Tips for Staying Mentally Healthy During the Winter

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Tips for Staying Mentally Healthy During the Winter
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: Bipolar Disorder and Self-Love
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

Tips for Staying Mentally Healthy During the Winter

Is your mental health affected by winter? You’re not alone.

Perhaps you’ve noticed (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) that it’s getting dark out earlier and earlier. In many places, it’s cold. We have an old survival instinct to stuff ourselves with comfort foods, curl up in a blanket, and hibernate. How do we stay mentally healthy? These tips are designed for winter mental health.

• Listen to your body. Winter’s low light causes the brain to prepare for sleep more than it does in the summer months. Try going to bed 20-30 minutes earlier than usual. You might consider working in a power nap of about 30 minutes during the day.
• Feed your winter hunger wisely. Stock up on nutritious foods. Eat nuts, yogurt, sweet potatoes, crackers and hummus dip, and other healthy foods instead of junk food. You’ll boost both mental and physical health.
• Move! It’s fun to curl up in a blanket and read or watch movies, but our bodies still need movement for wellbeing. Set a timer to buzz every hour, and when it does, get up and walk around, stretch, climb stairs, or dance wildly. It’s a powerful mental health enhancer.

Try these, and see if they help create positive thoughts, healthy emotions, and the energy to resist hibernation. They could boost your mental health over the winter.

Related Articles Dealing with Staying Mentally Healthy in the Winter

• Ways to Prepare for Winter Depression
• Tips to Beat Depression This Winter
• Winter Weather Impacts Routine of Children with Mental Illness
• Winter Blues and Addiction Recovery
• 3 Ways to Lose the Winter Blues
• Self-Harm and Shoveling Away Those Winter Blues

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: What do you do for your mental health when winter has you feeling trapped? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experiences on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Bipolar Disorder and Romanticizing Things
• Eating Disorders Don’t Rely on Body Size
• Sibling Abuse as a Result of Childhood Mental Illness
• Health Insurance Anxiety–Minding the Gap
• Celebrate Binge Eating Disorder Recovery Over the Holidays
• 5 Ways to Feel Confident About Your New Year’s Resolutions
• Schizoaffective Depression and Coping with SAD This Winter
• Confessions of a Dissociative Identity Disorder Writer
• Lower Anxiety by Focusing Your Thoughts–Not Focusing on Them
• Create Routines for Depression Management that Work
• A Crucial Positive Affirmation for Eating Disorder Recovery
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Reduces Anxiety
• Sleep Deprivation with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• The Effects of Stressful Life Events on My Mental Illness
• Feeling Like a Burden Because of Mental Illness
• Coping with Verbal Abuse This Christmas
• How Are ADHD and Homelessness Connected?

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

I'm Hannah. I Have Bipolar 2

Life with Bipolar: What They Don't Tell You

Life with bipolar 2 disorder is a challenge, and when you receive a diagnosis your life is cut short. At least this is what you are told, and what you inevitably believe. However, you can succeed in life with bipolar disorder. Surprise!. (Watch Hannah)

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Acceptance Is Key to Effective Anxiety Treatment
2. Diagnosed With Schizophrenia in School Away from Home
3. What Causes Anxiety? 10 Reasons Why You Are So Anxious

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it’s the place where we find the deepest heartache."

Read more abuse quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

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