How to beat the winter blues

!happinessBy Laurie Wolf At this time of year when there isn't much natural light many of us can feel down and even depressed. In some cases, some tweaks to our behaviours and habits can make a big difference - see below. In others, more decisive interventions might be required. Of course, if we are also feeling bad about the state of the world the solution may lie in changing our lives and connecting with others to make a difference. !jiddu_krishnamurti-profoundly_sick_society

Some general strategies and guidance ------------------------------------

• How to Protect Your Mental Health and Avoid an Emotional Breakdown
• 10 Natural Ways To Help You Beat Depression
• 10 Reasons Green People Are Happier

Exercise --------

• Exercise helps beat depression — that’s not just a theory, but scientificfact
• Do whatever is enjoyable for you and is manageable
• 3 Ways to Beat Depression Through Exercise

Nature time -----------

• Research shows that spending more time in nature improves your health, wellbeing, and leads to making better environmental decisions
• Looking at trees can reduce your stress levels, even in the middle of a city
• Go deep - do a vision quest

Meditate --------

• Check out - tarabrach.com
• The Insight Timer app is free and useful
• A Meditation To Help With Pain or Discomfort

Diet ----

• Optimise your nutrition: 30 Healthiest Foods of All Time
• Avoid gluten, sugar, alcohol and other processed foods as much as possible
• Take probiotics e.g. Kombucha, kefir, unpasteurised sauerkraut
• Check out Patrick Holford's incredible website and books
• Managing depression through diet

Supplements -----------

• Vit D3 supplementation - Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Depression 
• This probiotic might be worth a try
• High doses of fish oil can be transformative in a struggle with depression. Listen to this before you decide to take fish oil regularly long-term

Alternative medicines ---------------------

• Check out Ayahuasca
• Magic mushrooms beat depression
• Ketamine restores pleasure-seeking behaviour ahead of other antidepressant action

Top books to read -----------------

• The Untethered Soul
• The Mindful Way Through Depression
• Man's Search for Meaning