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Winter Tips

Winter Tips

With the cold weather and darker days and the cost of living crisis, winter can be a more difficult time for everyone. On this page you will find some useful ideas to help you keep warm.

Wrap up Well and Stay Stocked Up

Your Winter Five Ways to Wellbeing

We’re encouraged to eat at least five fruit and vegetables a day to take care of our physical health, but what about our mental health?

Research carried out by the New Economics Foundation found that there are five ways to wellbeing.

Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning, Give

Here are some ideas for winter activities related to the five ways to wellbeing :

Connect

  • Set up a group chat with friends and/or family to plan winter activities
  • Write a card to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while
  • Make a playlist for someone in your life and chat about it together

Get active

  • Do stretches or gentle movement that works for you
  • If you can, try and get outside every day – even for just 5 minutes
  • Go for a walk to see winter decorations and lights in your local community

Take notice

  • Take notice of the seasons changing and the effect it has on your surroundings
  • Buy an amaryllis bulb and watch it grow throughout the winter months
  • Take up a mindful indoor hobby like journaling or knitting

Keep learning

  • Try out a new winter recipe (see Alan’s sweet potato here: LINK)
  • Listen to a podcast or audiobook about a topic you don’t know about
  • Ask questions and learn from the people around you

Give

  • Try and shop local when buying gifts during the festive period
  • Donate or volunteer your time to a cause in your community
  • Raise awareness of causes on social media by sharing posts about issues that are important to you


Loneliness and staying connected this winter


The winter months can be a lonely time.


Here are some tips on how to stay connected this winter and fight off those feelings of loneliness:

Pick up the phone

Set aside time to call someone for a chat. It doesn’t need to be anything significant or for a long time; just a quick hello and catch up can help you feel connected.

Send someone a card

Sending a card to someone can let them know that you care and you are thinking of them. Download one of Health in Mind’s Hello postcards here:


Make fun winter plans!

There are plenty of activities you can book into your diary to try out. Crisp winter walks, trying a new recipe, reading a classic book you know you will enjoy, or even doing some winter crafts. See our origami page for some inspiration: LINK.

Take time for self-care

Taking time to do some self-care can help you relax and counteract the negative feelings connected to loneliness. This could be having a dance around your home, running a bath, watching your favourite film or cosying up with a hot drink.



Coorie in for Winter

Coorie in for Winter


The 3rd edition of our winter wellbeing guide ‘Coorie in for Winter’ is here!


The booklet focuses on the Scottish concept of ‘coorie’ as a way to help us look after our mental health and wellbeing this winter.


Coorie is all about comfort, snuggling, looking after yourself and others. It’s about embracing the benefits of the outdoors and being surrounded by nature.


Find out about the things we can all do to look after our mental health and wellbeing in our homes whilst also encouraging us to get outside and embrace the benefits of nature. It also includes a range of support and helpful contacts.



You can access the booklet here.

We have something for everyone in Edinburgh's warm and welcoming spaces. Come along and meet up with your friends, learn something new or just have some time to chill out and have a cuppa. Enjoy our new movie matinees in our libraries, visit a local community project for dance, food pantries or yoga, or take the kids along to one of our community centers for some arts and crafts. All of our warm and welcoming space may offer something slightly different • a place to connect with others • an opportunity to learn new skills • a place to find some quiet time but all will provide a warm welcome.


Read the newsletter here.

Make sure your home is warm enough


Try to heat your home to a steady and comfortable temperature throughout the day in the rooms you use most, such as the living room and bedroom. If there are rooms you don't use, like a spare bedroom, turn off the radiators here and close the doors. This will help you save on energy costs. Close all the curtains at dusk to help keep heat in.


It's a good idea to keep your bedroom window closed at night when the weather is at its coldest.


If you're having trouble with the costs of heating your home, we have information to help.

Keep moving


Try not to sit still for more than an hour at a time. Even a little bit of activity now and then can help you maintain strength and mobility.


This can be easier said than done. You might well have found that you're not feeling as fit as you did before the coronavirus pandemic started – if so, you're not alone. Lots of us are finding things we used to do less easy, but even some gentle movement while sitting down can help.


The most important thing is to do what you're comfortable with and build up slowly.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?


If you have substance-related difficulties, this time of year can be particularly difficult, increasing the likelihood of relapse or greater dependency on drugs and alcohol. The days are shorter and colder and this can directly affect mood—you might feel low, tired, lose appetite or start to comfort eat. Also, you may feel more isolated and alone as you hear and see others planning for Christmas. But there are things you can do to tackle or avoid these things.


Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to a lack of sunlight or changes in seasons. Have you ever heard of the 'winter blues'? SAD is very similar to the winter blues but with increased symptoms. People with SAD suffer the symptoms of a Major Depressive Disorder during a specific time of year, usually winter. If you are struggling with SAD, your symptoms may start to show in the fall and will last throughout the winter months because of the shorter, darker days and the lower temperatures. During this time, you might notice you have little to no energy, sleep longer, eat more, and feel moodier. But when spring and summer roll around with longer, brighter days and hotter temperatures, your energy is revived and you feel lighter and happier. (Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer and resolves during the fall or winter months.)

Since SAD is linked to a lack of light, people with SAD may become depressed during cloudy or rainy weather at any time of year, or if they are confined to windowless offices or basement apartments1.


As well as speaking to a counsellor, there are a range of coping strategies you can use to help with SAD.


Here are Steph's top coping strategies if you are affected by SAD.


  1. Get up when it gets light, to ensure you get as much daylight as you can.
  2. Go out for a walk…exercise can lift depression.
  3. If you can afford one, 15-45 minutes sitting next to a light box will improve your mood.
  4. Avoid sugary foods and go for foods that make you feel good…lots of vegetables, fruits and nuts does the trick.
  5. See what groups are on in local community centres and the like.
  6. Regularly visit family and friends.
  7. On YouTube there are lots of meditation videos. Do 30 minutes each day, just relaxing, closing your eyes and visualising yourself feeling happy…it’s not a miracle cure, but it’s better than imagining the worst or sitting with dark thoughts.
  8. 

The way you feel from moment to moment is a direct result of how you are using your body and the pictures and sounds you make in your mind.’ If you’re sitting watching TV, or whatever, keep your muscles very relaxed and your brain will follow. Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for three seconds, and then release it for six…this reduces tension. You direct the movies of your mind, so make them uplifting and ‘feelgood’.

 

If you are feeling particularly bad, you can phone Samaritans on 116 123, or Mind on 0300 123 3393, where there’s someone you can talk to at any time.


You don’t have to feel alone, or miserable or anxious: There are community groups nearby, lines you can call, and supportive sites you can access online. Change the way you think, and you’ll change the way you feel. 


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