Three Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy in Autumn

It's October! The nights are drawing in, it's getting cooler and darker on a morning, and pumpkin spice-flavoured items are literally everywhere. Love it or hate it, you might need a little extra help to manage your mental health in autumn - here's a blog post to make sure you get it.

Personally, I love autumn. I love the cooler weather (I'm too pale to be a summer person!) and I like the snuggly warm clothes at this time of year - you can never have too many jumpers or pairs of boots. But for some people, the changing weather gives them a feeling of dread. The darker nights can be filled with a sense of foreboding, as though something terrifying is going to happen, and getting up on a morning can feel like wading through treacle. If that sounds familiar, here are some things to bear in mind.

Get checked for SAD

You might have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, but you might not know what it is or what the symptoms are. SAD is a type of depression that tends to be more difficult to manage in the autumn and winter months. Depression is already difficult enough to deal with, but pairing it with the darker, bleaker months is really tough. Symptoms of SAD include:

• Low mood - this is usually persistent and doesn't go away. Obviously you'll have times where you feel better and times where you'll feel worse, as mood often fluctuates, but if your low mood is noticeable for a few weeks, that can be a problem.
• Coupled with low mood, people often experience feelings of guilt, despair, hopelessness and feeling worthless. It may get so bad that you consider harming yourself.
• A loss of interest in activities that you would normally enjoy, or a loss of enjoyment from those activities.
• Being more snappy or irritable than usual.
• Finding that you sleep for longer than you usually would, and then finding it much more difficult to get going on a morning.
• Related to that, feeling more tired than usual during the day.
• Craving carbs more than usual, and sometimes gaining weight as a result of eating more carbs.

If you think that what you're feeling is more like SAD than just the general "winter blues," it might be a good idea to go see your GP.

Stick to a routine

I know, I know, it's dark and windy and miserable and your duvet is telling you that just five more minutes won't make you late for work, but here's the thing: sticking to a routine even when it's really difficult will be better for you in the long run. That five minutes turns into twenty, and before you know it you've got no time for breakfast before you're running out the door. It's ALWAYS going to be dark when you leave work, you're NEVER going to feel like going to the gym, but you know you'll feel better once you've done it.

Planning out your week in advance and then sticking to a timetabled routine might sound like a lot of effort, but it reaps rewards in the end. It stops you from hibernating too much, and also means that you still maintain some semblance of hobbies and social life throughout the winter months. It might not always work, but being aware of how much you're going to want to stay indoors and being mindful of not indulging that tendency too much can stop you feeling even more lethargic and low as autumn and winter go on, particularly if you have SAD or any kind of depression.

​Learn a new skill

That said, the nights getting cooler and darker is the perfect time to stay indoors and pick up a book (within moderation, of course). Autumn is a great time to learn a new skill - even better if it's something you can use during the coming months. Here are some starters for ten:

• Learn to knit or crochet. It's pretty simple, and your friends and family can have cool knitted socks or jumpers for Christmas if you find that you're good at it!
• Pick up a new language. Apps like Duolingo are free, and you can test out your skills in the holiday season next year.
• Head to the kitchen to learn how to make things like jams and chutneys - they're really handy to use up the last of the summer's fruits, and you can use them all through the next year (can you tell I'm a member of my local Women's Institute?!)
• Think you could be a great novelist, or even an okay-ish one? Try something like NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month for the uninitiated) in November, and finish the month with a first draft of that book you've always meant to write.
• Do something physical, like joining a local sports team, taking up running or learning to ski. There's a cost involved, but you might make some new friends and staying physically active in the cooler months is always going to be good for your health.

If none of those things sound good for you, how about trying to do more of the things that interest you? Autumn can be a good time for reflection, as can any change in the seasons, and reflection often reveals to me that I'm not doing as much of the stuff that fills me with joy as I could do. I've got a pile of books that I'm looking forward to reading over the next few months, and I'm making an effort to spend more time around people who make me happy. As things get colder, we could all use a little warmth.

Let me know how you're planning to spend your Autumn in the comments!