As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, we explore some simple ways to take care of yourself this winter

For some, a change in season can bring about a certain energy. It may be excitement as we watch nature shift outside our window, or perhaps joy about what’s to come this season. For others, however, a change in season can invite a particular sense of dread.

Autumn and winter specifically can spark a low mood, as the bright light and warmth of summer drains away. In some cases, this switch can be severe, leading to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). If you can relate to a struggle in colder months, we’ve got 10 ideas to help you support your mental health.

1. Light up your life

Daylight can have a big impact on our mood and our circadian rhythms (affecting how we sleep). So, to give your mood a helping hand, try to ensure you expose yourself to daylight daily. Ideally, this would look like getting outside in the middle of the day, even if it’s just to stand for a few minutes looking up at the sky.

If this isn’t possible, head to a window or consider investing in a SAD lamp. You might also find it helpful to get some cosy low-lighting going in the evenings, to help you feel settled and safe in your environment.

2. Stay active

While it’s incredibly tempting to hibernate over winter and spend the majority of your time under a blanket (ideally with snacks), this likely isn’t going to help your mood. Staying active can encourage those wonderful feel-good hormones, endorphins, which boost your mood and can even ease pain.

The trick is to find something you enjoy and something that is accessible to you. This may mean heading out for a walk, doing some gentle stretches in front of the fire or hitting the gym. We’re all different, so find what works for you and what makes you smile.

3. Connect with nature

It’s been well-documented that nature has a positive effect on our mental health, and winter can provide a wonderful opportunity to reconnect. As the seasons change, so does the outside world, so why not head out with a notebook to do some nature journaling? Write about what you see, draw some sketches, and ask yourself what emotions it sparks.

If being outside a lot isn’t accessible to you, try to bring nature in. Look into indoor plants, enjoy some bird watching from your window, and pop on some David Attenborough.

4. Keep cosy and warm

This winter more than others may feel especially difficult, with some of us avoiding putting the heating on to avoid skyrocketing bills. Whether this is you, or you simply struggle in colder weather, it can have a real impact on your mood.

Staying as warm as possible can help. Simple steps like wearing thicker jumpers and socks can make a difference. Hot water bottles, electric blankets and plenty of hot drinks can also help.

5. Embrace hygge

The Danish concept of hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah”) is something more and more of us are trying to adopt. Referring to moments that

Chocolate Chip Blondies with the texture of a brownie and loaded with chocolate chips and pecans have become a favorite treat.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

These bars are my immediate thought when I haven’t planned dessert in advance or when we have unexpected company. The brownie-like bite with a soft chewy center and crispy browned edges are always a crowd-pleaser.

Brownies get their flavor from cocoa powder and chocolate. Their close cousin the blondie gets its flavor from brown sugar and vanilla. Brown sugar and butter are a rich backdrop to the chocolate chips and pecans.

I often find myself making blondies when I need a quick treat to take to an event or a snack when the kids have friends over. The easy batter mixes quickly and baking them in one pan instead of sheet after sheet of cookies is so handy.

Using this as your base recipe you can create all sorts of versions from what you have on hand. Dried fruit, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, other nuts, and coconut. The possibilities are endless.

I’ve been making this recipe for years now and we all love it. When I started adapting it for gluten-free flours, I played with a few different options. You could also use a store-bought gluten-free blend in a 1:1 scenario.

The combination of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch works extremely well in this recipe. This is my favorite version and I’ve made these at least six times now. I made a triple batch for a recent trip and they were a huge hit.

Check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this website!

Chocolate Chip Blondie Recipe

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While it’s inevitable, discussions around death can be taboo. Here, our expert columnist Bhavna explores the ways grief can enter the rich tapestry of life

Grief is a curious thing. It invites us, sometimes against our will, to visit an internal world that leaves us shaken, staggered, broken, and bereft. It appears in our life unannounced, even at times when we know it is imminent – the end of a relationship, or through a terminal illness. Grief doesn’t always relate to death as a finality, but is a beacon that points at a loss that can feel just as devastating.

We know grief exists, but we rarely prepare ourselves to experience it. Grief is inevitable and natural. It hurts, which is normal. How much it hurts depends on how deeply we were affected by the person who died. It is also impacted by our relationship to ourselves – how well are we prepared to deal with a loss or death?

Grief can present itself in many guises and point to an end. It could be in relationships – perhaps the end of intimacy, or one partner coming out, or one partner having an affair. Or it might be at the end of a job – through a promotion, demotion, or complete end even when through choice, as a resignation. Perhaps it’s the end of an era of our lives – moving from one decade into another, leaving home, ending a friendship, or losing a pet. The loss of health perhaps is a great cause of grief, the loss of independence and autonomy, of relying on others. Grief can also come about through regret about missed opportunities, chances not taken, choices not made.

Of course the final ending is one through death. This is absolute, and leaves us in many states. We go through phases as we navigate a loss, anger, shock, numbness, denial, bargaining with a higher power, and finally acceptance.

There are different kinds of death – natural, expected, unexpected, sudden, suicide, murder, or accident for example – and will significantly impact how we are able to process our reactions and affect the duration of our recovery from grief.

Recovery is informed and affected by the level of support we have from friends, family, and professional or pastoral services. Most people will gradually come back from the depths of grief as they gain some distance through the passage of time. While there isn’t an exact timeframe for recovery, most people are generally able to return to some level of normality within months, some within years. Some, however, will struggle, become stuck in their grief, which then becomes chronic and debilitating. For some, it may be that they are not able to grieve at the time, thus delaying the grief. This may cause an increase in feelings of distancing from others and from day-to-day life and deep depression. For others, grief can be delayed indefinitely, for example in cases of murder or suicide, or where there is no body.

So how can we help someone who is bereaved? The greatest gift is that of time. It is normal for everyone to offer support and be available in the immediate days after a loss. However, while that helps hugely, it is during the time after the funeral when everyone goes back to their ‘normal’ that the bereaved most need support. As the dust a

What does it feel like to reach rock bottom, and start to recover from that? We hear from three people who’ve reached out and received much-needed support from charities in the toughest of times. By sharing their experiences, they hope to help you, or someone you love, to reach out, too…

Consuming the news right now can be alarming, especially if you need help with your mental health and wellbeing. We’re constantly faced with stories illustrating how stretched NHS and mental health services are, and the ongoing economic uncertainty, which could impact the money we have available to even consider private counselling or support if we can’t endure the waiting lists for referrals from GPs.

While this might seem like a bleak way to start an article about returning from rock bottom, it’s our collective reality right now. That’s why it’s more important than ever to look out for each other, signpost the amazing charities and peer support groups who are doing incredible work, and for Happiful to champion the websites, phone lines, and chat services that are available to us all in our times of need.

However, we know from personal experience that taking the first step to call, email, or attend a support group can be daunting, even though it’s clear that what’s possible on the other side of that step could be life-altering, or at least better than the situation we currently face. That’s why we’re grateful to the following people who have kindly shared their stories about making that initial move.

If any of these stories resonate with you, please consider checking out the websites listed, and remember you can also find more information at
happiful.com/where-to-get-help.

Jane*, a member of AA, shares how she began her life of sobriety after a long-standing detrimental relationship with alcohol.

From the outside, and to a stranger, I would have looked like a perfectly fine and functioning person, but on the inside my life was utter chaos. By the time I attended my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at the age of 30, I couldn’t even imagine a world without alcohol.

You could say I was in denial the first time I went. I think I was just focusing on the differences between myself and everyone else’s experiences of drinking, and the impact it had on their lives. It wasn’t affecting me in the same way at all, and so I left that meeting and the AA behind. It took me a further 10 years to attend another meeting and to start my journey with sobriety.

By that point, the stories I’d heard before were ringing true for me. Alcohol was affecting my daily life, I wasn’

Sweet bites of oranges are tossed with crisp lettuce and parsley and then topped with caramelized almonds to create a refreshing salad.

I can not thank my sister enough for telling me about this salad so many years ago. Jenny called to tell me about this parsley salad with oranges one night after a party with her book club.

I made this salad every single day for weeks after that call. And no, I’m not exaggerating at all. Years later and this salad still makes a regular appearance on our table.

I first shared this recipe on the site more than five years ago. I shot new photos for this recipe a few years ago while my friend Rebecca was visiting.

Knowing it have been over seven years since I created this version. It is definitely time to re-share it on the site for those of you who might have missed it initially, you now have a second chance to fall in love with it.

The odds are good that once you’ve tasted it, you will be making this salad on repeat as well, or at least until the very last of the clementines disappear from the stores.

Parsley Salad

My friends, I am begging you not to let the name of this salad turn you away. If you haven’t tried a salad with an abundance of fresh parsley in it, you are truly missing out.

The fresh parsley brightens the savory flavors similar to the way that lemon will brighten a dish and simply make it taste better.

This is one of my all-time favorite salad side dishes and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

This parsley salad is dressed with a simple White Balsamic Vinaigrette. I love that dressing so much; I gave it a full post of its own.

I keep the vinaigrette in my pantry now and use it on almost every salad I make with fruit or a sweet note to the salad.

Light,