This year, I am making it my mission not to let winter depression take over my life.

By applying toxic optimism, I aim to make the cold, windy, wet, dark, punishing weather my bitch. 

The 1st of June marked the first day of winter, and I instantly felt any desire to do absolutely anything seep from my bones the second I stepped outside and the frosty weather struck my skin. 

However, despite my instant urge to curl back into bed and hibernate, I decided that this year, I was taking matters into my own hands. This was necessary, as unfortunately, I am not a bear, marsupial, or amphibian. I am a human, twenty-year-old girl stuck living in the big city where capitalism has everyone in a chokehold, working like cogs in a machine, trapped in a neoliberal ideology of entrepreneurialism, chanting “the grind doesn’t stop” on their march to work. 

In addition to my herdlike mindset to keep up with the flock, the middle of the year is undoubtedly the busiest time for me. Everything seems ten times harder to accomplish, and therefore, my to-do list is never-ending; things pile up, and my time-management skills are heavily tested. 

So, here are my tried-and-tested survival tips to make it through the next three months, from someone who thrives in the summer. 

Spend more time with friends 

The weekend before winter started, I was shopping with my two good friends. It was a Sunday; one of us was dreadfully hungover, the other had just had a horrific work week, and I was trying to stave off an oncoming case of the cold. Safe to say, we weren’t in the best shape and were being a bit snappier with each other than usual. On top of that, we didn’t manage to find anything we intended to get. 

So, as we were entering the lift to leave the shops, only having purchased two matching dressing gowns, we shared a brief moment of almost being kind to each other in the packed lift, as if we all felt relief that we had given up on our shopping adventure and could thus finally move on with the rest of our day. 

As we were exiting the lift, a beautiful woman pushing her daughter in a pram, alongside her own mother, joined us and told us we had a very special friendship. She said that we should be so grateful to have each other in our lives because the way we talk to each other is so precious, and our friendship is very important to cherish. 

Our less emotional friend accepted her kind words with modesty, whilst my other, more emotional friend and I were nearly in tears, overwhelmed by how sweet she was and how speechless we were. We laughed it off on our way to the car, but I could tell we were deeply moved by that moment. Not only did it remind me how much I love and cherish my friends, but also the importance of being kind to strangers. 

Give yourself grace 

I watch a lot of toxic reality TV, which, for the most part, is likely more harmful than good for me to watch. I have learned one thing from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, specifically a saying Miranda Hope always uses: 

Give yourself grace.” 

When things start to feel challenging, or my body is sore, my head is hurting, I can’t get out of bed, the easiest way for me to navigate these challenges is to approach the situation with self-compassion and reassure myself that I can make adjustments according to how I feel. At the end of the day, despite what I try to convince myself, I am not a robot. Sometimes you just need to reprioritise and focus on self-care above all else. 

Being unnecessarily hard on yourself for not functioning at your best either makes getting shit done ten times harder or makes you feel even more miserable. Of course, it can be frustrating when what was once easy and enjoyable seems laborious, but instead of suffering, consider what you would say to your ten-year-old self instead. Sometimes you just need to gently parent yourself through the long, cold, gloomy days, and reward yourself for every micro-achievement.

For example, when I was training for the Canberra marathon, I had persistent IT band pain throughout the entire training block, despite taking considerable time off, resting, rehabbing, cross-training, and strength training. It felt like absolutely nothing I did was helping. Instead of continuing to train through pain or completely stopping running, I reframed my mindset and adapted to the challenges. Instead of training for a specific time goal, I simply decided to train to maintain my current fitness, ensuring I was healthy and capable on the day, and to focus on enjoying the experience above all else; it was my first marathon, after all. 

In simple terms, it’s your life, don’t make it harder than it needs to be. 

Optimising your environment 

I’m currently writing the beginning draft of this piece in the main library, and sitting across from me is someone I assume is a fellow student, probably actually doing their work instead of typing out their internal monologue into the notes app. 

He has a very fidgety, distracted energy, and I can sense that today, it might take him a bit longer to get stuck into his work than usual. I’ve noticed, however, that he has set himself up an ecosystem that has almost forced him to get his work done: 

• He chose to sit at the table with the most highly focused, studious and productive aura in the library (aka me) 

• He has an unbelievably good playlist blasting in his ear, evidenced by the lip-syncing breaks (I really want to know what he’s listening to) 

• He had a friend join him shortly after arriving, both to offer necessary gossip breaks and to provide company during study blocks

Know yourself; figure out what works and what doesn’t. Curate an environment tailored to your habits, interests and preferences. For me, I know that the chances of me getting work done at home are next to none. I always have to force myself to go to the library or a cafe, where my performative productivity eventually turns into actual productivity. I also know that I can be focused on a task for three hours at a time, so I break the workday into manageable blocks. I’ll do one assignment in the morning (always the hardest first), take a break, research articles, take another break, etc. I also know that my brain works much better after exercise and food. These are my non-negotiables. 

Probably my most crucial piece of advice, however, is work hard, play hard. 

Being more silly 

When my to-do list is done, or I’ve simply had enough, I allow myself the simple pleasures of silliness. In whatever shape or form this may appear for you, embrace the childlike, whimsical, carefree part of yourself buried underneath your studious, hardworking professional adult exterior, and decompress. 

What I mean is, stop being so serious all the time. 

A couple of weeks ago, my friend was driving me home, and after we had finished psychoanalysing every facet of our lives and dissecting the experiences and interactions we’d had that week, we spent the last ten minutes of the drive with the windows down, blasting music and singing loudly and horrifically. 

Music has been my go-to gateway for silliness this winter. Any chance I get, I’ll put on whatever tickles my fancy. 

And, if the winter blues really have you in a chokehold, I strongly suggest busting a move. 

I don’t know when dancing outside the club became so taboo among the masses, but if you're alone and feeling down, literally just start dancing: depression can’t hit a moving target. This is the first step to faking it till you make it.

Always bring extra layers 

One thing about winter is that you cannot trust the weather app anymore. If it says it’s not going to rain, but you look outside and see storm clouds, then get a rain jacket anyway. 

If it’s apparently a clear sunny day, but you step outside and feel the slap of an Antarctic breeze, grab your tissues. 

Just a general rule of thumb: trust your instincts over anything, and always prioritise your comfort by thinking ahead.

Days at uni mean I am double- or triple-layering no matter what. Why, you ask? Because I’d rather have the option to take off layers than not have enough to begin with. This makes my nervous system feel safe and calm, allowing me to focus in class and be kinder to my friends. And even if it isn’t that cold outside, I can assure you that 90% of lecture rooms are igloos anyway. 

Consume media 

Okay, this might be the opposite advice to what literally everyone is saying, but when I’m having a hard day, and I know there is an hour-long episode of Love Island and my heat blanket waiting for me when I get home, it instantly puts a pep in my step. I’m not saying find a show to binge-watch while you hibernate and avoid all your responsibilities, or doom scroll, but to be realistic, when I’m already struggling to accomplish my mandatory commitments like uni readings and getting to work, I’m not really going to add ‘learning a new hobby’ to the mix. 

If you already have a cozy, mentally stimulating hobby to occupy yourself with, like crochet or puzzles, great! But if you don’t already have a reliable comfort activity, I’d suggest avoiding learning a new one right now if your schedule is already quite busy. 

Obviously, excessive media consumption is bad for you, so if you can’t find a ‘one episode a night’ kind of show like Love Island (which I highly recommend - either US or UK because of the summer vibes), then my next suggestion would be a book or, even better, a book series. 

Goodreads has amazing recommendations with honest reviews, and if you’re not a big reader, getting started on some simpler books is your best bet. Whenever I’m in a reading slump, opting for a Frieda McFadden book or even a Colleen Hoover book with easy plotlines and short chapters usually gets the ball rolling. For extra encouragement, you could read a book with a TV or movie adaptation to watch as a reward once you finish.

Long-form, low-effort media consumption is the easiest way for me to unwind and regroup, although for the best mental clarity, I would suggest going outside. 

Get fresh air 

On mornings when I just can’t get out of bed, I have to remind myself that the second I break the seal and expose myself to the temperature, everything becomes a little bit easier. 

The longer you stay inside, the harder it becomes to go outside. 

As someone who loves physical exercise and usually can’t sit still for too long, every morning I am at war with myself to get my run/workout done or to stay in bed and gaslight myself into needing more rest (when I just got ten hours of sleep). At the end of the day, during winter, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am just never going to feel as good as I do during the warmer months. It’s going to be harder to get up and get things done, but unfortunately, it’s going to have to get done anyway. 

Delayed gratification beats giving in to short-term comforts. I know if I give in to staying in bed, I’ll just feel worse later.

By breaking that seal, even just stepping outside for ten minutes and taking a few deep breaths, you’re setting yourself up for a more productive day. 

Feel the feelings 

I’ve noticed that recently, a lot more people have either started or are going back to therapy. I can’t say for sure that this is because they’re getting sadder in colder weather, but I will confidently conclude that the winter blues are real, and if you don’t sit with the bad feelings, putting them off will only make them worse. 

Obviously, not everyone has access to therapy. Sometimes, just jotting a few thoughts down in a journal or having a good vent session with a really good friend can prevent the buildup of negative emotions. 

Sometimes when I’m feeling too lazy to journal or too antisocial to talk to a friend, I’ll call my mum and ask her how her day was. As a highly introverted person, I can safely say that when you don’t feel like talking to anyone and feel too anxious/sad/annoyed/angry to socialise, you likely need to reconnect with someone the most. 

Yes, it’s hard, and sometimes you won’t be able to reach out, but it’s important to recognise how you feel before and after having a conversation, and remember that feeling the next time you want to hole yourself up in your room and put your phone on DND. 

And yes, it can be really annoying and repetitive to hear this, but if you’re studying, your university likely has accessible services. I actually met with a mental health support person for the first time this year (3rd year uni student btw), and I found it deeply reassuring knowing that if all goes to shit, there are people within the uni looking out for me. Also, they had an adorable support dog during the meeting. I highly recommend scheduling an appointment, even if it’s just for peace of mind. Or to pet the puppy.

Know it will all be over soon 

As a veteran of the seasonal affective disorder war, I fight this battle every year, and these tips and tricks are great and will be highly useful for you. That said, if you're anything like me and still absolutely despise the colder months, the best thing to remember is that it is only temporary. It will all be over soon. Think of beaches, 10 UV, sunscreen, Aperol spritzes and bikinis. It’s only a couple of months. You’ll be okay, I promise.

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Amelia Akonnah is a third-year student studying a dual degree in Media and Social Sciences at UNSW, majoring in Politics and International Relations and Journalism with a passion for writing and film.  

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