By: Ayesha Devani
The transition into holiday season is usually associated with warmth, comfort, and hopefully hot chocolate. The downfall of this transition comes with something most of us like to call seasonal depression. With the sun setting earlier, a lot of us feel like our days are shorter. Lesser sunlight and colder winds make us feel drained of energy. The weather is out of our control, but how we cope is indeed something in our control. As college students, we are consistently overwhelmed by our surroundings. Exiting an academic building after a 75-minute lecture whilst the sun has set is possibly the most discouraging feeling. Self-care is a term that we usually throw around while giving it little to no importance. In a time where the weather seems to drastically impact our mood, it is important to emphasize the role of self-care. Mood-boosting exercises are a set of activities that allow us to decompress enough to then be productive and break out of the funk winter transitions leave us in.
As humans, we often depend on external factors for our own happiness. In a seasonally dull time, it is important to base our vibe off our internal likes and dislikes. This could be in the form of a healthy meal, physical exercise, reading or even socializing. As much as people mention the importance of hydration, it is something that can never be emphasized enough. Sometimes, all we truly need is to slow down and appreciate the impact the holiday season has on us. Picking up a hobby and integrating that into our routines can truly allow us to look forward to something while enjoying the present. Even though our days get shorter, enjoying the time we do have outside can truly revitalize us.
A lot of these things sound perfect but are not usually found in an everyday college student’s routine. Winter is usually associated with finals, which only amplifies the impacts of seasonal depression. Socializing, even in the smallest form, allows me to personally appreciate my surroundings more. Knowing that we cannot control many aspects of fighting winter blues, we need to emphasize the importance of acceptance. As young adults, change is the only constant in our lives. In accepting that weather changes and adopting a different and consistent routine we find the key to staying happy amidst the blues. For many of us, enjoying the winter season’s simple pleasures like Christmas decorations, horror movies or even seasonal beverages we allow ourselves to see a better and more wholesome aspect of weather change. Many of us living on the east coast have an illusion that college students on the west coast live a happier, fuller, and quite literally, sunnier life. However, change in weather is an example of all other changes that we will face at some point in our lives. We must accept our different, sadder, and duller emotions, to appreciate the happy ones.
References:
https://jennyinneverland.com/2022/11/07/mood-boosting-winter-activities/
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/winter-indoor-things-to-do-36822433