What the hell is self-love? When I first heard this term, I thought it was the way you felt about yourself and that’s a small part of it but nowhere near the full story. Love is not just a feeling, it’s also an action word and we show the people in our life that we love them by what we say to them or about them, the actions we take towards them, and the way we treat them. When I started to think of self-love like that, things really started to change.

Seasonal affective disorder is a pervasive issue, affecting upwards of 3% of the general population, 20% of those already struggling with depression, and 25% of people struggling with Bipolar disorder. Many, many more people struggle with seasonal mood changes that make it harder to get through the day. The good news is, you don’t have to continue to suffer. There are steps you can take, today, to feel better.

Holiday depression and anxiety is a normal experience that affects many people throughout the world. In fact, therapists often talk about how we see such an uptick in new clients around the holidays due to stress. Knowing yourself and making a plan can go a long way to helping you manage things in a healthy way.

A good mantra to use when grief, sadness, or hopelessness sets in is “This too shall pass.” It helps us to remember that we won’t always hurt as acutely as we do right now even if we are going through hell to get there.

This winter is going to challenge all of us in different ways just like this year has. However, with a little intention and support, we can make it through winter more healthy than we we started. We can use this time as a launchpad for growth or a period of rest or reflection instead of just seeing it as a waste.

We can’t control what’s going on, that’s all there is to it. We can, however, control how we react to it and what we do with this time. That is literally the only power we have. It’s important to remember this as we go forward.