Do you struggle with your happiness levels during the winter? Perhaps you even feel a tad bit depressed or find yourself counting down the days until spring makes its debut?
I’m not the biggest fan of winter. I’d much rather be soaking up some rays poolside with a margarita in my hand during the winter months….but I live in Chicago, so I’m unfortunately not dealt that weather card during the winter.
As a born and raised Chicagoan though, I have come up with some tried-and-true strategies over the years to not only survive November – April, but to thrive and actually enjoy life during these snowy and frigid months. I haven’t always been able to see the bright side of winter, and I’ve had my fair share of wondering why I haven’t moved south yet, but I’ve found that the right mindset and tools to deal with the cold weather can dramatically improve the situation.
I thought I would share my strategies for beating the winter blues and finding the joy in this season, in hopes that it might help you as well!
I also created a free worksheet that you can fill out as you read through this post. It will help you to find your own joy in winter and be able to beat those cold weather blues! 🙂 Use the form below to download your worksheet.
Tips for beating the cold-weather blues and finding the joy in winter:
1. Try to appreciate the beauty that winter brings
It could be going for a short walk around your neighborhood and enjoying the snowy landscape, or simply gazing out into your backyard and reminding yourself how beautiful your trees look with snow on them. Stopping to bask in the beauty and stillness that winter brings makes it a lot more enjoyable to live through.
2. Get your vitamin D
Unless you’re someone who is constantly outside getting sunshine during the winter months (let’s face it, most of us unfortunately aren’t), it might be beneficial for you to take a Vitamin D supplement. Of course you should always consult with your physician before deciding to take supplements, but it’s definitely something worth looking into.
Personally, I just started taking them a few years ago and found that ensuring I am not Vitamin D deficient really takes the edge off of my winter blahs and drastically improves my mood. Perhaps they would do the same for you!
3. Make fun plans
Make plans that you’re excited about and then focus on those fun things you have coming your way. Maybe it’s trying out a new cooking class with friends, or even treating yourself to a weekend getaway. Having something enjoyable to look forward to always helps with keeping a positive mindset.
4. Early to bed, early to rise
Going to bed early and waking up early is going to allow you to experience as much daylight as possible, which can really help soften the blow of much shorter days. And witnessing the sun rising over freshly fallen snow? Pure magic.
5. Make your house brighter
Open up all the curtains and let as much natural light in as possible. You’ll find it to be an instant mood booster!
6. Exercise
Make it fun! Participate in some winter-specific activities like skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, snowshoeing, tubing, ice fishing, sledding, or tobogganing. It will really help you to appreciate what winter has to offer.
If outside activities aren’t for you – no problem. Even some hardcore cleaning around the house or some brisk mall walking counts! Just moving and getting your blood flowing is going to make you feel better.
7. Take up a new hobby
Keeping your mind preoccupied with something that you truly enjoy and look forward to spending time on can be a great distraction from the winter blahs. Whether it’s reading, baking, starting a blog, or even treating yourself to an adult coloring book to enjoy – find something that you would like to put your focus into and love spending time doing!
8. Don’t be a hermit
It’s easy to allow yourself to become isolated when it’s dreary outside. Make sure to stay social by keeping in touch with your friends and family. There’s nothing quite like spending time with our loved ones to lift our spirits and help us get out of a funk!
What are your favorite ways for finding the joy in winter? Share with me below!
Don’t forget to grab your free worksheet!
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Great post! Even though it’s freezing outside, life can still be enjoyed! I like to open my windows and bring in a lot of natural light. It doesn’t seem as miserable outside when it’s bright.
Thanks Michelle! Absolutely, natural light makes all the difference in the world!
Great suggestions, Christina! I’m on #9 right now ~ getting ready to move to South Florida, but until then, I’ll take the other 8 for a spin! 🙂
Well Kay, I suppose that is a solution as well! Haha. That sounds fabulous! I have family in the Fort Lauderdale area and they like to send me pictures of palm trees and ocean views from their office windows when I send them pictures of our blizzards. I’m not envious at all 😉 When’s the big move?
I’m not sure. We were hoping closing would be this week. I’m down to a couch, a chair, a table, those chairs, and mattresses on the floor. It’s 5 below zero this morning. I think I froze my mojo out there! 😛 When I was a kid we lived in Hawaii for 3 years (dad was in the Air Force). My mother constantly complained that she wanted to come back to New York. She missed the snow. I, myself, enjoyed myself VERY much. I need to get back to warmer weather. It was 75 degrees in Melbourne, Florida this morning. That is a 70 degree difference! Why haven’t you moved down there yet? Family would make it so much easier. I do have a brother in Tampa, but he’s pretty, well, we stay away from situations where cops are often involved! :\
That’s so great that you were able to pare down that much! I don’t blame you at all.
It’s only my Brother-in-Law and his family down there, both sets of our parents and my brother and all our extended family live within 5-10 minutes of where we are right now. Much like your Mom, I would miss the snow too!
Okay, that makes total sense! I do love your tips in this post. It’s so much nicer to look at the positives. It makes me want to build a snowman or join in a snowball fight or something! 🙂
This made me want to sing, “do you want to build a snowmannnnnnnn?”…..and I haven’t even seen Frozen yet 😉
HA! I have, and it does! 😀
Great post!! I agree about not being a hermit!! Most days I want to just stay inside, but if I do get out I’m always so happy I did. It feels good to socialize and even just drive around – makes you feel like you’re part of the world again haha!
Thanks Sarah! I’m the same way, I’m a homebody at heart but sometimes it’s just good for me to force myself to get out. It’s probably not the best for saving money on gas….but driving around is one of my favorite things to do! I find it so relaxing. It’s a habit my Husband and I picked up while dating and something that we just really enjoy doing.
Great post! This has always been a struggle for me! I got an adult coloring book for Christmas so I’ll let you know if thats been helpful!
I’m much happier now that the days are getting longer. I can’t stand it when it gets dark at 5:30! We’ve also had a pretty mild winter here, and that has helped. Exercising outdoors has been possible up until this past week.
#5 is huge for me. Every morning I walk through the house and pull every shade up. I’m sure it is terrible for my heating bill but I need natural light!!
I also diffuse citrus essential oils. It helps brighten my mood and keeps the house smelling extra fresh when you can’t open the windows.
Great post! I feel your pain here in the frozen tundra of Champaign, IL! #6 is huge for us. I think staying in shape helps me avoid the hibernation instinct!
Good thoughts to share with everyone. I love #1 and that is why I am still in New York…nothing better than fresh falling snow on trees, houses, cars especially when you have no where to go. I am starting #7 with Coffee & Coloring hour this Thursday night at Barnes & Noble….just something simple to look forward too! I pull my curtains every night but when I am home, they do stay open to enjoy the day light. I also love to spend time cooking soups…nothing better than a hot bowl of yummy when its cold outside.
Thanks Lisa! Coloring hour sounds so fun!
It was way to cold to do much last weekend but I still managed to get out and take my kiddo to a fun birthday party. I’m all for doing fun stuff indoors and in the heat during the winter season 🙂 I also agree with what you said about making your house brighter. We have a big patio door and I love to open the blinds in the daytime instead of turning on lights.
That’s awesome Chonce! Even just going out to run an errand puts me in better spirits 🙂
Thank you so much for this post- wonderful tips! I definitely get the winter blues. I really appreciate your help in beating them this year 🙂
Thanks Allie! Glad you found them helpful 🙂
Great tips. But, the one that sticks out is the Vitamin D tip. I have a buddy who was actually diagnosed with a medical condition that contributed to depression during the winter months. I (personally) thought she was being dramatic, but now she’s on a regime that is helping her. Worth looking into, if someone has regular problems with sadness during winter.
Absolutely Teri! I personally have found taking Vitamin D to be life changing. It really helps with the bleakness of winter for me!
Great list…again Christina. My boyfriend told me we both had S.A.D. today, Seasonal Affective Disorder and I realized he was right. We have been doing our best to keep our spirits up and this is just the list we needed. Thanks…like always for sharing.
I think SAD is way more common than most people realize Mary, my hubby has been diagnosed with it and I think I have a version of it too. I can definitely feel pretty depressed in the winter months. It always helps to focus on the good thing and try to find joy wherever we can 🙂 I hope this helped brighten your dreary days a bit!!
I was so ungrateful when we lived in Kansas winters. I use to hate them and now that we live in hot Houston, I actually miss them! Ha, I guess the “grass is always greener.”
Haha so true Allison, the grass really is always greener!
I left Chicago for sunny Florida many years ago and miss the four seasons. I have noticed that folks in Chicago get out more than Floridians do. No one picnics in their back yard because of the heat. Most people doing outside activities are tourist. Trying to get back home to Chicago and can’t wait.
Aw I can see that Elizabeth! Although my brother-in-law and his family live in southern Florida and absolutely love it there, I think it’s one of those “different strokes for different folks” type of things. I would probably melt down there if I moved haha! Hope you can make it back up here sooner than later to enjoy the seasons again! 🙂
Great tips Christina,
We don’t get that cold in Houston but I still get the winter blues and I do become a hermit, lol. I don’t want to go outside because I get so cold. I’ll need to change that up. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Have a great day and weekend.
Cori
Thanks Cori! Haha I appreciate you sharing that, it sounds like the winter blues are possible no matter where you live!! Although I have no sympathy about the cold, it’s in the mid 30s here in Chicago today and it’s feeling like a complete heat wave 😉
Great article, Christina. I live in the south so we don’t have crazy bad weather, but we do have cold and dreary days that seem to go on forever. This will be helpful.
Aw I’m so glad this was helpful for you! Thank you for your comment!
Thanks Christina! We had a cold dreary day this week and my husband was totally depressed- I made him go work out and I did yoga, we both felt better. Exercise really does help. Gotta get through these cold months and these tips are excellent. ?
Absolutely Julie, exercise does wonders for our mood levels in the winter months!!
We live in Ohio and today was sunny but brisk. A walk with my dog is just what I needed. We have to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible. And days are getting longer now. Yay.
That’s awesome Christine, you are so right! Even just 10 minutes out in the sun (even when it’s cold out) can be such a mood booster. And yay for longer days 🙂
I like this “early to bed, early to rise” idea. I am so horrible in the morning and the winter drains all my energy. I think tucking in a bit earlier would be a really good thing to try for me.
My boyfriend and I are moving to Ireland in the spring, so while they have a milder winter than we have here in NY, they have much shorter days. Early to bed may help me if I stick to that idea in the winter in Ireland.
Definitely give it a try Caitlin! I’m a night owl turned to morning person and am much happier this way, especially during the winter months.
That is so exciting, what part of Ireland are you moving to? Enjoy your big upcoming adventure!!
Thanks for your tips. I’m struggling desperately here in Western PA, especially as a south TX native. So I decided to research SAD and turn my light therapy lamp on because I can NOT do this every single year for the rest of my life! I’m moving to Western NY soon, so not much is going to change haha.
There is SAD in Florida as well. To hot to be outside, high A/C bill, missing the four seasons, missing friends and family and lastly not feeling at home. So hard to move back home and starting all over. One day I will and can’t wait.
I’ve heard that before! I hope you are able to enjoy your time there as best you can before you are able to move back!
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Great Post! I never feel like getting exercise in the winter, but I always feel better when I get outside and move! It’s a great reminder with winter approaching.