Self Care Ideas for Mental Health: Beating the Winter Blues Together
Staving off the winter blues starts with self-care ideas for mental health. Seniors must understand the seven pillars of self-care and take part in effective activities that mitigate seasonal mood disorders.
Few are strangers to seasonal depression; estimates suggest 11 million people suffer from it in the US. But a lesser-appreciated threat is winter blues, affecting more than double that number at 25 million.
Chelmsford, MA, a jewel between the Merrimack and the Concord, is no stranger to cold winters that provoke sad Decembers. Emotional wellness for seniors begins with great self-care ideas for mental health, so we'll cover some rock-solid tips to keep seniors happy and mentally well.
What Causes Depression During Winter?
Whether we're talking about seasonal depression or the winter blues, these are two phenomena in the same wheelhouse that have similar causes and similar treatments. The primary cause is that because there is less sunlight towards the tail end of the year, your circadian rhythm suffers irregularities. Sunlight is critical for your body to manage sleep, and poor sleep impacts mood in turn.
Plus, the cold weather forces you to spend more time indoors, and the inability to enjoy warm sunlight and the activities it naturally puts a damper on things. More time inside can thus result in less physical exertion and less socializing. You'd rather sleep in and cuddle up in a warm bed than do the things that make you feel better, even if it comes with an unwanted consequence.
Of course, there's no reason to give in to fatalism. Seasonal mood support is a proactive process. Putting into practice those self-care ideas for mental health can go a long way to ameliorating the damage winter blues can do.
What Are the 7 Pillars of Self-Care?
Before we get into the concrete details, it helps to define successful self-care strategies. The 7 pillars are as follows: mental, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, recreational, and social pillars. As you can see, mental wellness is about a lot more than therapy and antidepressants.
As long as your self-care activities incorporate the self-care pillars, they'll be successful at mitigating winter blues. Said activities don't have to tackle all of them in a single go. However, successful strategies will usually include several of the pillars at once and support positive aging in Massachusetts in general.
What Are Some Self-Care Ideas for Mental Health?
Not sure where to start? We're here to help. Here are some ideas for self-care that make it hard to have winter blues.
Take Every Opportunity to Socialize
Social connection in Chelmsford, MA, is the number one way to treat a bad case of being down in the dumps. In fact, it's one of the key protective factors for senior health and wellness. Winter tends to make us into recluses and hermits, but you have to fight that urge and seek opportunities to mingle.
Check the calendar at your living community. You're guaranteed to find dozens of social activities that appeal to you. Use this as a chance to try new things, meet new people, and strengthen the bonds you already have.
Do Indoor Exercise
No one wants to go outside when it's biting cold, but you'd be surprised how much exercise you can do indoors. After all, things like yoga, pilates, and aerobics are all indoor-first exercises. The sky is really the limit since it depends on what exercises you can think of.
For example, if you miss your outdoor walks, try indoor walking. Hallways and large indoor common areas can become an impromptu track for you to circle around. Who knows, you might catch friends as you walk by, or run into new people along the way.
Avoid Negativity
There's no shame in admitting that you spend more time watching TV or scrolling social media in the winter. However, don't let this become a doorway for negativity to enter your life. Spending too much time in online echo chambers or watching too much bad news can create a feedback loop of negativity -- and in winter, it just builds up.
Try to replace the negative with the positive. Take a shot at creative activities for seniors. Putting your energies towards happy things, like making crafts or playing games, will uplift you rather than bring you down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Professional Help Count as Self-Care?
Absolutely. Talking to a therapist or getting anti-anxiety medication definitely contributes to self-care. Self-care refers to personal coping strategies as much as advice from a clinically certified professional.
Should Self-Care Be a Daily Practice?
Ideally, yes. However, self-care is often a tactic that comes in handy when you need it. Treating yourself to ice cream when you've had a bad day is self-care, but so is doing daily indoor exercise.
So, it's important to have a balance of both. Keep regular good habits in addition to having rainy-day strategies for a mental health "emergency." A woman who sticks to her hobbies is laying the groundwork for good, long-term self-care.
Is Self-Care Selfish?
Unfortunately, there is a continual misconception that taking care of oneself is selfish. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being selfish means doing things for yourself at the expense of others, so it does not include taking care of your own mental health.
If you need to do self-care and it interrupts social life, don't feel embarrassed. Good friends will understand that everyone needs to take a time-out alone now and again. Surround yourself with people who take their mental health seriously, and you likely won't feel the need to apologize for needing space.
Leave Behind Winter Blues at Summer Place in Chelmsford, MA
Self-care is critical for handling the natural preponderance of winter blues and seasonal depression during the winter months. To combat it, try to employ more self-care ideas for mental health.
Summer Place in Chelmsford, MA, is a living community that supports self-care with a robust activity calendar, attentive staff, and friendly residents. Testimonials praise us for our inviting community that always makes seniors want to come back. Reach out to us to see what the buzz is all about.