Preparing for Winter: Tips for Seasonal Depression and Nervous System Support

The winter season can significantly impact your mood, energy levels, and overall wellbeing. Shorter daylight hours and less time spent outdoors can take a toll on your nervous system. Many people experience symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and ‘winter blues.’ In this insightful solo episode, Karenna gets vulnerable about her own struggles with seasonal depression last winter. For the first time, she felt the effects of low energy, sadness, disrupted sleep cycles, and wanting to hibernate during the colder, darker months. Karenna realized she needed to be much more proactive about nervous system regulation this time of year. She shares the mindset shifts, lifestyle habits, and self-care practices she’ll be implementing to thrive this winter. If you also get the winter blues, you’ll find this episode full of actionable tips for feeling your best mentally, physically and emotionally. Karenna offers guidance on minimizing seasonal depression and honoring your body’s needs during hibernation mode. Tune in and be a part of this enlightening conversation! You can read the full podcast transcript for this episode below: Full Transcript0:01Welcome to the Fully Expressed Podcast with Karenna today.0:06You get a little solo action episode with me.0:10I’m so stoked.0:11I’ve been sitting on this episode and thinking about how I want to talk about this episode for a couple of weeks.0:18Now.0:19It’s a very important episode to me because last year was the first year that I’ve experienced, I think.0:26Well, let’s take it back last year.0:28It was the first year that I experienced that and I was aware that I was experiencing some kind of seasonal depression just overall not my best self when it comes to the winter season.0:44I especially now that I am way more in tune with my body now that I’m way more aware of what seasons feel like to me and what I like, what it feels like to feel good, to be honest, I think that’s where a lot of the awareness is coming from.1:00I think, you know, I’ve done so much work to feel good, right, to feel good in my body.1:07And last year was the year, the, the summer before last year was a really grounding year.1:15Like I remember feeling really good and then going into the winter time this year, I was like, wow, I’ve never experienced so many lows and I’ll explain why.1:25But the reason for this episode is really because because of that and if any of you are, are nervous or aren’t necessarily looking forward to the winter time or maybe you love the winter time and I’m so excited for you.1:41But this is really going to be an episode where I, I share what kind of came up for me last year and as well as what am I going to be doing this year?1:49That’s different and, and across my mindset shifts, what I’m gonna be doing to take care of my physical health, what I’m gonna be focusing on when it comes to my nutrition and things that I’m going to be planning to look forward to.2:03And the reason why I have set up such a beautiful intention and structure for this winter time this year is because I wanna make sure I go into it really unattached and ready for what winter actually means.2:19And that is, that’s really one of the biggest shifts for me is in the difference this year compared to last year is that I’m going to be really looking at winter time as an opportunity to dive with inward and hibernate.2:34And what does...