February Funk got you in a slump?
Written by: Ali Kates
Do you feel like you’re patiently waiting for your hot girl summer moment but it keeps getting delayed?
Or like spring is in the air but then is followed by a shiver of winter?
The winter blues tend to show up right about now when we are in the final stretch of winter… and for anyone that hasn’t heard, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means as of February 2nd, there are 6 more weeks of winter, insert sigh.
A lot of people talk about seasonal affective disorder during the winter months but do you ever feel like this slump ebbs and flows? Some of us only recognize this feeling after we have marinated in it for months.
Boston University reported that over 10 million people in the United States are impacted by seasonal depression.
The way this shows up is through lack of motivation, less energy, moodiness, etc.
If this is you and you are dealing with the effects of the winter slump, don’t beat yourself up for feeling your feelings. It’s okay to not be okay!
When you think about it from a biological perspective, your body slows down in the winter months. Most of us try to work against what our body tells us because we have never been taught how to LISTEN to our bodies.
In keeping with tuning in to your body, I wanted to give you some tips and tricks for listening to your body and slowing the F down.
Here are some reminders and habits that will get you through the next couple of weeks so that you don't feel trapped in the slump over and over. Hot tip: don’t overcomplicate this. You don’t have to buy anything or be in a different space to practice these steps.
Grounding: Go outside your home or apartment, wherever you may be and put your bare feet on the physical earth. Not the sidewalk, the earth. Taking a couple of minutes a day to connect to the earth can shift your mindset.
Lock in a morning routine: Yes we have seen the aesthetically pleasing morning routines all over TikTok, but seriously, they help! It doesn’t have to be glamorous but it does need to be consistent. So ask yourself, what is one thing every morning that I can do consistently for 30 days? Make the bed? Gratitude with my coffee? Journal? Whatever it is, make sure it works for YOU.
Drink water: You are essentially a houseplant with more complicated emotions, so make sure you are drinking at least ½ your body weight in ounces of water. Emotions are energy in motion, so even if you cannot do anything for your mental health, puhlease drink your water. Hot tip: add some fun electrolytes in for added hydration. I love CURE and drink the pink watermelon one on the daily. Use code ALIKATES20 for 20% off at checkout.
Sunlight for 10 mins upon waking: Even if you do not get out of bed, open up your blinds and let the sun in and let your eyes adjust to the sunlight, this alerts your body that it is time to wake up.
Move your body: Once again, don’t overcomplicate this. Go for a walk around the house. Do a 10 min low impact workout on your phone or just put on some music and move your body intuitively.
Lastly and most importantly remember that you are doing the best you can with the tools in your toolkit.
We will talk soon and cheers to spring, you’re almost there. <3