How to deal with the ‘Winter Blues’

Even though we may not want to admit it, the ‘Winter Blues’ are coming, and students are one of the most vulnerable groups that suffer from this.

Less daylight hours might put us in the worst moods, as Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) is a more severe form of the ‘Winter Blues’, and it can affect the best of us. I can admit that stress has become a natural state of being.

National Stress Awareness Day takes place on the first Wednesday of each November, and I for one was too stressed to notice this.

Sometimes life seems like a balancing act, juggling, university, work and life can be one of the most stressful things to think about.

We can all admit it is difficult to choose between what we need to do and what we want to do. How many of us have thought ‘I don’t want to go to this lecture but I’m paying £9,000 a year for it’?

My flatmate once calculated how much she was paying per lecture, it was a figure that motivated both of us.

As simple as it may sound, there are three main things you can do to help yourself; eat, sleep, and work. You’ve heard these a million times and as patronising as they are, they’ve never been truer.

Eat

The stereotype of students living off beans and toast is all fun and games before it actually becomes a reality. If you’re not eating well you increase the chances of feeling grouchy and tired – we all know that HANGRY is a real thing.

Sleep

Distracting yourself with a new series on Netflix is one of the most relaxing things to do until the light from your laptop keeps you up all night along with every other problem that nagging away at you.

It might be hard to let go of your TV binges, but you’re not doing yourself any favours by dedicating your whole night to them. The stereotype of students being excessive sleepers is probably one of the better ones to follow.

Work

Instead of pushing yourself to work harder at an unreasonable pace, change the way you work. The best performers work in a way that’s best for them, recognise your strengths and weaknesses.

If you can work with this instead of against it, you’ll see a drastic change in your attitude to working. You got this far for a reason, and you can’t quit now.

8 hours of teaching, between 10-16 hours of work a week, and a hefty amount of reading is becoming a weekly routine, but I still can’t help but think ‘At least it’s not A-Levels’.