Winter Self-Care

I’ve lived in sunny places for much of my life, so when I moved to Michigan nine years ago, I had no idea what it would be like to experience a Great Lakes winter.

The Midwest is gorgeous in the summer: freshwater lakes for swimming, dense forests for hiking, and long days when the sun doesn’t set until after 9 p.m. But when the winter starts to creep toward us in November, it’s a whole different story. By February, I’m thoroughly depressed.

Clouds roll off the lake and blanket the sky. In midwinter, we only have nine hours of sun a day—or we would if only the clouds weren’t there. We have our fair share of snow and ice and wintry mix, and of course, frigid Polar Vortex temperatures. Many people experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD) here, and it’s no surprise. Winter in Michigan is no joke.

I can feel my spirits sinking as the leaves fall in autumn and we have our first snowfall. I wonder how I can stand another winter that leaves me feeling exhausted and isolated. And yet, every year, I somehow get through it.

I should mention that I hate when I get down. I want to be joyful and hopeful, and then I criticize myself when I can’t seem to feel that way. I feel like I should be better at all this, but in reality, I’m still learning to find peace.

Sometimes seasons (whether the calendar seasons or certain seasons of life) can be difficult, and that’s OK. Seasons aren’t forever. They come and go, and when they go, we move on to the next season.

Even though winter is temporary, I am still learning how to take care of myself in all seasons. Self-care is important, and it’s not selfish to take the time to support ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. I think we all could use some self-care practice, especially during times when we are down on ourselves, or when we fall into a shame cycle, or when we don’t know how to make it through a season in our life.

Here are a few things I strive for in winter, when I feel my lowest, but they could also apply to any difficult season.

Find Connection

If you’re an introvert like me, you might often feel torn between going out with friends and staying home so you can climb into bed early with a bowl of ice cream. In the winter, I feel even less inclined to go out. But I also know it isn’t good for my mental health to be alone for too long. I need connection with other people. I need to know I’m not alone. And while I don’t see many people face-to-face in the wintertime, I try to stay connected in other ways with phone calls to family, texts to friends, and social media contact with a broader community of people who have the same interests as me. Connection helps me to see a world outside my problems and simultaneously feel more myself.

Find Gentleness

While it’s good to challenge yourself to move outside your comfort zone sometimes (such as going out when you’d rather stay in), it’s also important to be gentle with yourself. I know I tend to set impossible expectations for myself. I think, I shouldn’t feel depressed, I should be more active, I should be more productive. All those shoulds really send me into a shame spiral. But I’m learning that I am a human being with limits and that it’s OK to be imperfect. I need to have a little more compassion for myself when life is hard.

Find Perspective

When darkness settles in for the winter, I tend to forget that there is more to life than wearing layers and shoveling the driveway. I tend to have a narrow perspective and only notice the difficult things about the season. But when I am aware that this is just that—a season—and that spring inevitably follows winter, I shift my perspective to see the big picture. I realize change is coming and that I’m not stuck after all.

Find Nourishment

Even though the outside world seems dead during winter, we can still find sustenance for ourselves. I’m a believer in the power of comfort food. I love cooking warm soup or baking fresh bread in the winter. It cheers me up on cold, dreary days when I’m stuck indoors. We can also find nourishment in things like good books and films, trips to a museum or an indoor botanical garden, or music that moves us. Find beauty, and it will nourish you with joy.

Find Rest

As the natural world rests in winter, so can we. With the lack of daylight, I tend to sleep more hours in the winter or take naps on weekend afternoons. My body knows what it needs, and when I fight it, I just get frustrated. It’s a good thing to slow down and honor our need for rest. I like to be productive indoors when the weather prevents me from going outside, but I also need to remember that I can use this time for resting, too.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean we have to feel less alive. Let’s celebrate the season for what it is, and find the help our souls need.

Cait West is a writer, reader, and publishing professional who lives with her husband in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After leaving the stay-at-home-daughter movement, she started over by studying creative writing at Michigan State University, working in education and literacy, and eventually finding her way to an editorial position in book publishing. Find her at caitwest.com and on Instagram and Twitter at @caitwestwrites.

Photograph © Aaron Burden, used with permission