This year has been mentally tough. And now, paired with the fact that we’re going into a cold, long winter with COVID, it’s not really going to get much better (unless you’re a winter lover, then you might be in luck). So I’m trying to stay ahead of the winter blues and prepare a plan for staying sane and enjoying the next few months as much as I can without seasonal depression getting me down.
I don’t want to take away from the importance that the word “depression” carries. However, every year I do feel affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression or winter blues. It’s not something many people talk about or take seriously, but there are so many people out there who truly do struggle with this. I hate the winter. I hate the cold. I hate getting out of my house into the cold outdoors. It is my least favorite time of the year. During this time, all I want to do is eat my feelings and do absolutely nothing. But if I do that, then I feel terrible about myself and fall into a deeper hole of not liking my body and feeling bad about it, which then makes me want to eat my feelings more and do even less. And it is not a cycle I want to fall into again. This year in particular, I am even more worried and fearful about falling into this awful cycle than any year prior because the world is in such a sad state right now, COVID cases are on the rise, everything is closing down again, etc.
To combat this cycle, I want to take action steps earlier on in the season to help instill good habits, good thoughts, and good feelings so that when the holiday excitement fades away and we’re in the middle of a freezing, gloomy January, I don’t feel as affected by SAD. So here is my self care plan for a winter in quarantine.
No one feels good about dry skin. But it’s not that dry skin is going to make me hate my life, it’s more than that. Moisturizing means keeping up with my skincare regime, which in turn makes me feel prettier (Superficial? Maybe, but it works), which then makes me feel better about myself and less like a slob. I want to have good skin on my face, on my arms, on my legs. It just makes you feel better about yourself and less sad about your appearance. And when you feel better about yourself, you want to take even better care of yourself. It trickles down to eating healthier, dressing nicer, and overall treating yourself like a human being rather than like some unkempt animal.
Nothing makes me feel better than organizing a space or my digital files. I know this one isn’t for everyone, but it’s something that really makes me happy and feel really good about myself. Every time I organize something, I feel accomplished and like I have my life together. So I have a list of organization projects I want to complete and keep up with this winter. A few of the tasks on my list include: organize my bookmarks, organize my poshmark clothes (or just donate them completely), touch up some paint in my house, organize my entryway closet (I want to install this system on one half of it), etc.
Creating content is another one of those kind of superficial things, but it really makes me happy. And I want to do more things that make me happy this winter, especially since everything fun is pretty much closed down due to COVID.
I’ve been blogging since like 2012/2013. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve lost inspiration and motivation, but once those are back, there’s nothing I love more than the creative process of making content. Whether it’s blog posts, YouTube videos, or instagram content, I have some ideas for the coming months that I would love to publish.
As much as I love doing all the things and being productive, they can still cause burnout, where I will crash after constantly being go-go-go. And that is the last thing I want. I love my job, I love creating content, I love organizing, I love just being productive and feeling like I’m doing something with my life instead of rotting away being lazy. But we all need time to rest and recuperate our energy. Plus, I also like doing absolutely nothing LOL I love to just chill on the couch, have a movie night, take a bath, read a book, etc. So I want to make sure that I take the time to do absolutely nothing to avoid that crash that can paralyze me for days.
If you follow me on instagram, you know how much I cherish this hour in my afternoon. It’s another way for my brain to take a minute from running at 80 miles an hour all morning and for it to regain energy to keep running till 4pm. Plus, it’s such a great moment to simply sit and focus only on my drink (or lunch). We all know how bad it is to be eating and watching TV or working at the same time as you are eating. It raises our cortisol levels, which slows down our metabolism and causes a higher level of stress on our body as we digest our food. So I love taking this 30-60 minute break mid-day to slowly eat or sip my latte (and pretend I am in a french cafe overseas). It is a moment and it is a vibe.
And of course, there are the classic habits of waking up early, eating healthy and exercising to keep the winter blues away. But these are basic habits I am constantly working on and we hear about all the time. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail about these.
I’d love to know what habits you are working on instilling into your daily routine to help you keep the seasonal depression and winter blues away.
If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy my post from last year on how to beat the winter blues.
Love you + wishing you a season free from winter blues!
♥ Alena
Welcome to Love Everything Lovely, a life & style blog filled with my take on living a life all around lovely and with the goal to inspire you to pursue your loveliest life! I’m Alena, a twenty-something with a heart full of passion for beauty, fashion, and always striving to live my best and loveliest life.