 methods that work.

01

Repair your gut health

Your gut is known as the second brain of your body. Usually, stress and continual adrenal fatigue have deep roots in the bacteria culture in your gut. If it has parasitic prevalence, you will feel burnt out, tired, and unhealthy no matter how much attention you pay to your body. This is because parasites and bacterial imbalances affect the nutritional absorption rates. Many adults are unaware that they have been affected by a parasite.

If you feel you have been infected, it is advised to deworm yourself once a year with the help of over-the-counter medication or natural alternatives to prevent any parasites and to care for any existing conditions. Next, taking prebiotics and probiotics can establish a healthy gut culture, reducing your stress responses and energy levels.

02

Work with holistic supplements

If you experience a downturn in your mood and mental health during the winter, it’s best you make early provisions. Explore holistic foods, superfoods, supplements, and herbs. You can also go a step further and see if cannabidiol strains, oils, and tinctures can be added to your treatment plan as well. They are highly effective at improving mood. There are online headshop accessories to consume these treatments in their concentrated forms. With consistent dosage, cannabidiol can reduce nervous system inflammation, seasonal depression, and anxiety in adults.

03

Create a nutritious meal prep

Your diet plays a highly essential role in keeping your mindset optimistic. If you tend to start feeling the effects of winter blues post-fall, now is the time to upgrade your meals. Look up highly nutritious meal plans that can be prepared with optimal vitamin and mineral content to help your body absorb these nutrients organically. Integrate lots of fresh veggies, colorful fruits, lean meats, or vegan protein sources to come up with a few deliciously filling recipes.

04

Take up therapy

In 2022, we’re fortunate to have several references and specialists to help us deal with mental illnesses. If you have seen a trend in yourself as we move into the colder phase of the year, get help to navigate it better. Working with a certified therapist will also help you improve your productivity and overcome all the symptoms you experience. A therapist can help you identify tools and treatments that will be highly useful to manage and heal the triggers you experience.

If you are wondering how therapy helps with anxiety, there are many studies and testimonies that show just how effective it can be. Therapy can help you to figure out the underlying reasons for why you are feeling anxious as well as offer techniques to help you cope. It essentially gives you what you need to overcome your feelings of anxiousness to hopefully stop it from manifesting in the future.

05

Stay active

If you haven’t been exercising regularly, you should start for the betterment of your mental health. Not only does exercising release feel-good hormones to perk up your mood, but it also keeps your body regulated. Hitting the gym 4-5 days a week for at least 45 minutes can improve your energy levels, metabolism, optimism, and overall happiness. Since exercise is an excellent mood booster, it can be an excellent way to battle winter blues.

06

Get Outdoors

A great way to increase your activity levels is to get outside and explore. Not only are you getting the sunlight you need, which has a huge impact on our Vitamin D exposure, but you are essentially exercising and getting the healthy mental stimulation that nature promotes. Low Vitamin D levels contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression, so you could be solving your mental health concerns simply by incorporating this one essential activity into your daily routine.

Takeaways

Identifying the signs your body is experiencing is far more important than any other factor. When you have recognized your mental health is not responding well to shorter days and colder months, take the necessary steps to work around it. This may take some time to get used to, so now is the perfect time to start creating a plan for yourself to be prepared for the winter months.