Welcome to Fall: 5 Ways to Lessen Beginning Winter Blues Symptoms

(1) Create a Plan to Stay Grounded as Fall Becomes Winter

A feeling of dread used to come over me each year, during the first moment I felt a chill in the air. I'd say, "I feel fall!" and I hated that realization. Because to me, it meant the beginning of the end. Winter blues symptoms were on their way, and it would only get worse, until, miserably, all I would be able to think about was my longing for the end of winter. Have you ever felt that way? If you have winter blues, I imagine you might have.

But I believe that what we focus on expands, so when we are afraid of feeling bad, dwelling on it only makes it worse. I also believe that we can summon good experiences, and that expecting them makes it easier to manifest them.

So how can you apply that to winter blues?

By creating a plan for managing and lessening your winter blues symptoms - because you do have to acknowledge them - and so many strategies can lessen the negativity that can catch you by surprise. So plan for it, but then begin to anticipate the good things.

Stay grounded in your determination to seek warm, cozy, peaceful experiences. And start by slowing life down and simplifying it...

(2) Slow Life Down to Lessen Winter Blues Symptoms

 
I know you're busy, and thus, leading a slow, simple life can be a challenge. But that just makes it even more important to give it a try. It feels so much better than feeling rushed, or disappointed that it didn't all get done. Especially during the winter season.

So Take Life Slowly: Instead of moving at a sporadic, frenetic pace, move consistently and steadily to make progress and accomplish things effectively and smoothly.

De-Clutter: Try to de-clutter your mind as well as the physical space around you. This can help you remove things that don’t have any meaning in your life anymore and let you focus on things that do.

Be Focused as You Make Your Choices: make informed choices and aim for the things you actually want, that need to stay in your life. Try to limit the number of choices you make at a given time in order to pay full attention to each one and achieve them in a healthy way.

Make time: Make time for your priorities and the activities that energize you. Make the time for what is important to you, what motivates you, and what feeds your soul.

Avoid Stress: And find ways to let go when you do feel yourself getting stressed or becoming tense. Step away from the person, situation, or event to avoid any disappointments. This will give you a chance to calm down, find some clarity, and go with the natural flow of the things while leaving the control behind.

(3) Try Meditating: Visualize Cozy Warmth & Winter Peace

Here are several ways to meditate that you can try, to see which one helps most with your winter blues symptoms. I like the idea of walking meditation because you could kill two birds with one stone. Walking in the early morning would give you sunlight and meditating at the same time could pave the way for a more peaceful day.

Walking Meditation: If you don’t like sitting for long periods of time, then walking meditation might just be the thing for you.  You will have to focus on your body while moving.  While your arms and legs swing, feel them uplift and extend. Feel your feet as they rise and touch the ground while keeping your mind focused on the moment, instead of paying attention to other things.

Breathing Meditation: Get in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and inhale slowly through your nose. Hold the breath for a pause and then exhale it through your mouth again slowly.

Mindfulness Meditation: To practice this one, your mind needs to be present in the right moment. Start by focusing on your breath and continue by feeling other sensations in different parts of your body.

Mantra Meditation: This meditation can be practiced by repeating a sacred word, such as “aum,” in order to bring your mind to a state of focused tranquility. You can repeat the mantra aloud or repeat it silently. You also might try repeating a brief affirmation.

Empty Mind Meditation: This meditation technique allows you to be fully aware without a specific focus. Simply sit in a peaceful place in a good posture and let your thoughts float without passing any judgment on them.

These meditation techniques are simple ways to start your meditation practice or enhance and refocus the one you already have.

(4) Use Bedtime Visualizations to Release Any Negativity

As you begin to quiet things down so you can go to sleep, take a moment to close your eyes, and visualize any stress, worry, anxiety or other negative feelings flying off and out of your body and mind.

Imagine these things in some physical form, whether you see these negative emotions as thunderbolts or red dots, or anything that is significant to you, picture them floating away.

Do this every night to get rid of the negative energy that may have built up during the day, which will help to make each new day more open to positive experiences and help to lessen the expectation & build up of symptoms.

(5) Begin to Get Up Earlier

If you're a work-from-home mom like me, every extra minute of sleep counts. And I'm a night owl, so my priority for decades was sleeping as late as I possibly could.

But these days, I get up early in the morning and spend time alone letting myself wake up gradually, setting positive intentions for the day, meditating for a few minutes and doing healing exercises to start the day. But the most important thing is that I do all of it in front of my light box. Research suggests that early morning is the best time to use whatever light resources you have chosen, whether that means taking a long alk in the sun or sitting in front of a light box.

Which of these strategies appeal most to you? Let me know which ones you plan to try.

Love to you!

Jeanine