As winter grinds on and your mood grows darker, maybe you should focus on a new mental fitness routine instead of obsessing about the weather or the steps counter on your Fitbit. Here's a four-step emotional fitness routine to help banish the winter blues.
First, seek a reason to be grateful. Focusing on positive events in life gets dopamine and serotonin pumping. When you're feeling grateful for a kindness, you enhance social dopamine circuits which makes you feel even better! Even if you don't find something right away, just the act of seeking the good in life enhances emotional intelligence.
Second, if you are struggling with your mood or getting stuck in a negative emotional place, play a game of "label that feeling." By cutting through the overall sense of emotional malaise, you reduce negative arousal and move from a place of fearful not knowing to active self-caring.
Third, if you're stuck at a crossroads, just make a decision and move on! Committing to a course of action actually brings peace because you let go of the endless loop of "what ifs?"
Lastly, reach out and give someone a "high five," a hug, or a caress! Physical contact with someone you care for fosters feelings of connection and belonging, which are essential to physical well-being.
So, next time you feel that your emotional regulation system is getting a little soft or losing its tone, try out some of these activities and see how much better you feel after the workout!
I'm Suzanne Degges-White, and that's my perspective.