It happened again. I woke up to get ready for work, bustling about my morning routine, making sure I had everything for the day, opened the front door, and WHAT?! It snowed again!
Although spring is meant to be hot, cold, warm, sunny, snowy, rainy, and every other weather phenomenon, for some reason this year spring feels more like winter. Shall we call it “spinter?” The snow doesn’t seem to want to say goodbye this year.
Are you tired of it yet? Is it wearing on you, making you feel sad or maybe irritable? Are you beginning to feel hopeless that summer may actually never come? You are not alone!
However, none of us have a direct phone line to speak to Mother Nature and ask her to solve this problem so we must solve it on our own. Although the weather is not our responsibility, it is our responsibility to create our own happiness, and here are a few strategies to fight those “spinter” blues.
Go for a walk: Although it’s cold outside, bundle up and go for a walk to take advantage of those sunrays when they are there. Sunlight will increase your Vitamin D levels which helps to increase the serotonin levels in your brain and decrease symptoms of depression and improve your mood. Vitamin D is also linked to helping reduce different types of cancer, pneumonia, headaches and dementia. Also, going for a walk is exercise and physical activity gets those feel-good endorphins flowing.
Volunteering: Yes, I know you are busy, but consider using time management skills and make volunteering a priority. Volunteering doesn’t have to be a weekly contribution, it can be done it small amounts of time, and what you get out of it is a better mood! Volunteering boosts happiness because it increases your empathy and makes you appreciate what you have. It also provides you with a sense of purpose, allows you to feel more socially connected to others, and releases dopamine in your brain which makes you feel good.
Journaling: Studies show if every evening you write down three things you appreciated about and went well in your day, it will help change your perception to focus on the positive things, increase optimism, and feel more satisfied with your life.
Laughter: Remember those feel-good endorphins we talked about in strategy one? Well they are back. When you laugh, you trigger those endorphins which reduces distressing emotions such as anxiety, anger, and sadness. It helps to shift your perspective, draws you closer to others, adds joy to your life, and improves your mood. Take time to watch a funny movie or You Tube video, do something silly, share a good joke, engage in a fun activity with your friends. Don’t wait until the weekend to spend time doing something enjoyable with your loved ones and participate in a week night activity to get you laughing.
After all this talk about strategies to boost your mood, I think it’s time to practice what I preach. Mother Nature isn’t answering my phone calls right now to make summer weather come faster, so I am going to grab my headphones, put on a warm sweater, head outside to catch the last of today’s sunshine, and take a walk while laughing to my favorite comedy podcast 3 Guys Draft the World.
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