The Change of Season and the Improvement of My Mental Health

As I sit in the garden writing this blog post, the sun is shining, I'm burning and i've got a cool lemonade in hand- what could be better than that ey?

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can have a really big effect on your mental health, even without you realising, so when the seasons change and we're blasted with some sunshine it's no wonder that our mood improves. During the winter months it's important to take care of yourself and to do things that make you happy, but when it's sunny this becomes so much easier.

I feel like when the weather improves everything about us does too, our skin looks better, our mood is lifted, our diets improve and everyone around us is positive.

In classic British fashion after the mini heatwave at the end of April it had to rain for like four days and my mood crashed big time. I was discussing it with my friend Mel saying I couldn't figure out why I felt so blue, and she said she was having the exact same day and thought it was cos of the weather. Once we realised what was bogging us down we had to turn it around, we pumped each other up, went out and had a brilliant night. Whether you're going out or staying in, even letting a friend know how low you're feeling can halve the problem and shed some light on rainy day blues.

So back to talking about sunshine. Now that the weathers improving try and get some sunshine each day, trust me it really helps. As I'm in the heat of deadlines I was unsure how I was going to get any vitamin D, however I've been working in the garden and as I said, actually getting a bit peachy. Find an extension cord, grab a book and get outside, just because you've got deadlines it doesn't mean you have to be cooped up indoors. As for those lucky people who don't have deadlines, you can go to parks, go cycling, swimming, roof top bars.. anything really- the world is your oyster.

Living in a country that doesn't see much sun means it's extra important to take advantage of the sun when it appears and personally the change in weather has improved my mental health so much. I feel lighter, happier and so much less anxious and stressed when it's sunny and I'm so happy that we're heading into the best part of the year- let's make the most of it!

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