Mental health tips: How to prevent depression, manage moods in winter

While winters are wonderful for many people, they can be full of woes for others.

On one hand, there’s good food and the right appetite to enjoy it, on the other there are winter illnesses that can spoil all the fun. Depression and mood disorders are also common in winter season considering there isn’t ample sunlight and that can impact secretion of certain hormones.

There are tricks to tackle every season out there and winters shouldn’t be exception. Managing your moods in winter can be easy if you are eating the right food, drinking plenty of water, juices and other hydrating drinks.

Make sure to step out in the sunlight whenever you get the opportunity. Get creative and get yourself busy with a hobby that you can follow from the confines of your home. Get your vitamin D and B12 levels checked and do not forget to stay connected with your friends who can instantly lift up your mood.

“As much as we all wait for winters to come, feelings of loss or freedom does emerge in every now and then. Shorter days means less exposure to natural light which can impact our emotional health as well as physical health. Then holiday season, time of marriages in India, brings its own stressors. Consumption of alcohol also goes up along with the expectations from our loved ones,” says Arouba Kabir, Mental Health counselor & Founder, Enso Wellness.

Here are few things suggested by Arouba you can do this winter in order to keep your mental and emotional health in check.

Keep yourself hydrated even if it’s hot beverages
Warm water or juices are amazing way of keeping yourself hydrated. A cup of coffee or tea in a day is good but not too much because it can cause addiction.

Be careful of negative content
Being indoors would definitely increase screen time, so be aware and mindful of the content you are watching because it definitely does have an impact on your emotional and mental health. What we feel to ourselves be it emotionally or physically, it shows in our personality.

Self-care
Apply moisturiser, take warm baths, exercise a little if not more, use a lip balm, oil your hair, eat healthy food, have a routine and sleep on time. These are some of the few things we should not miss as it might impact our body image or make a spot-on weight which definitely does impact confidence.

Take time to unwind, relax
Take care of your mental health. You can do that by maintaining a journal for yourself, expressing your needs and requirements, building healthy relationships with people, maybe seeing a therapist if you need to, meditating even if 10 minutes a day are few very important things in order to feel calm relaxed and peaceful so that you can be productive and joyful.

Get your Vitamin D and B12 levels checked
Take these vitamin supplements or the required foods as these vitamins can directly impact our moods and can make us feel gloomier and sadder.

Social connections
It’s important to stay connected with people, as it makes us feel supported. So go out plan those little coffee dates with your loved ones. We are called social animals for a reason.