Every year around mid October, there’s this collective sense of bracing ourselves in Minnesota. The air sharpens, the daylight vanishes before dinner, and everyone starts to speculate on when the first snow is going to come and destroy our commutes. You can almost feel people slipping into hibernation mode… irritation about leaving the house, never quite having your feet warm enough, sprinkled with a little existential dread.
And, yes, part of that feeling is seasonal affective disorder creeping in. It’s the quiet heaviness that insulates us when the days grow colder and shorter and with the warmth and daylight goes your motivation.
When you live somewhere like I do, where people love to talk about how magical the summers are with our lush parks, unique festivals, and endless lakes it’s easy to forget that we only get about three months of the year to actually enjoy those things. The rest of the year, we’re left facing the reality that the darkness lingers, the cold bites, and our mental health can take a hit.
And I’m not going to sugarcoat it, sometimes I think we make winter harder on ourselves than it needs to be.
It’s always struck me as a little problematic (and maybe even a bit tragic) that so many people in my area base their entire personality around things they can only enjoy for a small fraction of the year. It’s like setting yourself up for disappointment nine months in advance.
Now, don’t get me wrong Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a very real and valid mental-health condition that deserves attention and care. However, as humans we also have a responsibility to set ourselves up for success. In places like Minnesota, that means finding ways not just to survive the long gray months, but to create a life that still feels worth living inside them.
You don’t have to love winter but it is going to come. With a few shifts in mindset and daily rhythms, you can start to make peace with it or even find a little beauty in it.
1. Gear Up: Comfort Is a Coping Skill
For my outdoor enthusiasts, I know the frigid temperatures can put a damper on things and that the weak sun changes how the days (and our bodies) feel, but we have no control over that. So we find a way to make it tolerable.
Bundle up and make it cute. Matching hats and gloves, fleece-lined leggings, or heated hand warmers can transform misery into mild amusement. When you take a moment to notice it, there’s something strangely satisfying about breathing in that crisp air and hearing the snow crunch beneath your boots.
And the science agrees: brief daylight exposure and movement help regulate serotonin and circadian rhythm, two of the biggest players in seasonal affective disorder. So bundle up and get out there!
2. Curate a Space You Love Being In
If you’re going to spend months indoors, make your home somewhere you want to be. Hang suncatchers that scatter tiny rainbows across the floor. Add pictures that remind you of joy. Find a blanket that practically demands a nap.
Consider warm lighting, soft textures, and small rituals like lighting a candle each morning or brewing tea at the same time every evening. These become anchors that give your nervous system a sense of rhythm when daylight doesn’t.
3. Learn the Art of Cozy Cooking
Whether it’s childhood comfort food, slow-simmered soup, or your first sourdough loaf (which I tried myself recently and actually really enjoyed the process!), winter invites you to slow down and stir. The kitchen becomes both a heater and an activity.
Cooking can also be mindfulness in disguise: chopping, tasting, breathing in spice and steam. A full body experience in one activity. Plus, good nutrition and consistent meals help stabilize the blood sugar dips that can worsen low mood during seasonal affective disorder.
4. Rediscover Indoor Hobbies
Turn on that show you’ve been meaning to binge. Learn to crochet. Get lost in puzzles or novels. Creativity and curiosity keep the brain stimulated and counteract winter’s stagnancy. Make your own novelty.
Invite others to join you. Quiet connection (crafting, reading side-by-side, playing games) keeps loneliness at bay. Human warmth matters just as much as heated blankets. And couch friends are severely underrated these days.
5. Use Winter for Catch-Up Mode
If you insist on romanticizing summer, fine but at least set yourself up for it. Use winter to tackle the unglamorous stuff: scrub the baseboards, review the budget, book overdue appointments, declutter the closet.
Productivity can be a surprisingly effective mood booster for those wrestling with seasonal affective disorder. Completing small tasks creates momentum when energy is low. Write out your avoided to dos on cute paper with fun pens so you can give yourself the reward of seeing things get crossed off the more productive you are.
6. Schedule Joy on Purpose
In summer, plans seem to make themselves. In winter, you have to make them. Put something fun on your calendar every few weeks: a dinner party, trivia night, movie marathon, or weekend getaway. This might require some effort on your part and I just want to remind you that it’s good for you even if you think you just want to stay home in bed.
Anticipation itself boosts dopamine. So even if your event is weeks away, you’ll reap small bursts of joy while planning it. We benefit from planned activities before, during and after!
7. Rest Like It’s an Assignment
We treat rest like a reward instead of a requirement. But winter is nature’s invitation to slow down — to match the early sunsets with earlier bedtimes. You feel more tired because our body has learned its schedule based on the sun. Don’t fight, resist, or judge it.
Let yourself sleep a little longer, move a little slower. That’s not laziness; that’s alignment. If you struggle with guilt about resting, remind yourself that recovery is what makes growth sustainable… and a little slower pace of life never hurts anyone. It’s actually pleasurable to slow down and smell the coffee.
8. Know When to Seek Extra Support
Sometimes no amount of cozy blankets can lift the fog. If you notice your energy, motivation, or mood plummeting for weeks at a time, that’s not weakness, that’s your brain asking for help. And there is no shame in that.
Therapy, light therapy boxes, vitamin D supplements, chatting with your doctor, and gentle exercise can all help ease the effects of seasonal affective disorder. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through winter. Use the resources available to you.
Finding Meaning in the Dark Months
Here’s the truth: we can’t change the fact that winter comes every year. The snow will fall, the days will shorten, and the sunlight will play hard to get. We’re done letting our well being ride on a hot and cold relationship. We can change how we experience it.
The point isn’t to turn winter into summer, it’s to let it be something else entirely: a season for slowing down, refueling, reconnecting with yourself, and redefining what joy looks like when it’s not sun-soaked or Instagram-perfect.
So this year, instead of counting down the days until spring, I challenge you to try to make winter a little more livable or dare I say, meaningful?
Make it the season where you rest, rebuild, and remind yourself that life doesn’t stop when it gets cold. It just asks you to live differently. And while change can be hard, it can also be beautiful.
If winter feels heavier than usual this year, know that you’re not alone and you don’t have to navigate it solo. At Redbird Wellness, we help individuals manage seasonal affective disorder and rediscover balance in body and mind.
Reach out today to learn how therapy can bring light to the darker months.