Winter is a time of change and transition and historically a time of shortage in terms of food and the need to ration. In the modern world we tend to not notice as we have lights all year round but, our bodies haven’t changed much since hunter gatherer times and they respond to the cues from nature.
First and last, we are bodies, and we sort of lose sight of this until they demand our attention, especially in the realm of mental health. Here, mental health expert Noel McDermott looks at the four pillars of health and wellbeing that can help beat the Winter Blues.
One of the signals to our bodies of the change is around our circadian rhythm, which is disrupted due to the shortening of the days. Indoor lights though are not the same as the sun and daylight, unless you have bought ‘daylight’ bulbs. Our circadian rhythm is about sleeping patterns, quality of sleep and hormone production, especially serotonin and melatonin.
Don’t underestimate the Importance of a good night’s sleep
In straight-forward terms sleep does two things, physical rest and psychological tidying up. We cycle through REM (rapid eye movement, often called dream sleep) and deep sleep cycles through the night. The REM being the psychological tidying. REM in fact, when viewed as brain function, looks like being awake because the brain is super active and it sorts out our memory, ability to think clearly and emotional processing. Deep sleep is physical repair. We can, through rest and naps, catch up on the physical sleep but the REM stuff is more problematic to replicate. Without REM we can’t think, become emotionally labile and can’t remember or retain information.
It should be obvious from this that sorting out sleep is a top priority. It is one of the four pillars of health and wellbeing, all of them being:
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Loving social network
• Relaxation/stress management
Focusing on these areas will improve our wellbeing, not just as individuals but as a family unit.
Winter changes to family mood
The changes in mood that can happen during winter due to lower levels of serotonin triggered by less sunlight can be difficult to manage and it’s important to be aware of this and manage it in your family. You might notice more mood swings in yourself and your kids and tempers fraying a little, especially during the transition period into winter when our bodies are adjusting.
Historically we had festivals and rituals to help us acknowledge these changes and it may be that as a family you want to make your own. Some that already exist are burning the yule log, putting up evergreens, planting bulbs and so on. You can join in these ones or create your own.
Ritual is known to help us make sense of change, especially change out of our control. Also these types of rituals and ones like spring cleaning connect us to bigger human processes. It reminds us of the cycles of human growth and change.
Preventive framing Advice
For members of the family who have pre-existing vulnerabilities, times of change and stress can activate these. If there is a history of say depression, or substance misuse it is helpful to increase whatever supports are in place for this recovery anyway.
If the depression for example was a recent thing it may be that a chat with the GP is in order and think about prophylactic use of medication if they were helpful in the past. Also look to increase or restart therapy if that was used previously. With recovery from addiction peer support is a good option to get practical and emotional support.
Recognising our vulnerabilities in this way and working in a preventative framing is always a good idea. Preventing a problem is always preferable to curing it after the fact. Practising managing stressors is a super useful habit to get into.
Embrace the ‘mentally healthy food cupboard’
The best approach though is the ‘healthy food cupboard’. Ask yourself, what is the best way to eat healthily? Put the healthy food at the front of the cupboard then you habitually choose it.
What does a mentally healthy cupboard look like for winter? Rather boringly it comes down to a diary of activities and choices. Choose now to add in more social activities with friends, choose now to increase your walks, runs, visits to the gym, choose now to cuddle lots on the sofa. Choose now to reduce your alcohol! Yep, sorry about that, but alcohol is mental health Russian roulette. ‘Choose life’, as it says in the film Trainspotting.
About the Author
Mental health expert Noel McDermott is a psychotherapist and dramatherapist with over 30 years’ work within the health, social care, education, and criminal justice fields. His company Mental Health Works provides unique mental health services for the public and other organisations. Mental Health Works offers in situ health care and will source, identify and coordinate personalised teams to meet your needs, for more information: www.mentalhealthworks.net
