From Slump to Spring
It doesn’t sound real at first. The fact that a season could change your whole mental state and wellbeing is almost unbelievable, until you experience it yourself. Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is a type of depression that usually occurs during the winter months.
With the changes that winter time brings, it’s no surprise that people’s wellbeing is impacted; however, the idea that seasonal depression can be detrimental is often invalidated. We at The Edge are here to tell you that it is VERY real, but fortunately, you can make some small changes that will help keep you out of the slump that this season brings.
Developing habits that make you feel like you’re living your best life, even when the weather isn’t ideal, is something that will help you so much in the long run. You can’t control the seasons, but you can control what you do to support your mental health. As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, here’s a list of things to keep in mind that will help you make that final push into springtime.
Don’t scroll in bed when you wake up.
It’s difficult to just get right up with your alarm, but lying in bed and scrolling through all of your social media will make it even harder to start your day. By getting up and forcing yourself to get ready, you’re preventing the temptation to stay in bed for “just 10 more minutes,” as we all know that 10 minutes turns into an hour very quickly. It’s so much easier to tackle your day when you aren’t staring at other people’s lives first thing in the morning. Instead, try to think about how you’re going to spend your own day, and you can’t start that day without getting out of bed first.
Sweet treats are essential.
Everyone deserves dessert. It’s exciting to have something to look forward to at the end of your day, even if that thing is as simple as a sweet treat. It’s not only something to look forward to, but it also is scientifically proven to release positive chemicals such as serotonin into your brain. It is genuinely beneficial for your well-being to indulge, so remember that you deserve it.
Splurge a little.
Feeling guilty for spending money on yourself is totally normal, especially on a college budget, but sometimes it’s a necessity. One of our favorite books, “Buy Yourself the Lilies,” emphasizes the importance of buying yourself something that makes you happy once in a while. If you think an iced coffee will brighten up your day, buy it. If you want to get your nails done once in a while, go for it. In five years it’s highly unlikely you’ll be worried about that 30 dollars, but it could be something that brightens your day at the moment. That is something that will be worth it every single time.
Remember that everyday can’t be perfect. (This is SO important.)
It’s impossible to go through life without bad days, but what’s important is what you do after a bad day. It’s so easy to feel like you’ve lost all of your progress when you cancel your plans to stay in bed or skip a class because you just don’t feel like going. What you need to remember, though, is that people aren’t perfect, and the amazing thing is that there is a brand new day after a bad day. You can remain in this loop of misery by convincing yourself that one bad day means you’re stuck or you can wake up the next day and try again. Unfortunately, we don't get to have a choice when it comes to seasonal affective disorder. However, we do get to choose what to do with our lives every single day, which is something that we can definitely be happy about.