The article suggests adding dashes of yellow and green here and there - a fruit bowl of lemons and Granny Smith apples, perhaps. These colors remind us of sunshine. (Interesting that our living room is yellow and one bathroom a Granny-Smith shade of green!)
Another suggestion - using an artificial sun lamp - is something I've tried. The biggest problem for me is finding the right location to keep the lamp: It needs to be a specific distance from the face, shining from a certain angle... I always find that a challenge to set up.
I've never tried using an ionic air purifier - to replicate fresh ocean air. Or eating peanut butter and bananas - which "produce serotonin (the happiness hormone)" - but I lived off peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch as a child - and I don't ever remember ever being affected by dull days then!
The article suggests writing happy notes - stories of happy times. (Is it a co-incidence that I began my blogging adventure in the middle of winter when I was house-bound in a storm?!)
Or daydreaming about a winter getaway and actually planning it - even if it is an impossible dream. Planning has an energizing effect. (One January I did just that - and in February headed for a week in Hawaii, which definitely cured my winter blahs!)
Over the years I've instinctively gravitated to quite a few of their suggestions. I would add a few of my own. Surrounding myself with colorful flowers: my African violets, which often bloom in winter, cheer me up when the world outside is white. I also find creativity helps. Painting, quilting, knitting, and crocheting surround me with colorful paints, fabrics and yarn.
Terry has his own ways of dealing with winter. He tries to keep busy with a part-time winter job. And his habit of counting down the "100 days of winter" cheers him up, especially once 50 days are past. (Today is only day 34 for him.)
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