The Winter Blues or I Hate Winter

Submitted by Susan Remmel on Sun, 2012/01/08 - 7:01pm

There are many of us who become grouchy, bored, sorry for ourselves, depressed or withdrawn when winter comes.  Our get up and go has got up and went.  We can sometimes force ourselves out of this mood, but it is hard and often the snow and icy weather make it worse. If you feel like a big wet blanket has come over you in December and it starts to lift in March then you probably have the winter blues.


What to do with the winter blues? In all of these, be cautious to set specific and limited goals. Be happy with small steps and don't be so ambitious that you give up before you have started. When you do something, take the time to enjoy it and take the time afterward to savor you accomplishment:



  •  Exercise aerobically

  • Do good deeds - give blood, visit a shut-in

  • Play with your pets

  • Organize your closet

  • Go on the wagon for a month

  • Cultivate your sense of humor - Mel Brooks, Marx Brothers, Naked Gun

  • Socialize - get together with friends informally

  • Phone or write to old friends

  • Listen to a book on tape

  • Make fudge

  • Make soup and take some to a neighbor

  • Get up early or sleep late - vary your routine

  • Go swimming

  • Music - play it loud, without distractions

  • Learn the computer and go online

  • Rearrange the furniture

  • Shop the garden catalogs

  • Wear loud colors

  • Buy some flowers

  • Learn a joke and tell it to 5 people

  • Cook something different - a new kind of cuisine

  • Get an orchid

  • Sort through old photos

  • Hang out at the library

  • Organize an outing to N.Y.C. for a museum visit and dinner

  • Join a reading group

  • Take naps

This is an excerpt from the Pastoral Team Newsletter of December 2010.  If you would like to see the article in its entirety contact anyone on the Pastoral Care Team: Dale and Beverly Conrad, Linda Bollendorf, Elizabeth Stauffer, Peggy Garrett, Gale Walter, Nancy and Roger Bowman or Hatsie Forsman.