When the Seasons Change,So Can We

The trees become bare. The sun disappears earlier and earlier. The temperature drops, the days feel shorter, and cold weather begins keeping us indoors. The walks after dinner happen less often. Weekends can become quieter. For many of us, there comes a point in winter when we are leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark.

Sometimes, almost without noticing it, our mood begins to change with the season too.

The change is not imaginary. Light plays an important role in the body's internal clock, including the rhythms that help regulate sleep and wakefulness. As daylight decreases, some people notice changes in energy, sleep, appetite, motivation and mood. For some, those changes become significant enough to develop a seasonal pattern of depression, often referred to as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. For many others, it may simply feel like being a little more tired, less motivated, more withdrawn or just not quite like ourselves.

But daylight is only part of the story. Winter can quietly change our behavior too - and sometimes those changes begin to build on one another.

It is cold, so we skip the walk. It is dark, so we stay home. We are staying home more, so we see fewer people. We feel tired, so we stop doing some of the things we normally enjoy. Then, because we are already feeling a little down, getting dressed and going somewhere begins to feel like even more work.

Before long, several of the things that naturally support our mental wellbeing - daylight, movement, routine, connection, laughter and simply having something to look forward to - may have decreased at the same time.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a cozy winter evening at home. In fact, slowing down can be one of the nicest parts of the season. The goal is not to stay constantly busy. The goal is to notice when resting begins turning into retreating.

Try to be intentional about getting daylight when you can. Open the blinds in the morning. Step outside during the middle of the day. Take a short walk when the weather allows. If your favorite outdoor activities are not practical, find ways to keep moving indoors. Walk through the mall, take a class, strength train, stretch, dance around the kitchen or simply put on some music and move.

Just as importantly, keep engaging with people and with life. Meet someone for coffee. Have dinner with your sister. Call a friend. Take the grandkids somewhere. Wander through a bookstore. Cook with someone. Join a class. Go see a movie. Make plans even when staying on the couch sounds easier.

Winter does not have to be packed with activities, but it helps to keep a few things on the calendar that give you a reason to get dressed, leave the house, connect with another person and look forward to something.

There is something about being with people we love that makes life feel a little lighter.

Maybe it is sitting across the table from a friend with a cup of coffee and nowhere you need to be. Maybe it is calling your mom just to hear her voice, laughing with your sister over something that no one else would find funny, or lingering in the kitchen after dinner talking about absolutely nothing important.

Sometimes we don't need advice. We don't need someone to fix anything. We don't even necessarily need to talk about what is bothering us.

Sometimes all of those little things are enough.

A slower pace. More rest. A walk outside when the sun is shining. Dinner with someone we love. Getting back into a routine. Finding reasons to laugh. Giving ourselves permission to have a quieter season without feeling as though we need to be productive every minute of it.

And sometimes we do all of those things and still don't quite feel like ourselves.

That matters too.

At Arc Wellness, we don't believe every difficult season needs to be turned into a diagnosis. We also don't believe you should have to wait until something feels truly wrong before asking for support. There is a lot of space between feeling wonderful and feeling unwell, and many of us spend periods of our lives somewhere in that middle.

Maybe you're sleeping, but you don't wake feeling restored. Maybe your energy isn't what it normally is. You feel more stressed or overwhelmed. Your motivation has disappeared. Your mind feels cluttered. You aren't enjoying things quite as much. Or perhaps you can't put your finger on anything specific—you simply know that you don't feel quite like you.

That is a perfectly reasonable place to begin a conversation.

One of the technologies available at Arc is ExoMind, a noninvasive treatment that uses magnetic stimulation to influence targeted areas of the brain. Depending on the individual and the reason for treatment, ExoMind may be considered as one part of a broader approach to supporting mental and cognitive wellness.

Mental wellness is connected to how we sleep, how we move, how we feel physically, how connected we are to other people, how much stress we're carrying, whether we're making time for ourselves and whether our days still contain things that bring us pleasure.

That's why support doesn't always look the same for everyone.

For one person, it may be ExoMind. For another, it may be getting stronger again. Someone else may need help sleeping through the night. Another person may simply need an hour devoted entirely to themself. And sometimes what someone needs is outside of what we provide at Arc—and that's important to recognize too. There are times when the right support is a counselor, therapist, psychiatrist or another healthcare professional.

The goal isn't to find a treatment for winter.