How I’m Learning To Ease Into The Winter Months

As soon as it starts to get darker as September goes on, I begin to struggle a bit mentally and I start to feel a shift because the shorter days are on their way and they will be here until around March.  That’s around six months of dull, dark and most likely wet days, because, you know; British weather …

I first noticed a mood dip with the winter months years ago, when I was working in a call centre for a catalogue company for the few months leading up to Christmas.  I was leaving the house when it was dark and I was getting home when it was dark and for the first time, I noticed myself experiencing the winter blues.  I made a point of going outside for some fresh air and some daylight on my breaks so that it would help lift my mood.

Do you love or loath this time of year? 

I realised this last week that October also has two negative dates for me, one being my ex’s birthday that I can not seem to forget, no matter how much I don’t focus on it or him.  It’s also the anniversary month of my dad’s death, with this year being eleven years since he passed away, although we hadn’t been close for many years, I still find it a difficult time. 

So far, I’ve struggled to create lasting happy impressions for October but I’m hoping that will change this year as I’m getting baptised on Sunday, October 17th.  When I messaged a Christian friend about my negative reminders for this month, she replied that she is struck that in me, life is resurrected.  

As it’s this autumnal change in season that affects my mood more than any others throughout the year, so a few years ago I began to explore how I can help myself in more ways over the winter months and how I can start to make it an amazing time instead of one that I dread.

It begins for me in September where I continue to open my bedroom curtains as soon as I'm up in the morning and when it’s too dark for that, I open them as soon as it gets light.   I also sleep with the window open as much as possible until it is too cool, although I do still open my window for a bit in the morning to let some fresh air in.  I try to leave it as long as possible before I switch the central heating back on, and this year I managed to wait until the last week of September before needing it to take the chill off in the morning and evening.  

Something else that I’ve been doing for the last few years is planning self-care into my week in the form of rest during my day’s off and making sure I get some early nights.  I take my day off mornings at a slower pace than those days that I’m at work, I make sure that I still eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as we move into autumn.

Over the last few years, I’ve also been trying to get a list of films that I can watch over the autumn months that invoke happier feelings at this time of year.  I think it’s also about films that have that ‘feel good feeling’ when you watch them, so that does mean including some rom coms.  Some that I’ve already found are; You’ve Got Mail, Coach Carter, Sweet Home Alabama, Finding Forrester and Chocolat.  I’m not into thrillers or horror films which I know limit’s the number of films that I can watch that are either set or meant to be watched at this time of year and as I also don’t do Haloween either, it’s even more restrictive.  

I don’t drink coffee so I can’t do the seasonal flavoured coffee’s at this time of year and I don’t know if there are tea equivalents or not.  That could be something that I look into for this year to see if they exist and if they do, to then try some to see if I like any of them.  I don’t like the fruity flavoured teas or chai tea as I have tried them in the past, so I know that limits me a tad.

I do love a milky hot chocolate before bed at this time of year so maybe I need to look into a really nice treat one for the next few months.  I usually have the Options Belgian Chocolate, which I’ve just found out is made by Twinings!!  That will be why I like it so much, as I also love a few of their black teas!  When I was looking for a treat hot chocolate while doing my food shop this week, I found their Swiss Hot Chocolate drink so I got some of that as well as their Options peppermint as I’ve had that before and seems sort of seasonal with it being a few months away from a certain December holiday that it’s way too early to mention just yet.

I plan things to look forward to in the form of a cosy movie night and I’m beginning to think about making a batch of my homemade vegetarian bolognese for during the week after work.  I make a big batch and freeze it in potions to reheat and I eat it with either pasta or garlic bread, it’s my favourite comfort food for this time of the year.  I’m going to need to get the things for it within the next few weeks now as I’m remembering how tasty it is!

It’s a bit too early here for some of the trees to be changing colour to those beautiful autumn hues but I’m looking forward to seeing them when they do.  There are some in town that have the prettiest leaves, but I won’t see them as much now as I no longer work in town.  I will no doubt need to nip in and run some errands soon and will undoubtedly take a fair few photos of the leaves while I’m there.

Reframe your outlook for the changing seasons.  It’s all about finding things that help you feel good as the seasons’ change if you have that autumn anxiety or the winter blues as they’re more commonly known.  Look around where you live and see if you can spot any beautiful trees changing colours, appreciate a beautiful sunrise or sunset when you catch them, eat warming and comforting meals.  

Comment down below what do you love about the autumn season?