How Can You Beat the Winter Blues?

(NECN) – So are you sick of the snow? Feeling run down when you have to run your plow?
Here with help to beat those winter blues is Doctor Ryan Madigan, psychologist at Boston University’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

What is it about the winter?

“The winter is kind of a double edge sword with depression; it can contribute to our feeling more blue and depressed. For those of us already feeling down or depressed, it can actually be quite validating. So we can see a reverse relationship. Where those of us who are struggling with feeling down and depressed as the seasons shift, that be quite invalidating. Where our internal experience and external experience no longer match, it can increase the feelings of hopelessness so it can go both ways.”

What can people do individually?

“It’s super important to acknowledge the relationship between our thoughts and our activities. We want to pay attention to our outlook and our negative thinking. And we can change our relationship to the weather. We can embrace those wintry, cold nights by having a game night or movie night with the family. We also want to get out. You don’t want to isolate. You want to fight that urge and act opposite to that urge to stay in, stay in the dark, stay in bed. You want to get out. You want to exercise. And those two things together are going to go a long way to turn things around.”

Watch the attached video for more!

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