Tips for Winter Wellbeing
Many of us may be thinking, December already! Where has the year gone? I was reading something recently about why we can feel time is flying by. It was really interesting. It suggested it may be due to the fact we have fewer novel experiences as we grow older.
As a child we have so many first times that we try something, experience something new, visit somewhere new, meet new people etc, whereas when we grow older our lives can become more routine, with fewer ‘novel’ experiences there is less for our memories to lock into so time seems to travel faster. The less new information we take in and process, the more routine the everyday becomes then one day leads to the next, one week to the next, one month to the next and before we know it, another year has passed.
I accept not everyone may agree with this, that’s fine, I am just sharing something I found interesting and on reflection true as life can be very routine especially since lockdown where for many of us staying home with the familiar has perhaps replaced getting out and about and trying something new, of course, not having the money or time to get out and try something new may also have something to do with it!
Of course, time can also fly when you are enjoying yourself, how many people find that when they go on holiday, they hardly seem to have arrived before it’s time to go home? There can be other factors which influence our perception of the passage of time e.g. being anxious and perhaps feeling overwhelmed that there is not enough time to do what we need to do and of course when the clocks change, the days feel shorter due to the reduced sunlight.
While winter can bring challenges, it can also bring opportunities for reflection, this may include finding ways to slow things down. This can be through paying more attention to the now and not racing ahead to what next, it could be introducing new novel elements into our day even finding new authors and books to read and that is free thanks to libraries. It could be planning new beginnings for 2026, even if that means perhaps giving up some things from 2025 which no longer serve us? As ever, these are self care tips,. not a replacement for professional advice.
Perhaps trying something new each day starts small, perhaps moving from toast to porridge for breakfast and hey before you know it you may be making breakfast muffins if you do not do this already. Changing our routines on what we eat, when we go to the shops, what we do with the family, finding ways to just slow it all down, focus on one thing at a time and not be overwhelmed by the 101 other things we feel we need to also do.
We know this time of year can be a challenge. It’s why each year we produce the winter wellbeing booklet, we also created some new resources for beating festive stress. You can find them here https://www.copescotland.com/blog/beat-festive-stress or if you want have a read of our tips for winter newsletter https://mailchi.mp/cae56976e2b5/december-newsletter-7230858 This also includes ideas for goal setting for 2026 if this is something you are thinking about.
We also put together a wee 12 days of selfcare Christmas, attached a jpeg to share on social media and you can also find it on the links above.
Thanks for reading
Hilda
A wee poem
For A New Beginning | John O’Donohue-
To Bless the Space Between Us
“In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time, it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you”