What do you do to survive winter?

Hot chocolate from Tim Hortans

 

Hmm. Metaphorically speaking, to survive through the winter I’d need to do quite a bit of reading to stave off cabin fever. If your interested, I’d recommend Jack London.

 

Now that is what I call winter!

I'm in southern Ontario. I actually prefer cold (that's -15 to -20 here) winter days to hot, muggy days of summer. I have experienced -40 a few times out west and that didn't bother me, but it also didn't stick around for long.

My winter experience is easy for me to handle. I love snow storms and go out with my dog in them just for the experience. I enjoy driving on snow and ice too. I used to ski and skate when I was younger and really enjoyed that. I would definitely have to acclimatize to arctic winters. I suspect the long periods of no sunshine would wear on me after a while.

 

You guys are so lucky to have snow. We dont have winter here in Indonesia. We have the sun throughout the year shining and burning. There were some moments where I couldn't sleep at night because of the hot air. PMO was my way to make myself sleepy. I know this is kinda out-of-the-topic but yeah I just wanna share haha. I have nothing to and responding to the threads is what I do to kill the boredom.

 

Being somewhere with -40ºC winters, I can empathize with how it can affect a person.

I deal with it by embracing the cold and the dark, winter is my favourite time of year. I love getting bundled up, going out into the crisp air and lying back in a bed of snow...looking up at the winter stars. When the snow falls, I go outside in that too and enjoy the wonder of how similar the multitude of snowflakes falling around me looks like the stars are falling to the ground. It is hauntingly beautiful. With a little imagination, I can feel like I am out in space (if it only weren't for the gravity).

I feel amazing in the winter, even without vitamin D supplements, because it is simple a shift in perception that dispels the weight of darkness.

 

Look at Russian people thriving winter Mr Putin hunting and fishing and being commander in all things buy workout machines so u can use some hormones and stay on nofap

 

I just thought of a bit of practical advise along the lines of what @Supermarron was saying. Beyond finding a way to love something about the season you are in, you can get a special high intensity light that mimics the light of the sun. You sit under it for an hour or so a day and it helps with SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

Check out this for some general info (all wikipedia, safe to visit):
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Light Therapy
Artificial Sunlight
Full-spectrum Light

If you're tight on money, with a little technical know-how, you can DIY an LED light that will do the above for a reasonable cost. Be prepared to have to dig a little into electric theory though.

I still maintain that a solution that you find within yourself is best, but it can take time to find and develop that. Until then, artificial light is an excellent remedy.

 

@RainbowShell... If you get stuck trying to figure out a sun-lamp, shoot me a PM. I may not be able to help you with everything, but I may be able to at least point you in the right direction. Some people close to me use one for SAD and I've seen it help them. Combine it with a good book and you've got a wonderful hour to look forward to everyday.

 

Well I live in a city near the sea in the "lukewarm" zone of the world, so winter's not too cold and summer's not too hot, however, unlike most of the world, here winters are "wet" and summer is "dry" so it rains a lot and sometimes it's very depressing. When I'm not seeing my friends I usually just stay at home on the couch lol reading, playing bass or listening to music really, I hate working out when it's not sunny and I'm busy with school.

 

Tanning (not bad for you if you don't burn) gives you both bright light and vitamin D. Exercise is a good way to balance hormones and not feel stressed.

 

Tanning is bad for you, get your vitamin D from a pill instead. Most calcium vitamins have vitamin D included.

 

Nope. There is no scientific evidence that tanning under low-pressure UV lamps without burning has detrimental effects.

Vitamin D supplements don't give you bright light exposure, which has also been shown to be beneficial for moods and circadian rhythm. In some studies, vitamin D supplementation was actually associated with higher health risks.

I can't post links yet, so do a search for these titles for more info:

Vitamin D Pills Are of Little or No Benefit and Some Harm. So What to Do Now?

Review Article: Vitamin D, sun, sunbeds and health

A study titled 'A Prospective Study of Pigmentation, Sun Exposure, and Risk of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma in Women' followed over 100,000 women for eight years and found that tanning increased melanoma risk by only fractions of a percent. The trade off is that it greatly reduces the risk of other cancers--by up to 40%.

 

There's no such thing as a healthy tan. 15 minutes of unprotected skin in the sunlight gives all the vitamin D you can produce in a day.