Seasonal depression? I know her personally: her favorite color, her talents, and her hobby of making me feel like a completely different person the second the temperature drops below 30°. Not only can you physically see the life being sucked out of me as I lose the golden tan I spent all summer perfecting, but I can also feel myself losing the will to function like a normal human being.
As soon as it gets cold enough to warrant a winter coat, my motivation crumbles, my social battery drains, and suddenly, I am staying in bed three hours longer than usual. I am not a winter person, by any means. I love heatwaves, lying in the sun, iced drinks, driving with the windows down blasting music, going to the beach… all of it. (I am genuinely upsetting myself just typing this.) Therefore, for the next several months, until at least March or April, I am going to struggle.
November and December are obviously exceptions to the rule. With Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are so many things to be happy about and embrace the cold weather. There are cute decorations, fun activities, warm seasonal drinks, holiday joy, and excuses to shop and buy presents. But the second it so much as hits January at 12:00:01 a.m., I begin the seasonal decline we all know and hate. Since I refuse to let winter ruin four entire months of my life, this year, I am going to embrace it with open arms. I do not love the cold, and probably never will, but there are many ways to make it more cozy, tolerable, and occasionally enjoyable. So, here are the habits I’ll be implementing to keep me comfortable and sane when it feels like the sun is merely a distant memory.
Get a space heater (if you can)
This is not the most universal nor accessible piece of advice. I know that. But if you can get a space heater, or in my case, there was one lying around your house, use it. If you couldn’t already tell, I hate being cold. And, I am always cold. To make matters worse, my destination for winter breaks from college is in Vermont, which is a cold girl’s worst nightmare. You would think, “Oh, she’s from Connecticut. She is probably seasoned to colder winters, right?” Wrong. Vermont is a whole different ballgame. Winters are brutal, snow covers the ground from early November to late March, and you have to acclimate to an average winter temperature of about 5 °.
Last winter, there was a running joke in my family that my bedroom was the honorary sauna. My room was always very warm, probably a little too warm, but honestly? It cured my constant coldness and brought me a level of coziness I especially needed in January. There is no better feeling than stepping into a toasty room after walking back inside from frigid weather. Because if you’re anything like me, once you are cold, it takes some pretty extreme measures to get warm again. A space-heated room is the cure for that. A warm room = a happier me. That’s the math.
romanticize literally everything
Winter is bleak. Everything is dark, cold, and depressing. I have found that the only way to counteract such a disheartening reality is with delusion. Put on warm, fuzzy socks and pretend it’s your era of self-care. Light a cinnamon candle and pretend you’re the main character journaling through a tumultuous time. Walk with headphones, a scarf, and gloves like you’re in a movie montage. If life refuses to be glamorous and fun in the dead of February, you have to force it a little.
My biggest piece of advice here is making your room aesthetic and cozy. Romanticize the plethora of blankets, the obscene amount of pillows, the candlelit ambiance, and the joy that coziness brings. When winter forces me inside, it helps to have a room that feels like my own personal sanctuary. Hang things on your walls that bring you joy, turn on the soft, delicate lights, put on a comfort show, have a cup of tea, and watch how cozy and warm you’ll feel inside while the harsh winds bluster outside your window.
prioritize Warm Foods
I have actually been seeing this advice on TikTok a lot lately. The wellness girlies are advising us to prioritize warm foods: soups, teas, slow-roasted vegetables, and even drinking room temperature or warm water as opposed to iced. Apparently, warm cooked foods help with faster digestion and are good for your gut health because they take less bodily energy to be broken down. These benefits are great, and we should certainly be prioritizing foods that make our bodies feel good in a time when the weather is making our minds feel bad. I also simply find comforting advantages in focusing on nutrition at these temperatures. To counter the fact that I am always cold during the winter, it helps to eat and drink warm things that can keep me toasty from the inside out. So, have some tea, soup, oatmeal, or whatever keeps you cozy and content.
prioritize people that make you feel warm!
This season certainly amplifies loneliness. The holidays aren’t always the most enjoyable as a single person at this age, and since the weather is already so isolating, social lives can feel a bit desolate at times. It’s important that you are selective with who you choose to share your time with and prioritize the ones who fill your cup. Keep the people who make you laugh, text you back, check in, feel like comfort, and don’t contribute to the draining feeling that the cold weather brings. Steer clear of stress. It’s too much to handle during these months. Friendships and relationships should feel like cozy blankets.
On that note, plan fun, winter-oriented activities with your friends! Put your coats and scarves on, go out for a walk, go shopping together, or go grab a hot seasonal coffee. My friends and I plan an annual New York City trip over winter break. It’s fun, exciting, and a nice break from being at home. It also makes me enjoy the winter weather a bit more than usual since we do all of the festive, holiday activities. Spending time with friends can make you feel especially warm and grateful for life. After all, these times are a reminder that we are fortunate enough to enjoy these seasonal changes and brave them with those we love most.
get up and get warm
Make time for movement! This doesn’t mean becoming a gym influencer overnight. I’m talking about prioritizing some form of bare minimum movement. A walk is always a great idea. The weather isn’t ideal and certainly does not incentivize me to go outside and feel its wrath, but it helps your body to make a daily walk a common goal. You could also do some light stretching or yoga in your bedroom. Or, maybe your form of daily movement is simply getting out of bed and tidying your living space a little. Whatever you can accomplish to get the blood flowing and your body warm is what works for you. Winter convinces us to be stagnant. We have to fight back against that. Movement clears our minds, keeps us warm, and makes us feel better than constantly staying still.
let yourself slow down
I certainly need to follow my own advice here. When I go home for break and I am not waking up at 6:00 a.m. every day, following my routine, going to the gym, doing homework every four seconds, and functioning like a busy, productive human being, I just feel unwell. I actually start to lose my mind a little bit. There’s a lot more time for boredom to ensue, and I am no longer consistently seeing and talking to people on a busy campus. But that’s okay! We’re not meant to operate like it’s July. Even the sun is disappearing at 4:00 p.m. It’s okay for us to do that sometimes, too. Our energy goes along with the warmth and joy of summer. Resting isn’t a weakness. It’s seasonal. It’s logical. It’s human.
Every winter feels like an emotional obstacle course, and yet every year I always make it through. Cozy environments, warm food, gentle movement, and the occasional delusional romanticizing certainly help. Winter isn’t easy for summer people like me, or anyone, for that matter. It can feel quite isolating and lonely. But with the right rituals and a very powerful space heater, it becomes just a little more bearable. And sometimes, in January or February, that’s all you need.