Psychological Winter Resistance, or Enthusiasm Plateau.
Today I am sharing about Psychological Winter Resistance, also known as enthusiasm plateau, motivational dip or valley, self-sabotage, as well as Season Affective Disorder (SAD) and suggestions how you can help and support yourself. I feel these topics are linked, perhaps one is given insufficient attention over the other. That is regarding resistance which may be related to the seasonal change, as well as something I think we all go through at times, as we travel through life.
Let me talk first about how weather affects your mood; Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). You are most likely aware of this physical phenomenon, which is a commonly held and these days, accepted, actual condition that so many of us feel.
Weather conditions affect us, let’s face it, we are basically animal creatures, connected to the earth, dependant to an extent on the time of the year for our survival and feelings of genuine well-being. Recently I wrote about the Summertime Blues, which people experience at the end of summer holidays, when there seemed to be so much time to achieve things. Maybe we had a list of everything we wanted to do and yet, it all took much longer, perhaps our priorities changed due to unexpected circumstances.
Many of us are affected due to the shorter hours of winter and what it may mean. Less time to go and walk the dog at the end of the day, the wet weather, preventing us from being outside, especially gardening, where growth slows right down.
SAD is more serious than feeling down in the winter, is a type of depression. It can cause low energy, constant sadness, and a want for more carbs. If your family has a history of depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, you might be more at risk. I know several people who are affected and it has been a relief to understand the effect that the weather has on their mood, and they have become self-accepting, understanding of the situation, and able to deal with it.
SAD usually begins in autumn, continuing on throughout winter. Winter has been far colder the last couple of years and you will notice, both within yourself and observing people you know, more feelings of disparity because of the wetter, darker winter conditions. People who live in Alaska experience SAD more, having little daylight and conversely, it is rarer in very sunny countries.
People have had enough and are yearning for warmer weather and springtime. I have noticed the birds seem to feel the same way and are starting to their build nests while still in mid winter, brought about by some slightly warmer days.
Ways we can help ourselves move through SAD.
Sleep and diet are very important along with more light, exercise and implementing self-supporting routines, which all of us will benefit by when we create new life giving daily habits!
A consistent routine helps; the basics are very important. For instance, to develop supportive routines upon rising and retiring at night. In the morning I like to go outside and greet the day, even better to walk barefoot on the earth for six minutes, which is a grounding practice. Open the curtains as soon as you wake up and go outside as soon as you can to take in the morning light. It assists with our circadian rhythm. Have breakfast or morning cuppa sitting by a window. If natural light is limited, a light therapy box would be very helpful. I know people who use this therapy. It’s a great idea.
Diet
Hibernating in the winter can be helpful when we spend more introspection, preparing inwardly for springtime. Many put on weight, as most of us know, we can prefer heavier, warming meals, with more carbs and very little exercise. I suggest paying good attention to your diet, to have plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. Consult your health professional and ask about vitamins, as I heard taking Vitamin D and C is essential, as well as zinc and echinacea which will support our immune system, thus making us stronger, fitter and unlikely to catch colds and flu.
Sleep
Limit blue screens before bedtime and have a regular bedtime schedule, going to bed and rising at a regular time. Also to sleep in a dark bedroom.
Light therapy, talking to a therapist, taking certain medicines, and getting enough Vitamin D can make a big difference. These treatments can help people feel better despite the weather.
Stay connected
Resist withdrawing from social activities, staying connected with family and friends. Do find time to exercise, there are many free YouTube videos if you cannot attend an exercise class like we do. There are plenty around in the community. It is also ok to have fun, to be kind and loving to yourself and plan something to look forward to. The movies, library talks and activities, various groups. Make a decision to be involved in life with other people.
Laughter Yoga
Regular exercise releases feel-good endorphins and dopamine, which help improve one’s mood and energy levels. Laughter yoga, which we do at laughter club, does this also, and is an aerobic exercise. You are welcome to join us any time and in the case of bad weather, we go behind the Ferntree Gully Library under the eaves, on the decking, where we are very protected. It is indeed extremely invigorating.
Psychological Resistance
That is, when we have goals, focuses and so on that are of prime importance and we feel flat, in a lull, unable to get involved and be moving effectively forward as would be required to achieve the level of success we wish to achieve. Many of us feel ourselves in a motivational dip in wintertime but it may be at any other time of our lives also, when roles, work, family, situations and the like come about. It may be that we are bored, not having sufficient stimulation, a multitude of reasons may be at play.
Resistance can also be for many other reasons, and we may self-sabotage our pursuits with negative actions and lack of enthusiasm. There may be excellent intentions and yet it can be too easy to break the good intentions in a moment. A familiar one is how we make resolutions to diet and lose weight, finding ourselves quickly giving in, letting ourselves down, coming down psychologically with negative self-talk.
There is always a reason for doing so and it may be outside of our conscious awareness. Subconsciously we may be in conflict and behave in a way that is diametrically opposed to what was planned. One example would be low self esteem or deep psychological trauma, which means we begin on a high note and have a fall, we feel a failure, then give up. The feelings of self-doubt can be subtle. Then we can have hidden away, the fear of success and what it may entail. It brings us to question whether we really do want success after all? We think too much and it can sound very rational, listening to the quiet whispering within.
Negative self-talk can cause us to fail, perhaps we are more comfortable where we are and for whatever reason, our envisaged achievements are drastically diminished or fail for the time being. Which just means we were not up for the change at the time, and we receive the learning from the new situation. Similarly, we begin something new, there is an initial rush of dopamine, providing excitement and motivation. Can you relate to wanting to do something important and not being able to get into the groove to do so? You have been waiting for the time when you could apply yourself and then, when it comes, you become distracted and can’t become absorbed as you would like to and had envisaged beforehand.
This may be in relation to anything in your life, perhaps work, where you can’t apply yourself wholeheartedly to what is required for whatever reason. Work can give us opportunities and experiences to work through, which are invaluable to our personal growth, our evolution.
How about resistance we are unconscious of? Often this can relate to past experiences and conditioning, trauma and fear make it that we feel frozen in time, unable to step forward. Some of us love new challenges and others may say they do but when push comes to shove, back away or put it off, perhaps losing the prime time in which to achieve whatever that was.
Much of our resistance, and many of us can relate more to the word procrastination, is due to low feelings of self-worth. This can be unconscious, due to our programming and habits of survival we have taken on throughout our lives. I am not even going there, suggesting we may pick up from other incarnations, which we bring forth into this embodiment.
From the negative ego point of view, it is doing its best to carry out our instructions to keep ourselves safe. From this viewpoint, when we let ourselves down, there may be deep seated programming which comes into action. I wrote about this in relation to enneagrams, programs that are installed to protect us, as a mother would protect her precious child.
However, resistance can be a ‘good’ thing to encounter and work through, which takes diligent application and determination. Ideally, it requires introspection, journaling, meditation, self enquiry, at times outside support such as a coach or counsellor.
New projects can raise our feelings of wellbeing and positivity and put us in an initial high when positive endorphins are released into the body. Rather like a honeymoon phase which inevitably passes away, when we move into the next stage of application.
Working through resistance, feelings of flatness, going nowhere, a dip or plateau, and mind you this can be applied to many situations in our life, we can come out the other side stronger. Many share feelings of agility in handling their challenges, feeling stronger, more self determination and psychologically fitter than before. Once we do so, we develop new, enduring habits which support us and are stepping stones towards our goals, future self and worldly endeavours. Life is meant to thrust us into new situations and of course, new things become familiar, comfortable, the old ways of doing things.
Personal and spiritual ways to support us.
This section is more geared for people who may have lost motivation, whether it is the winter blues, that of feeling flat, tired, without it being the serious medical condition of SAD.
The human body seeks comfort, the easy way to do things, to be in control, know what lays ahead and we love to organise our lives neatly into boxes or compartments, instead of being open to interruptions and life happening moments, periods, difficulties etc.
It may appeal to some readers who are drawn to meditation and self-support, to spend quality time in introspection, rechecking and reviewing your life. What effort and focus are you putting into it and are you doing your best to greet anew every day. Daily journaling, which I like to do last thing at night, and meditation are most helpful. Remember to be patient, kind and tolerant towards ourselves is imperative.
Self Determination Theory SDT
Acknowledge the dip or plateau without judgment, because judging one’s actions exacerbates the situation. If we manage to keep going, our self-determination becomes stronger, we build endurance. The alternative to doing so risks not evolving and as energy is moving, we actually devolve, we lose the gains we have made in this lifetime. That is not something I ever wish to bring about, not at all.
We can do all sorts of things to help ourselves or find a teacher or coach you resonate with. Imagine becoming the best, highest, brightest, version of yourself and work towards it. It may be you can develop strategies and organise your time better, or cut down on what you are doing, becoming more of a being type of person. I used to be busy being busy and prefer to focus on more coming from a centred state of being. When in that centred and aligned place, the doing comes out of the being and not the other way around.
Rekindle with your WHY
Don’t wait for motivation to come to you, because motion creates energy. When you put your energy and action into it, the path is slow to begin with and then you build up momentum, which will then help to carry you forward. Motivation is tied in with self-determination which is fuelled from within you.
To get out of the motivational slump, revisit your WHY. There needs to be a sold reason to begin with which set you up, your direction, which becomes lost as time goes on.
It is not happening now
We may be feeling things that are unresolved from the past and create self-doubt, which is dreadful. Stop listening to them and create a plan of action if you want to succeed. Above all be kind to yourself, lose the judgment and be happy to get out of your comfort zone.
That being said, it may well be that you hadn’t thought through before embarking on a project and did not know enough about it. It may be time to give it away, move on, or modify the goal or project.
My motto is to Never ever give up. We need to apply ourselves and learn to trust our feelings more than our thoughts. Not easy to know what is up or down at times. That is why the spiritual growth activities of meditation, journaling, introspective, positive affirmations – all of it, are advised and necessary.
Patience, Tolerance and Kindness
Okay, you have read it this far. Well done! There is a lot in all this, if it is of interest to you, as it is to me. Basically, live your life making progress and don’t beat yourself up!!!
When we meet
The Ferntree Gully Laughter Club meets at 11am on the 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month.
We are at the Ferntree Gully Library 2pm on the 4th Tuesday of the month and the Boronia Library 11am on the 3rd Saturday of the month. I also run periodic laughter yoga and spiritual growth classes and workshops. First timers, please contact me, Lynette in case of a meeting change.
Let me know if you wish to receive my email newsletter and an email reminder when the laughter club is on next. You may even like to join the Ferntree Gully Laughter Club Facebook group, or receive an email reminder when laughter club is on, let me know. Thanks.
Cheerio for now and be kind to yourself. Lots of Love, Laughter and Blessings. Lynette Mitchell.