Transcribed from my video at www.youtube.com/askvictoria.

The winter can plague us all with the lack of light and the cold. Here are some sure fire tips to help you handle the winter blues.

Today’s topic is a really important one, in order to fight the winter blues. I’m going to give you some key supplement tips, and other tips, to fight something I see very commonly in my office, people dealing with the darkness and the winter and no motivation. The things I’m going to talk about are not necessarily about diagnosing depression, but for people simply experiencing the winter blues. All the things I’m going to talk about are great for depression as well, but that would have to be looked at in a more profound way.

(0:46) There are four supplements that I always recommend, for people who have a winter blues issue. These are great things for everyone: Omega 3, fish oil. Not from plants, from fish—very important. Large doses, 4000mg, have been shown in studies to impact the brain in positive ways. It helps with the blues, helps with depression, helps with perspective, and helps with the skin and cardiac issues. So you’re looking at a full supplement, Omega 3 fish oil, that impacts many levels. There are some really good makes. Some people complain, “I don’t like the taste of fish,” but there are many good brands that use the lemon and orange oil to neutralize the fishy aftertaste. Nordic Naturals, Genuine Health and Carlson are some good brands, that have that taken care of. Go to a specialized health food store; don’t go to a pharmacy. Get yourself a good Omega 3 that you’re going to be able to take easily. The thing I like about Genuine Health is that each capsule of Omega 3 fish oil has 2000mg in it, so all you need to take is one in morning and one at night. Nordic Natural you can take two and two; Carlson you take as a liquid. Get going to your health food store to boost your brain chemistry, to boost your winter blues.

(2:15) Also, full-spectrum B complex, 50mg of each B, very important to bring your stress levels down. All the B’s are so crucial for that. For women experiencing PMS (premenstrual syndrome) which seems to get worse in the winter months sometimes—not for everybody—an extra boost of B6 from your ovulation date (day 15) to menses, 100mg on top of the full spectrum B, is excellent. Start at 100mg; sometimes I get people at 250mg, but you’ll have to start at 100 and see. Never take B6 at night, it’ll keep you up. Take it in the morning. Vitamins in the morning, minerals (calcium, magnesium) at night. But for winter blues, what is also important is D. We don’t get a lot of sunlight. The government is recommending a minimum of 1000mg daily of vitamin D for cancer prevention, but it’s also excellent for your brain’s functioning in winter time. You get some in your multi, supplement to get it up to 1000mg or 1200mg. You can take really large doses of D without any issues at all.

(3:32) 5HTP is a plant-based amino-acid combination that stimulates your brain’s own chemistry to manufacture serotonin, which seems to come down in winter months. I like Now brand—don’t get a pharmacy brand. Start at 100mg in the morning if it’s for mood elevation; if you have anxiety or trouble sleeping at night, 100mg of 5HTP before bed is great. But if you have no trouble sleeping, bring it to the morning for mood elevation. You can boost that if it’s not working at 100mg to 200mg or 300mg pretty well without contraindications. Of course if you’re on a traditional antidepressant, do not take 5HTP. Speak with your doctor. B6, B-complex, Omega 3 fish oil, 5HTP and vitamin D. Supplementing with that will help with the winter blues.

(4:35) Get off the carbs. Get off the sugar. Don’t be so into pasta, bread—all that comfort stuff. Your brain is asking for it in order to manufacture serotonin. When we eat that comfort carb stuff, our serotonin level goes up, which relieves depression, sadness, blues feelings, but 5HTP will lower the craving for carbs and also boost the serotonin. Excellent. What happens with the carbs is we spike, then we come down, which creates a cycle of addiction with sugar and carbohydrates—it’s not good, especially around winter. I know around the holidays it’s difficult, but choose wisely at parties. Choose lots of protein, vegetables, a treat here and there with the carbohydrates and sweets, but don’t do it in a mainline way! Also get out there. Breath the fresh air. Walk. Exercise. That’ll get your endorphins going. Nothing like a brisk walk for 15 minutes—nothing is better than that to boost your endorphin and serotonin levels, getting outside with the light.

(5:50) Compartmentalize, don’t catastrophize. Issues are going to come up: family problems, money expenditures, job issues, pressure pressure pressure. Compartmentalize it. Walk out the door of your office and leave the office stuff at your office. Walk out of a parent’s home that’s irritating to you and leave the problem there; don’t bring it home with you. And if you’re having trouble with all that, do some journalling. I find that journalling helps you to feel like you’re being heard, even if there’s no one out at the moment there who has time to hear you. Try all of that. Good luck, and have a fantastic season.

Victoria Lorient-Faibish MEd, CCC, RPP, RPE
Holistic Psychotherapist
Masters in Educational Psychology
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Registered Polarity Practitioner
Registered Polarity Educator
Reiki Master
New Decision Therapy