Winter Blues or Winter Boost?

As I’ve already mentioned in another blog: the Netherlands is located on a rather high northern latitude. Nice in summertime, with the long daylight, and evenings that just seem to last endlessly. But in the winter season, those who recently came here from places closer to the equator may find themselves entrapped in days that seem far too short, and far too dark. Also, many who’ve been here longer (and many locals, for that matter) recognize the feeling. In other words: this blog has to do with ‘the Winter Blues’.

As I write this, it is late November. The sun is almost at its lowest position in the sky, and it will take quite some time before it returns northwards again in any recognizable fashion. We are entering what the Dutch proverbially call: ‘the dark days before Christmas’.

For those who are sensitive to it (and I count myself among them to a certain extent), these light-deficient days can have an impact on their energy levels and on their mood. We have such resounding names for this phenomenon as ‘winter blues’, ‘winter dip’, and when it is formally diagnosed by an expert as something more severe, ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’ (with the incredibly appropriate acronym of ‘SAD’).

A Remnant of the Past

The exact underlying mechanism is beyond the scope of this little article. When you start reading about it, I give you a heads up that you will come across things like ‘melatonin’, the ‘pineal gland’, and ‘circadian rhythm.’ What I want to get at with you is this: once upon a time, people who were responsive to the amount of daylight were actually at an advantage. And by that ‘once upon a time’ I mean in pre-industrial society. Their energy levels were lower in winter, so they kept a more low key.

And back then that was convenient. The work in the fields was done, the cattle were stabled, and life largely took place indoors. Moreover, in those times of regular food shortages, that often took place during winter, it was quite practical to slow down. After all: with your metabolism in a lower gear, you burn up fewer reserves. But nowadays, in the rat race of our 24/7 society, such a winter dip is certainly less convenient.

Ways to Relieve the Doldrums

So we try to do something about it. For example, we fly to tropical places (“Yeah right, I really needed some sunshine. Vitamin S, you know?”). But not everyone can afford this. Your wallet and/or your calendar (let alone your carbon footprint!) may well hold a different view on such an inserted winter vacation. That’s when a plan B presents itself: the daylight lamp. Available as glasses with built-in LED’s or as a lamp for on the table or desk. Such a lamp compensates, to a certain extent, for the lack of sunlight. I know people who definitely benefit from it.

In the two examples above, we get the light from ‘outside ourselves’: the vacation or the lamp. Recently however, I see the emergence of a different trend: don’t look for that light outside, but within yourself! In a nutshell, the message is: at this northern latitude, winter is part of the whole cycle too, and it has its own qualities. Embrace it! Make the best of it!!

A Light from Within

I came across a book that fits this trend. It is written by psychologist Kari Leibowitz. Her research is about the relation between ‘mindset’ on the one hand and ‘well-being’ and ‘health’ on the other. She describes herself as ‘a former winter hater’. As part of her research, she worked for an extended time in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, home to the world’s northernmost university. In winter, Tromsø is continuously shrouded in almost complete darkness for two months. She learned that the locals there were apparently more or less resistant to that prolonged darkness, and she wanted to research how they did that.

To her amazement, it was not so much a matter of ‘being resistant.’ Many people in Tromsø genuinely enjoyed winter, they looked forward to it. They have the spiritual disposition and all sorts of habits and rituals to thrive in wintertime. That gave her a whole new perspective on winter. And she came to realize there is tons of research about SAD and winter blues, while there is barely any psychological literature about how to experience winter positively. There seems to be a huge bias there! So, she decided to start exploring that positive disposition and those positive customs. First in Norway, later also in other places.

How to Winter

That exploration resulted in her book ‘How to Winter‘ (translated in Dutch as ‘Over Winteren’). It was recently published. It is available online, of course, at Amazon and Bol.com, just to mention some places. Personally, I prefer to buy at local bookstores. To ensure that we can keep enjoying them for years to come. (Maybe that is also a ‘mindset thing’)? See for instance this website. Also available as e-book.

I bought the book. I did so full well realizing that I may have just stumbled over the next overly posimistic and loudly yelling self-help guru. But I was willing to give it a chance. I’m currently over halfway through the book, and I started to implement some of the rituals and actions that it proposes. Intermediate conclusion: I guess I will always be more of a ‘summer person’, and ‘joyfully embracing winter’ may as yet be a bridge too far for me. But Leibowitz does have a point: your mindset definitely influences how you feel about winter. And I do feel lighter about it. 😊 ❄️ ☃️ 🏂