Does fall fill you with dread, knowing winter follows on its heels? If this is you, you’re not alone and you might suffer from SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Commonly referred to as the “winter blues”, the Anxiety Association of America (ADAA) reports it affects 15 million adults or 7.1% of the U.S. population.

Firstly, if you’re feeling really bad, you might want to visit your health care provider for a physical exam to rule out underlying physical health problems. For a guide to questions to ask your provider, click here.

To prevent and treat these symptoms yourself, try the following 6 techniques to boost your energy and help you find your light in the darkness.

Lighten up - Get yourself an SAD lamp and place it eye level for 20 minutes - two hours, preferably in the morning, for at least two weeks. Studies have shown that morning light therapy is more effective than evening exposure and that your SAD lamp should have visible light of at least 2500-10,000 lux. For more information, click here.
Get out - Decreased access to sunlight in fall and winter, causes a drop in vitamin D. When, Vitamin D can’t do its serotonin (an important ‘happiness chemical’) promoting job, our bodies have a tough time regulating our mood as well as our sleep, appetite, digestion, ability to learn, remember and focus. Getting your morning walk in can do wonders for your motivational, energy level, happiness and concentration.
Go to bed! - Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep when possible. Our bodies are craving hibernation in these darker, colder days. Give them what they want! You don’t have to be up with the dawn, but see if you can go to bed and wake earlier, to optimize the sunlight. (Studies have shown that keeping gratitude journal before bedtime is a great way to help you get to sleep, which leads us to…)
Write in down - Process journaling helps you to unload the stressors of the day, reflect on and honor the feelings that emerge. Keeping a gratitude journal helps rewire your nervous system, by orienting your mind to all that is working in your life. Try a dream journal to plumb the misty depths of your unconscious for clues. Sometimes with S.A.D., our minds may feel blank, like there’s an “out to lunch sign” on our foreheads. That’s a great time to use a guided journal like Journaling for Non-Journalers. Journaling channels, seemingly out of nowhere, our fully formed thoughts and feelings, which otherwise would only flash into conscious awareness and as quickly fade away.
Be present, be kind - Doing a kindness for someone, can be as easy as giving them our full attention. When you’re with others, put away any and all distractions (I’m looking at you, smartphone!) and listen. Fall and winter can trigger grief in all of us, and we never truly know what others are struggling with. Helping others is one of the best ways to amp-up our happiness quotient - a pure win-win.
Feed your energy - Fill the tank - Here are my final favorite ways to fill my energy coffers in fall and winter: laugh (with others if possible), receive Reiki, veggie lentil soup, play/get creative, make a motivational playlist and hit play when you need help with your getup and go, or snuggle with that special someone, or furry friend.