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It’s safe to say that the cold winter weather and good ol’ mercury retrograde is truly taking it’s toll on me, and no doubt many of you also. The past few weeks have been real, and when I say real, I mean really real! But the countdown to Christmas is on and i’m making it my mission to perk myself up and battle the winter blues in the best ways I know how!
How I’ve been learning to battle the winter blues..
Every year I feel that I suffer with a small bout of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) where I just feel really low and ‘meh’ when the winter season rolls in. There is nothing that I like about the cold days and early dark nights, as I find it so demotivating in many ways. I have and always will be a summer baby, and although I burn pretty easily in the summer, my body and mood is just 100% during the warmer months. Winter however.. not so much! In keeping with my current vibe at the moment, I thought i’d put a positive spin on how i’ve been feeling recently to share some ways in which I try to pick myself up during the winter months.
Have Some ‘Me Time’
There is nothing that beats a good evening to yourself, and more often than not some ‘me’ time is exactly what we need after a long day at work. For me a pamper evening typically consists of, a good bath with all of the Lush bath bombs, slapping on some fake tan (to cling onto the summer months just a little while longer) and snuggling up catching up on my current Netflix list. Speaking of Lush, I’ve been meaning to get myself to Lush to check out their Christmas range this year, as i’ve seen some amazing reviews on the latest releases and if like me you haven’t had chance yet, i’d definitely get yourself down the your local Lush soon!
As mentioned, often when i’m feeling a bit ‘meh’, I do like to apply a trusty layer of fake tan as I find it just makes me feel that little bit better. A recent addition into my fake tan stash is the Bali Body Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse* (£26.95), which is a new shade release to my already favourite dark tan from Bali Body (read my review here). I’ve been using this for the past few weeks to give my skin a lovely bit of colour and seeing as I loved the dark shade of their tanning mousse, I just knew I was going to absolutely love this shade also. Usually an ultra dark tan would have me worried as I am naturally quite fair but this tan tailors to your skin tone, so you can guarantee that you won’t wake up looking like an oompa loompa. I personally prefer to use this on my legs as tan usually fades fairly quickly on my legs, yet I find this shade really works to prolong the colour and also leaves my legs feeling so silky and smooth. Winner winner!
Get Outside
One thing I really need to do more of is getting outside instead of just staying cooped up inside all day. They always say a bit of fresh air and sunlight always does you the world of good if you’re not feeling your best, and with vitamin D (sunlight) often being more limited during the winter months it’s good to try and give your body whatever bit of vitamin D it can get. Whether it be going on a family walk around your local neighbourhood or on a scenic walk/run, get outside and get some fresh air pumping through those lungs!
Make Plans To Look Forward To
I often find that this time of year is the busiest work wise with the wind down for Christmas soon to be upon us, and we often forget to put some time aside for not only ourselves but our nearest and dearest. Making plans is one thing that instantly lifts my mood as I know that it’s something that I can look forward to. Sounds silly but it really does work, for me anyway! With the Christmas holidays fast approaching there are so many things you can plan to do. Whether it be visiting your local Christmas market, booking a festive wreath making class or treating yourself and your Mum to an afternoon tea, there are so many things to do at this time of year.
Up Your Vitamins
An obvious one to some but one I suck at is taking vitamins, which in the winter months is quite a common thing. Whilst doing a bit of research into ways in which you can make yourself feel better during the winter months, taking daily vitamins was one that came up a few times and as I mentioned above, vitamin D is one vitamin we often lack during the colder months. For the past week or so i’ve been taking Boots Vitamin D Tablets (£2.30) daily and although it’s fairly soon to say, I have found that my mood hasn’t been as low as previous weeks. Another product i’ve been using to get in some much needed vitamins is the Bioglan Beauty Protien* (£12.99). This stuff is great as it contains a bunch of essential ingredients including vitamin C and biotin to help promote healthy skin and hair, which I find also suffers quite a bit during the winter months. I’ve been adding a scoop of this into smoothies or my morning porridge over the past few weeks as an easy way to get this into my diet, and although miracles don’t happen overnight, I have noticed that my skin doesn’t feel as dry as it normally would and my hair is looking a lot more healthy.
So those are some ways in which i’m learning to battle the winter blues!
How are you getting through the long winter days at the moment?
