Every year, around late fall, Seasonal Affective Disorder creeps in for millions of people around the world. All of a sudden, fatigue, weight gain, overeating, oversleeping, and a general malaise may wash over your day-to-day mental well-being, all because the sun and weather are shifting to a darker time of year. This impacts our hormones, circadian rhythms, leading to a loss of vitamin D. Depending on where you live, you could be more apt to feel this form of depression simply based on where you are located in the world. Instead of letting this seasonal blues mindset overcome your life this time around, learn how to work your positivity muscles so your nurture can outweigh your nature during this time of year. Beyond the obvious ideas of ‘get a happy light’ or increase your vitamin D intake, there are tools you can use to prevent your mood from plummeting once the seasons change:
Move your body. Exercise for 20 minutes every day. Being active is low-hanging fruit to improve your well-being.
Become a happiness olympian. Start a happiness routine: morning, noon, and night. Engage in happiness boosting techniques like savoring, gratitude, performing acts of kindness, singing your favorite song, focus on smiling and laughing, live in the moment, reflect positively on the day, and identify three good things about what you did that day.
Boost your Inner Colleague. Commit to positive thinking! When a negative thought pops up, write it down in a small memo pad that has a binding on the side. On the left-hand side of the page, convert the negative thought into the opposite, a positive, on the right side of the page. It's best to do this in the moment it occurs.
Confront the deeper work, instead of avoiding it. Take the time to do the real work it takes to challenge negative beliefs with a professional. Address your deep-seated beliefs that could be bringing you down.
Be a happiness activist. Send a message to someone telling them what you admire and appreciate about them. Stop waiting for happiness to happen and help someone smile.
Join groups. Get social support from friends or peer groups like ShareWell.
On Wednesdays at 4pm PST, I host a FREE CLASS on Positive Psychology for Everyday Happiness to answer your questions and share about how to overcome challenges so you can become happier in your daily life. Sign up here.
The newly released Feel Better Now Home Study course has been known to help with symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Feel better now by taking the power of your well-being into your own hands. Buy it now on Amazon!
Start now with a free audio lesson to help you begin your day on the right foot. Download this 2 minute morning routine to boost your mood for up to 4-6 hours!
How are you doing? What do you think? Let me know! Send me a DM, text 415-336-0008 or email.
I am always available to work one-on-one, with groups and organizations.
Schedule here for a complimentary consultation, or feel free to request a different time or day. Follow me on socials for more tips and tricks on how to feel better now!
Dr. Aymee Coget
Happiness for HumanKind Leading and educating the world on sustainable happiness.
