How to get through the winter

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In the winter I go running if the weather is not too windy or raining too hard or slippery from ice. I avoid running in puddly areas or places that might be slippery or sloshy from wetness or ice. I prefer to run in better visibility and during the day because I don't need other traffic running into me.

If it is very cold or windy or mildly raining I wear an athletic jacket that has enough shell that the cold wind does not penetrate, some cold weather gloves and a winter cap that can cover the tops of my ears, I might wear several athletic shirts underneath the jacket, and shorts under athletic pants.

I use a SAD lamp for an hour a day, I also take Vitamin D, and I try to eat very well. I try to avoid alcohol because it is a depressant.

for D to work at its best you also need adequate vitamin K- and vice-versa.

For me summers lots of times are worse. My favorite season is actually fall. The temperatures are just perfect for me.

For winter the main problem for me is just staying inside. I find I'm automatically less depressed if I can just go for an hour walk or something everyday. So summer is too hot and winter is too cold. So if I can find something to do outdoors in winter and force myself to get outside anyway, I'd probably be happiest then. I gotta get some cross country ski boots and give that a try. Lots of wooded trails around here for me.

As far as food in the Chinese medicine thing. Maybe a bit brosciency here, but Chinese medicine recommends "cool" foods in summer, and then "warm" foods in winter. If you look up on wiki or whatever, you'll find a list of Chinese medicine food and it's effects, warming, cooling, etc. I find a low meat diet with more grains and vegetables in summer is good, but in winter, higher meat/"warming" foods are needed. You observe this throughout various cultures. IE, people in cold places eat gobs of meat and dairy. People in hot places tend to eat more grains, vegetables, etc. Think Vietnam vs like Iceland's cuisine. So take that Chinese broscience for what you want, but yeah. I'm probably more "yang" and "heaty" in Chinese medicine type patterns, if that matters at all.

Can't stand winters. I deal with 'em by making myself keep moving. As long as my body's warm it's at least bearable. My body is always cold by default, it seems. I'll automatically start cooling down anytime I'm sedentary. That's why my favorite season is summer, love the hot and humid air!

Vitamin D3, light box, and extra warm cloths have helped in the past. The beginning of fall/winter tends to be the toughest for me. I don't adjust quickly to cold weather. Once past that I tend to do well.

I began a new idea recently that is thought to help, earthing or grounding. It seems to one of the newer health ideas being mentioned. Bought a grounding pad and sheets. It's different, but to my surprise helps.

"Summertime Barefoot Cure"

http://www.annlouise.com/blog/2013/07/1 ... foot-cure/

I find that earthing/grounding idea really interesting. It seems like it just intuitively makes sense to me, although I've never tried it.

I go outside every sunny day,even if it's cold.And seed catalogs help,then in Feb I can start my little seedlings off.That and books,music,and art.
And most of the winter I can dig,so I transplant stuff,this is the time of year to move rocks,all the stuff that may be under the rock is dormant or sleeping.I trim trees and cut brush,build fires,that's cosy.

I've certainly become a fan of earthing of late. It's been a nice addition to the other health improvements I've made over the years.

My family in the Pacific NW take up to 10,000 IU of Vitamin D a day (prescribed by a doctor!), with Vitamin K for absorption. They also go tanning! WHICH WAS TOTALLY PRESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR! My sister-in-law used to just get so depressed she'd be bedridden and have weeping fits, and every winter she and her friend go tanning together at least once a week, on the beds that have the rays that make the body produce the most Vitamin D. I'm of a mind that a lot of skin cancers are aided by chemicals in sunscreens or commercial tanning bed lotions, so I would use coconut oil, which I've heard anecdotally prevents burns. Also make sure to get plenty of Omega-3s. I like OmegaBrite or CorOmega fish oils. When I can afford it, I take 6-8 OmegaBrites to stay sane, and eat plenty of salmon.

I love the mild Australian winters and hate the horrendous Australian summers. Heat can cause insomnia and create an aversion to physical activity. I'll never know why Australia hasn't adopted the siesta for outdoor jobs considering it's as hot as Mexico. At least I live in the dry part of Australia and not the humid part of Australia. I can't stand humidity.

If there is snow, I go play with it. If not, I'll just cuddle up with a blanket and stay online. I'm usually inside on the computer anyways. I love rain and snow anyways because it's fun to watch.

I live in a mountain community so it gets pretty cold in the winter.

Beside the already mentioned stuff, around here people like to use additional a herb, that lets the eye and skin become more sensitive to light. (The output of serotonin and noradrenalin is partly depending on the light volume information, that your eye sends to your brain. So by making your eyes more sensitive to light, you trick the brain.) Its called in german "Johanneskraut", and google tells me the translation would be "John´s Wort" but I am not sure if thats correct.

You should be aware, that you only should use that herb, if you really have "grey" winters, with rather no direct sun. So because of us being very north, the sun in winter is even during noon far in the south and not streight above, so its very weak and additional the dawn is late in the morning and early in the evening. Additional that we have anyway that sh***y fog and clouds 90% of winters days so you hardly ever see the sun directly.

But you should not use that herb, if you live in areas, were you still have more direct sun in winter, because then making your skin and eyes more sensitive to the sun, is damaging. So its a good stuff, if you really have sh***y "grey" winters, and hardly ever see the sun directly for months, but you should not use it otherwise.

in Germany, st. john's wort is on the national [health] formulary.

Another option is to move to Los Angeles where it's always sunny. When I lived on the east coast I always felt much happier in the summer. Now I feel happy all year round.

but it needs to be noted that there are "sun" people [who are susceptible to SAD due to their having high need for direct sunlight] and "rain" people [like myself, who get overstimulated by sunlight and tend to get depressed in hot weather]. the two types are not mutually compatible.