Do you feel like you have the winter blues?
As the seasons change and the air gets colder, many of us feel a sense of confusion, loneliness, depression, and helplessness. These emotional feelings are especially common during autumn and throughout the winter months. Seasonal depression episodes begin in October and could last until the end of March or April the following year! The winter blues, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is common around this time of year, but don’t worry, there are natural ways to prevent this seasonal depression.
Let’s see if you have the typical symptoms of winter blues:
- Increased hours of sleep due to fatigue & laziness
- Increased appetite, especially foods rich in carbs & sugars
- Weight gain
- Social exclusion, loneliness
- Feeling burnt-out on the job
- Difficulty concentrating
Do those symptoms sound familiar? Now that winter has come, how do you beat the winter blues?
Here’s Puzhen Life’s tips on how to beat the winter blues & natural remedies for depression:
Chromotherapy: With the concept of yin and yang in the East, the changing of the five shades (green, red, yellow, white, & black) can make subtle adjustments on the pychological and physiological function of the human body. To avoid the blues:
- Wear bright colored clothing, such as reds, yellows, and whites. This can make you feel happier and calmer during the gloomy days of winter.
- Go outdoors as much as you can to soak up the sunrays and vitamin D, especially in the morning. Warm sunshine uplifts the spirits and brings you to a comfortable place.
Aromatherapy: The inhalation of essential oils using aroma diffusers can improve blood circulation, refresh your mind, relieve stress, and will give you a great balance of mental and physical health. There are many aromatherapy benefits and benefits of essential oils that can provide relief from stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Use aromatherapy to naturally improve your health, both physically and mentally.
Diet: According to Chinese herbal medicine, there are special, all-natural ingredients often used as natural antidepressants that can be of great help during the winter blues. Ingredients such as wheat, dates, licorice, lilies, white peony, iris, stone fruit, sesame, almonds, bozi, pine nuts, and other nuts, as well as herbs like gastrodia elata (tian ma), polygalaceae, and ophiopogon assist in meditation and are beneficial to relieve depression.
- Watch your diet and eat healthy goods.
- Watch your carbohydrate & sugar intake.
Other great ways to fight the winter blues include relaxing your mood with breathing, meditation, & yoga, having more social interactions, getting more exercise, and listening to calm music. Puzhen Life is offering you free peaceful music, just click here to download!
Do you have any additional tips for fighting the winter blues? We’d love to hear your comments and invite any questions you may have regarding this post or Puzhen Life!