Managing the Winter Blues

Practical ways to take care of yourself

Published: Dec 2025

Key Takeaways

Winter blues are a temporary dip in mood or energy levels that many people experience during the winter months. They are more common than you might think. Although not as severe as Seasonal Affective Disorder, it can still impact your daily life.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that affects people when there’s less sunlight.
There are practical ways to take care of yourself when feeling the winter blues, which you can also use to help keep them at bay.
Self-care doesn’t mean you won’t ever feel sad, but it will assist you with moving through the symptoms.
What you feed your mind and body has a direct impact on your ability to cope

Points to keep in mind: Feeling sad or blue when bad things happen isn’t the same as having a depressive disorder. A major depressive disorder lasts for at least two weeks, affecting a person’s ability to work, carry out their usual activities, and have satisfying personal relationships.

Dr. Valerie Krysanski, a clinical and health psychologist and assistant professor in the clinical health psychology department at the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, agrees. “Winter blues are somewhat normal. Many people experience slower energy and lower motivation to do things during the winter. You want to hunker down. You have a desire to eat more carbohydrates. It’s when it sticks around for weeks at a time that we start to encounter more clinical concerns.”

Worth remembering: How we experience a mental health problem can be different for everyone. What helps you may be different than what helps others. Yet we all have mental health, just like physical health. (Sidebar: I’d love to get to a place where we don’t distinguish between the two — we simply ask, How’s your health?)

Practical ways to take care of yourself:

Feel the feelings

Emotions need motion. When we suppress or try to ignore our feelings, they can resurface tenfold. Have you ever tried keeping a beach ball underwater? When you release it, it comes back up with so much force. So, feel those feelings — the only way out is through — and let the tears flow.

Researchers say that when we cry, we release “feel-good endorphins” that help us manage pain (both physical and mental). While it may not always feel like it, the old saying, “This too shall pass,” is true. If you start getting concerned that you’re crying too much (that is, more than usual) or can’t seem to stop, talk to a health-care provider.

Set Up a Self-Care Strategy

Be a top priority in your own life. Some might think that’s being selfish, but when you’re in care of yourself, you’re better equipped to manage life’s challenges and be there for others.

Plan self-care activities that align with your unique desires and foster healthy attitudes. Dr. Krysanski says, “It doesn’t have to be fancy. Go for a walk around the block or in the mall. If mobility is an issue, try other options such as chair exercises or getting a pedal bike under the couch. Find ways to work with yourself within your limitations. For example, you can start by sitting by the window to connect with the outside, even if you can’t go outside.”

Do things inspirationally (I refer to them as INSPIRED actions). Self-care doesn’t necessarily need to be planned in advance. If the spirit moves you, go!

Put into action the things that bring you joy and allow you to be your authentic self.

Be sure to schedule your self-care activities and plant them (like a seed) in your calendar. “Incremental elements add up. I am a huge proponent of baby steps,” Dr. Krysanski adds. “Sometimes, the first step is putting on sneakers and seeing how we feel, and maybe the next step is walking down the driveway and back, or in the hall of my apartment building, to see how it feels. It’s really trying to work with us where we’re at.”

Note: Self-care is not just about bubble baths, spas, and exercise. It includes things like establishing healthy boundaries, making healthier food choices, keeping medical appointments, decluttering your space, creating a budget, and calling a friend, among others.

Shine the Light

During winter, we may feel the impacts of getting less sunlight. The sun’s ultraviolet rays help us produce vitamin D, which is vital for our mental health. There is sufficient research to show that not having enough vitamin D can lead to depression-like symptoms.

Consider including the following foods in your diet to help offset that deficit: salmon, sardines, cod liver oil, canned tuna, egg yolks, mushrooms, and foods fortified with vitamin D.

Add Nutritional Supplements – this can also be helpful, but should first be discussed with a doctor.

Your Five Senses

The fastest way to come back to the here and now and disengage from the mind chatter is to, as the saying goes, “stop and smell the roses” (or eucalyptus, or poinsettias). Literally.

Pay attention to your senses. This helps bring us back to simpler times, returning to the basics, and, after a few deep breaths, you’ll feel a lift in your spirit.
Go outside, take a deep breath and feel the breath entering your body. What does it smell and feel like? Does it freeze your nostril hairs? Is it crisp, wet, warm?
Feel your breath as it moves into your belly, then give it a deep-barrelled exhale.
Pick up some fresh snow, taste it, feel it, and throw it using all your senses.
Lie down and swing those arms in the snow to make a snow angel!
Be sure to grab a carrot, a few twigs, roll that snow and make a snowman.

I know it may sound trivial, but connecting to your five senses (and childhood) provides a fresh perspective and can do wonders to help lighten the winter blues.

What are you thinking?

Take a good look at what you are actually thinking.

What is your internal dialogue?
- Would you say these things to a friend or loved one? Are you your own worst enemy?
Be mindful of the things you are saying to yourself
Challenge negative thinking if it starts to develop.
- Are your thoughts healthy for you, or are they making you unhealthy? It’s easier to get into bad mental habits during winter’s short days and long nights.
Look to self-help books and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for strategies on changing negative thinking; these are great supports for developing healthier thoughts.
- CBT can help you understand that the ways you think about yourself and your situations impact your emotions and actions.
Learn to form different, more productive outlooks which can help you feel and act in self-enhancing ways. Doing so commonly involves pushing through anxiety or low moods, challenging negative thoughts, establishing and pursuing viable goals, and looking after your physical well-being.
- CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are interconnected, and that changing one can change the others. While this may sound trendy, it’s also effective and has been rigorously studied. There are CBT variations for all kinds of mental health concerns, from problematic substance use to anxiety and depression to schizophrenia.

Something to Be Grateful For

Create a gratitude journal: Put your pen to paper and write. No matter what is happening, there is always something to be grateful for.
Acknowledge situations, people, and things which creates an energy that will attract more of that gratefulness. Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas:
Be grateful for your breath, sleep, warmth, your bed.
Be grateful for waking up: This reminds me of my Auntie Tish, who we recently lost to cancer. When I went to visit her on her deathbed, she said, “When I wake up, I give thanks that I didn’t wake up dead!” It’s a funny statement, yet so profound.
Be grateful for what has brought you to this moment. Every. One. Of. Us. has gone through stuff that has led us to this time and place.
Remind yourself of the times you’ve come through hardships. What did you do then? What resources or people did you rely on? What skills did you develop: resilience, persistence, determination, grace, and patience?
Remind yourselves of what has helped you in the past (and could also help you now). I can recall a time I had the flu, and I remember thinking, “How am I even going to get up, let alone go to work?” Fast forward a few weeks, and someone reminded me of the week I was off sick with that really bad flu. Ah, I had forgotten, because when we feel good, we forget what it’s like to feel bad.
Keep your gratitude journal; this is also beneficial for our mental health. It’s a wonderful way to get things off our chest and a great reminder of our experiences and reflections.

Sleepy time

Don’t underestimate the power of sleep. It impacts our whole self: mind, body, and spirit. To maximize your healing zzzs, follow these healthy sleep suggestions:

Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations. Set a bedtime that’s early enough to get at least seven hours of sleep.
Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy. If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get up till you feel ready for sleep. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. Use your bed only for sex and sleep.
Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature. Limit exposure to bright light in the evening. Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Be mindful of what you eat and drink before bedtime. If you’re hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack, not a heavy meal. Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon or evening (perhaps have chamomile or lemon balm tea instead). Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime to avoid early morning bathroom trips.

For further reading:

Food for Thought

Food can have a significant impact on your mental health and resilience. One of my mentors, Julie Daniluk, holistic nutritionist and author of five award-winning and bestselling books, taught me about healthy foods she refers to as a “LIVEit” rather than a “DIEit.” She helped me choose “feel-good” foods that gave me psychological support.

There’s a direct connection between your body and emotional health.

Choose nutrient-based foods to feed your body, brain, and emotions.
Challenge your definition of “comfort food”, choose foods that make you feel good, which bring you true comfort with an added bonus of joy and vitality. And the more “feel-good foods” you choose, the more you’ll want them.
Limit eating refined sugars and flours as they inhibit the production of our brain’s natural pleasure chemicals. Healthy whole foods are packed with the nutrition our brain needs to produce a positive, calm, and more alert state that leads to less stress.

Here are some examples of Julie’s suggested “feel-good foods” that can support your mental health and build your resilience, helping you cope with crises and stress:

Stabilize your blood sugar: Refined sugar makes us anxious and sad, and it causes neurological inflammation that compounds our stress. Try putting some nut butter on a date, for example. Eat raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and other low glycemic fruits instead. These provide lots of vitamin C, which reduces the stress hormone cortisol. Blueberries are especially rich in vitamin C and have been studied as one of the best fruits to lower stress levels. Try making a smoothie with them! *Frozen berries are a great substitute for fresh and are budget-friendly!*
Love your gut: When we’re stressed, our gut flora is stressed, too. Considering up to 90 percent of the serotonin feel-good chemical is made in our gut, we need all the good bacteria we can get! Reinstate good bacteria by eating fermented foods such as sauerkraut, coconut yogurt, or pickles, as well as taking probiotic supplements.
Help your nervous system. A person under stress burns vitamin C, making it crucial to replenish the body’s supply during times of stress. Besides the berries previously mentioned, red peppers are a great source of it. Greens are also very important, as they’re full of B vitamins. Every B vitamin plays a specific role in our nervous system, and vitamins B6 and B9 are especially critical for helping our brain cope with stress. Broccoli sprouts are an amazing source of these and are generally easy to digest.

Of course, these foods are just suggestions, and you must make choices based on your body and any allergies or food sensitivities you have.