Are you often in a bad mood in winter, easily irritable and prefer to retreat to your own four walls? That sounds like the typical winter blues. We will tell you how a normal low mood differs from a manifest winter depression and what tips can help against seasonal moods.
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Winter blues: just a bad mood or depression?
The dark, cold winter months will sooner or later affect most people in Germany. By February at the latest, when we have already had several months of darkness and cold, wet weather and there is still no end in sight, quite a few of us are depressed, easily irritable and would like to crawl into bed until spring comes around. So far, however, this is not unusual for residents of inland northern countries and is not yet a sign of depression. In fact, it is estimated that only about 1 to 2 percent of the population sufferswith a true winter depression. In addition to the typical depression symptoms such as severe listlessness, hopelessness and negative thoughts over a period of at least two weeks, seasonal winter depression is characterized by increased appetite instead of lack of appetite and increased sleep duration instead of sleep difficulties.
Tip: The German Depression Aid Foundation offers a self-test here that you can use to identify possible early signs of depression. Please note, however, that it cannot replace a medical diagnosis!
Health: 3 tips against a bad mood in winter
The following measures can help against the typical winter blues, which occurs in many people but does not yet represent a seasonal depression. They can also be effective in mild forms of depression – but medical and psychotherapeutic treatment should always come first!
1. Light therapy
In addition to natural light therapy – going outside every day if possible and enjoying the few rays of sunshine – several studies have already shown that artificial light can also help against the winter blues and even with winter depression. Bright, white light is used, which triggers the release of mood-boosting messenger substances such as dopamine via the optic nerve in the brain . Special daylight lamps are used for the therapy, which those affected often use prophylactically from October onwards.
Interesting: people with a certain eye color are particularly often affected by winter depression >>
2. Everyday movement and sport
Daily walks, bike rides to work or jogging with friends not only have an extremely beneficial effect on our physical health, but can also have a positive effect mentally. Endurance sports in particular have been proven to have a mood-enhancing effect, since exercise leads to the release of the happiness hormone serotonin, among other things. In addition, regular training increases self-efficacy and, according to studies , is even as effective as drug or psychotherapeutic treatment for mild depression.
Tip: The German Depression Aid even offers numerous regional running clubs to get moving together.
3. Social contacts
A diagnosed depression or winter depression can by no means only be cured with the help of social experiences or meetings with friends. However, social interaction is worth its weight in gold, especially in the case of slight moodiness and the typical winter blues. Contact with friends and family members lifts our spirits and can protect us from just walling ourselves in within our own four walls and becoming socially impoverished during the cold season.
