I really enjoy going to botanic gardens and greenhouses. The plants and the warm humid air always brings me up
Hot yoga. Indoor climbing. Both if you can. Activity + heat + big, bright open space that tricks your brain into thinking you’re getting outdoor sunlight.
A light box for SAD. Mine is on a timer and I use it as an alarm clock. It really works.
For me it’s bright lights and exercise, especially if I can do the exercise in the bright lights
It’s tough though but it’s way easier now that I’m working days
When I was working night shift and wouldn’t see the sun for 2 months I was losing my mind
Get into the festive shit. I never cared about Chirstmas or anything, so December was just cold/dark time. Wife was kind of in the same boat, but one year she just went nuts with decorating and holiday foods, events, etc. When you go through the motions, your living space will feel like a happier place; and it’ll pass the time.
And if you live somewhere with more of a mixed population, try to find info on your local cultural groups, and keep close tabs on their event calendars - and actually show up! India does a ‘festival of lights’ thing for example that has nothing to do with Santa or Jesus, but is still a super colorful, fun, and fucking DELICIOUS event. Most cultures have some kind of winter holiday, and when they host local events it makes for some really cool new experiences.
There’s also some good ol’ fashioned escapism. Pick your poison - reading, gaming, etc. Gaming is mine, and this is a good time of year to break out the nostalgic/comfort games. I just started another run of Subnautica, since it’s basically a tropical diving simulator; get immersed into that, and you’ll stop caring about the gloomy weather n’ shit.
The problem is that my cultural events are all about killing as many animals and shoving them into your face as possible and I no longer agree with that.
But yes, I agree with making you home more festive during winter.
