Winter rituals for moving through seasonal depression

Seasonal depression’s been a mainstay in my life since I was 8 years old. If you’re reading this in the wintertime here on the Western hemisphere, you’ve probably had your fair share of gloomy moods on dark, gloomy days, too.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or simply seasonal depression, typically runs its course through the fall and winter months. It affects about 5% of adults in the US, with women being four times more likely to experience it than men. I suspect most of those SAD people live up north; the further north you are, the longer the winter.

Seasonal depression causes persistent sadness, low energy, trouble concentration, under- or oversleeping, and a loss of interest in activities you usually enjoy.

Not to mention people are spending more and more of their free time looking at screens — things like streaming, building side hustles, chatting on Discord or WhatsApp, dating apps. SAD is believed to be linked to exposure to the sun. It’s hard enough getting out to see friends when it’s below freezing; with our hobbies increasingly online, a lot of us have stopped going outside altogether, even on rare sunny days!

Okay so, doomerism aside, I want to share some methods to combat seasonal depression by going back to our roots: seasonal living.

It’s not all woowoo; living with the seasons positively affects our lives

Aligning your lifestyle with the natural rhythms and seasons of the earth isn't just “forest witch” vibes; it can be deeply nourishing, adding the comfort of routine into an otherwise dark and uncertain time.

In fact, the better you are at seasonal living, the more positive your perspective on the SAD months will become. Battling seasonal depression my whole life engrained in me so many negative beliefs and expectations that I would work myself up into a ball of anxiety as early as August, anticipating a dark and upsetting road ahead. Adding some structure and healthy habits into the seasons helped to snap myself out of the negative feedback loop and start enjoying the colder months again!

Want to do it, too? I got you.

How to live with the seasons

First, get clear on how each season makes you feel right now.

Fall and winters are divisive months; some people love the unity they feel on holidays like Thanksgiving, Boxing Day, and Christmas. (Autists tend not to. But if you were blessed with some really sweet, understanding parents, I love that for you!)

Spend five minutes writing down your thoughts and feelings about each season where you live. If you don’t already have a journaling practice, now’s a great time to start one!

Then jot down important memories you’ve had in each season — bad, good, or neutral. How do you think these memories are influencing your attitude toward each season? How would you rather feel about them?

In The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide to Ancient Self-Care, Emma Loewe and Lindsay Kellner say that winter can be a great time for reflection, planning, and making calm, subterranean progress toward internal goals:

Winter, with its short, frigid days and long nights, is a lonely and isolating season for some. Others might experience it as a soulful, introspective time to grow quieter and look within.

If there’s a skill you’d like to learn, now might be the time to either give yourself something to devote solitary studies to, or to find a class that will get you developing that skill with other, like-minded people. Giving yourself something internal to focus on will help every day feel a little fuller, and possible gain you some new friends, online or off.

Disable your autopilot and improve your seasonal awareness

Our brains are literally hardwired to take the path of least resistance. When we’ve performed a task so often it becomes a habit, our basal ganglia simplifies the process for us; it puts that behavior on autopilot, or “default mode,” allowing us to do the thing with naturally and with next to no motivation. For some people, driving a car is as easy as breathing. Many of us can’t remember how we got the chores done and don’t think about which street we take every day to school or work. We just leave the house and suddenly, poof, we’re here.

Some of us, myself included, live such busy, tech-centered lives that most of our time outside is spent on autopilot, en route to the next Big Important Task of the day.

But actually engaging intentionally with the world around us helps us feel more connected—not just to the world immediately near us, but to everything. From my hands-down favorite book, The Eight Master Lessons of Nature, Gary Ferguson says:

When we gaze into the night sky, because of how long it takes the light from those stars to reach our eyes, the scene we're swooning over is actually one from decades or even centuries in the past. Lingering in nature helps us make peace with this more fundamental pace of emergence, letting us put away clock time for a little while and roll instead with the rhythm of physical time.

Learn the cycles and how they affect life in your region. Track the solstices, equinoxes, and moon phases. Use visual aids like a calendar or app to make these cycles more tangible.

Personally, I think going outside to actually look at the moon is helpful. I'll never beat the "forest witch" allegations in my neighborhood, but going out shortly before or after sunset to do nothing but observe nature shows me a different side to the city I live in.

That said if you’re female-bodied, hanging around outside might not feel like a safe option for you in the darker months. If that’s the case for you, there’s always apps!

As a tarot girly, I swear by the Labyrinthos app. It doesn’t meticulously track every movement and aspect of the moon, but it does remind you to reflect on the current phase as it’s happening.

During the day, make a habit of observing the changes around you. Pay attention to shifts in daylight, temperature, and nature. Notice which birds are active, and when. Study the trees in your neighborhood. Note what types of leaves they have, which trees turn which color in the fall, which ones fully drop their leaves and which are evergreen. The shifts in nature are never-ending from day to day, but we’re all so busy and stressed that very few of us stop and actively investigate the world we’re living in.

Nature journaling is one of my favorite ways to note the seasons! Write down the date and time, your current location, the temperature and the weather. Then go to town journaling your observations — in words, sketches, or paintings. Anything goes. Describe what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch to deepen your connection. Tape or paste flowers or dead leaves into your journal. Bonus points if they smell good; one of my old journals still wafts the sent of maple leaf every time I open it.

Adjust your routines

If the way you spend the cold seasons feel stagnant or stale, change it up! Even small edits to your home or evening routine will add something new to your day.

In spring, focus on renewal. Clean or reorganize your space and plan creative projects. Enjoy more time outdoors. Get into birdwatching and learn to tell different birdsongs apart. Start identifying the different bugs, flowers, and scents of spring. (Again, nature journaling! I love it, it’s fun, and you should try it!)

In summer, embrace light and energy. It’s festival season in most western countries! Prioritize activities you enjoy during longer daylight hours, but balance with rest if sensory input becomes overwhelming.

Autumn is a great time to slow down and reflect. Declutter, prepare warm meals with even warmer spices, and spend more time on grounding activities like yoga or moving meditations.

By winter, it’s time to rest and recharge. Give yourself space and time for introspection, lower-energy tasks, and self-care rituals that feel cozy and restorative. Perfect for shadow work, devoting yourself to creative flow, and honing in on what makes you feel alive.

You might notice that living with the seasons carries similar themes to moon cycles in astrology, but on a grander, communal scale. With the way we live right now, it’s easy to feel removed from nature, including the seasons and cycles. But despite the narrative we tell ourselves about humanity being separate—disconnected—from nature, we’re still animals. Hyenas have unique instincts, as do dung beetles and humans. But all of us are connected by the cycles.

The human race isn’t just defined by our intelligence; we are born with the instinct to fear isolation and the dark of night, and to celebrate the sun and community. Those are our base instincts, as primal as any other creatures.

Anyway, let me move on from the poetics! Here are some other small adjustments you can make to feel more aligned with seasonal living and slowly curb your seasonal depression:

Cultivate seasonal practices

• Eat seasonally whenever possible! Enjoy fresh fruits in the summer and hearty soups in the winter. Keep note of your favorite fruits and vegetables, and when they’re in season.
• Incorporate textures, smells, and colors that resonate with each season (for you, personally.) Decorate your space to reflect the natural world around you.
• Try qigong, yoga, or walking meditations outside…or just commit to taking hikes more often! Any kind of mindful movement outside is wonderful.

Create personal rituals

• Don’t like the holidays? Make yourself a new one. Write down moments in your past that feel important to you (ie. your graduation, Grandma’s birthday, the day you successful left a toxic relationship). Make that day your new holiday, and build a personal celebration around it.
• Align your morning and evening routines with daylight patterns. In winter, ease into the day with soft lighting; in summer, wake with the sunrise. (My sleep in the wintertime improved drastically when I stopped forcing myself to wake up at 5am, three hours before the sun rises!)
• Mark seasonal transitions with simple rituals, like lighting a candle for the winter solstice or journaling your intentions during the spring equinox. Check in on them from time to time through the year and see how you’ve progressed.

Connect with nature

I can’t stress this enough: Spend time outdoors regularly, even briefly, to ground yourself. Pay attention to how different environments feel to your senses and find spaces that soothe or inspire you. Get better acquainted with the world you belong to!

Honor your unique sensory needs

Adapt to your experience of the outdoors. If extreme heat, cold, or noise are too overwhelming, find creative ways to engage with nature that respect your sensory sensitivities. You definitely don’t need to go to a loud and busy national park to spend time in nature when quiet community gardens are closer (and free!)

If you need to regulate the amount of sensory input you’re getting outside, try investing in breathable fabrics or weighted clothing. I am woefully loyal to EVLV for its light fabric and Barbour for outerwear that layers up well against the cold. (Not sponsored.)

Build community

Find like-minded individuals or groups who share your interest in seasonal living. This could be a local gardening club, online spiritual community, or neurodivergent circle.

If you’re ever in Portland, Oregon, I love visiting Seagrape Apothecary. Some of their monthly events are specifically herbalist- and garden-centered, and you’ll meet a ton of fascinating people even when you’re just shopping. (Still not sponsored.)

I am not a scientist, but I have managed seasonal depression for my whole life. Learning to vibe with the seasons, rather than spending half the year fighting them, has helped me end my fear of long nights and start to genuinely enjoy the wintertime.

As always, let me know if any of these tips work for you. I’d love to hear your story. 🤍