If SAD Hits You Hard, ‘Spiritual Seasoning’ Might Help The Fall
As you pack away your factor 50 in preparation for the darker days ahead, it’s easy to see how autumn’s arrival can dampen your mood. Here's how to turn the blues into a more beautiful shade of orange.
Keep your mood up when the weather starts to change.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 3 minutes 30 seconds
Time to action: 15 minutes
Mantra: Exercise the mind to beat SAD
Main message: Be like autumn and turn the blues orange
Stat: 3rd - Autumn’s ranking as a favourite season - here’s how to bump it up to at least beat spring
As seasonal affective disorder (SAD) hits hard for so many of us in the UK, the new rules of engagement are thankfully less “learn to live with it” and more “embrace it hard”. In other words, give this change more of a bear hug than a barely-there hug, and push your psyche and physiology into a new type of seasonally adjusted joy.
Autumn has it tough – it takes you out of Britain’s favourite season and into what feels like the longest. So, true to FORM, we’ve found the best Spiritual Seasoning on offer and present you with 7 incredible ways to fall for the Fall.
1. Mimic The season, shed the excess
Autumn is the season of renewal and transition. Now is the time for personal reflection, growth and transformation, which leads to actions – so let go of what no longer works for you.
Cognitively, this is the time to allow yourself some space. Even if it’s just 10 minutes per day, the trick is to ensure you give yourself that space rather than just agreeing it’s a good idea.
One way to make it happen is to ask yourself a question and time yourself. Every time you find your mind wandering, stop the clock and go again. It's a mind game that helps you to focus on yourself and your goals. The questions don’t have to be huge, but they do have to be daily.
2. Feel Intense Investment Time (IIT)
After you’ve asked yourself some questions, act on the decisions, whether it’s as broad as a career change, or as specific as a wardrobe clearout. IIT suggests that this is the right season for prepping – it ensures the plan has an “actual” to match the theoretical.
Now is the moment to create time allocations. Make them frequent and make sure you stick to them. There is a reward to be had here: your serotonin levels will increase each time you see yourself revisit the action of achievements associated with your goals.
This makes for a double win: you will advance your plans and feel good about it, even from the slightest but consistent time commitment you can offer.
3. Take on some culinary exploration
Spiritual Seasoning is all about embracing what the change can offer your senses, so why not try experimenting with some seasonal ingredients?
Explore traditional autumn flavours such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and seasonal produce, including cranberries, pomegranates, and sweet potatoes. They’re all packed with flavour and nutrients.
The theory is that seasonal foods offer your body what it needs to work with the new climate and change in body rhythms.
4. Find new pressure release valves
Our outdoor activity reduces in the autumn, quickly. This screeching halt can shock your system, knocking your body's chemicals out of balance with your body's (less) physical needs.
You should still exercise of course, but now also find an activity that calms you. Even just 20-30 minutes of walking, swimming, or biking can lower cortisol levels and help your body to reset.
Remember that this exercise is now for the mind, not just the body. You don’t have to challenge yourself to do anything other than enjoy it, so go as slow as you like and take in the changes around you.
5. Go on indoor adventures
Museums, art galleries, theatres, it doesn’t matter. What actually matters is that you provide visual stimulus as you ease yourself out of the glorious spectacles of summer.
Give your eyes and mind something new to enjoy regularly. Aim for just once a week so you know you have something to look forward to. It’s also a good idea to try and throw yourself out of your comfort zone – treating your brain with new visuals is key to giving it more lasting stimulation.
6. Enjoy life in living colour
Adding colour to your living space can hep your mood and energy levels. This can be as simple as a new picture or pillow. Natural, warmer tones create a calm, whilst the vibrancy of a more robust, brighter colour will add energy.
The trick is to add it and look at it every day. It’s more potent if it forms part of a curated aesthetic (of course, it does). Equally, if it jars, that can be good too – it means your brain will process it more sharply, so you’ll appreciate the colour more.
Eventually, you’ll need to change it up again, but it can be as simple as moving it to another location. Don’t forget to move it out for dinner parties if it’s a bit clashy.
7. Embrace the autumn aesthetic
Use this transition season to evolve your own aesthetic. A new look can do wonders for your mood.
Get shopping for trainers, coats and jumpers. Or if you fancy, shorts, jackets, and brogues – you do you, my friend. Altering the way you look will affect the way you feel about yourself. Mix it with the usual gym sessions, and you’ll soon see how you’re creating the perfect seasonal combos: body chemistry, enhancing the mind, and being physically strong.
It’s an ideal way to appreciate you and what surrounds us. Because winter is coming, and we all know that sucks. But fret not, we’ll fix that for you as well. See you back here in 3 months.
ENERGY RABBIT
Not simply a life coach, but an award-winner in the wellness sector with over a decade of experience. Rabbit specialises in the accessibility of information – if there is a theory worth exploring, Rabbit will work out how easily it can be integrated into your everyday life.
