This is a tough time of year for many people because the days are getting shorter, the night’s longer, and the weather colder. It’s proven that a lot of people get more depressed with the lack of sunshine, warmth, as well as some other factors. This is commonly referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, in which your mood is affected by the changes in season, and it’s very common. No one wants to just sit back and wait for their depression to kick in as the weather gets colder, so the question is: how can you prevent this negative mood and keep it at bay?

This is not an easy question to answer and there’s not one simple, guaranteed solution, but that doesn’t meant that you shouldn’t make an effort. So, I want to give you a few tips that have helped me from getting stuck in my depression, particularly during the winter months.

The first thing that I would suggest is to make a point of surrounding yourself with good friends who will get you out of the house. It’s really easy to isolate yourself when it’s below freezing outside, but isolating yourself won’t help you. Force yourself to do something with other people at least every few days, even if it’s just getting together, watching a movie, and drinking hot chocolate. People can be healing and it will keep you from dwelling on your negative thoughts.

Find at least one aspect of winter that you enjoy, and focus on that. Maybe the only thing you can think of is how beautiful the trees look when the branches are frozen and the entire world looks like a sparkling wonderland. Personally, I absolutely love Christmas, so once November arrives, I try to get into the Christmas spirit. I listen to Christmas music, put up my decorations, start Christmas shopping, and wear my Christmas sweaters because it keeps my spirits up. Immerse yourself in whatever part of winter that you can find some good in, no matter how small.

As for myself, I’ve never utilized this next tip, but I’ve heard that it works for some people. As I said before, one aspect of winter that causes depression is the lack of warmth and sunshine, so it might be helpful to create your own warmth. It might seem silly, but try to spend an hour everyday sitting right next to a lamp so you can feel its heat on your skin. This technique can trick your body and mind into thinking that it’s still summer, which will help to avoid sinking into a depression.

This tip pertains to depression of any kind, not merely SAD, and it might seem obvious, but I think that some people forget the most obvious keys to happiness. It's crucial that you find an activity that makes you happy. Notice that I said “activity”, meaning that you should not merely find a person that makes you happy. You cannot put your mental health and overall happiness into the hands of another inevitably flawed human being because you can’t expect them to take on the responsibility of being another's happiness. Of course, it’s good and even necessary to have people that bring you some happiness, but they can’t be your only source of happiness. That’s why it’s important to find an activity that can bring you joy, preferably one that you can do on your own. For me, I love reading and watching Netflix, so when I start to feel down, I'll pick up a book or turn on my favorite TV show and it allows me to get away from my own life for a little while. This tip is particularly important if you’re an outdoorsy person who suffers from SAD because you can’t enjoy nature as much in the winter, so it’s absolutely essential that you find something else that you can take pleasure in. Maybe you could get a membership at your local community center where you can swim or rock climb indoors. Ultimately, it’s critical that you find an activity that can distract you from the gloominess of winter.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is very real and it affects millions of Americans, so you’re not alone in your increasing unhappiness during this time of year. There’s no way to completely eliminate a mental illness like SAD, but there are coping mechanisms that you can utilize to fight it.