How to Deal with February Blahs

February is when the cold days are accompanied by dark mornings and evenings. If you are one of those affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), then it gets worse. You’d probably have gray days as well.

Asides from SAD, as a nurse, February blahs can reduce your productivity drastically, which isn’t great for you or your patients. This brings us to the question, “how do you deal with February blahs?”

Dealing with February Blahs

The cold and gray days in February are right at the middle of winter. Even for someone not suffering from SAD, they can be quite depressing. Here are a few ways to deal with February blahs as a nurse:

Stick to a proper sleep routine

Sleep is a very important factor when dealing with any kind of depression or stress. A poor sleep routine is not the best for a nurse even though we know our work schedule doesn’t give us so much time. Sticking to a regular sleep routine means sleeping and waking up at the same times every day of the week. The first step to doing this is to choose your sleeping and waking times and set up a proper bedtime ritual. It will properly take you a few days to get used to so you should work with an alarm clock to keep you accountable.

Exercise daily

Another way to deal with February blahs is to exercise daily. You don’t have to spend two hours at the gym. All you need is 20 to 30 minutes of mild workout to get your blood flowing properly. A study shows that engaging in about 20 minutes of exercise four times every week will help you against a depressive mood. You can sign up at a nearby gym or work out from home. Alternatively, you can try running or riding a bike every morning before work.

Pick up a new hobby

According to Pavlovich, when you get your mind active by engaging in a new interest, it helps in reducing the symptoms of SAD. This means that you can get through February without feeling blue by simply engaging in a new hobby. You can choose anything from keeping a journal to knitting, singing, writing a blog, or exercising. The idea is to have a new activity that tickles your fancy. This way, you have something to concentrate on rather than the gloomy February days.

Connect more with loved ones

Socializing has always been great therapy for depressive moods. It is great for your mental and emotional states and can help with the February blahs. Who better to hang out with than your loved ones? Make an extra effort to connect more with your loved ones this month. On your off days, accept invitations to social events with them, even if you’d be there for only an hour or two.

Join a support group

If you have tried everything else on our list to no avail, then you should consider joining a support group. Here, you can share your experience, and learn from the experiences of others. This is always very therapeutic and will brighten you up.

Conclusion

February blahs, if not properly dealt with, can affect the quality of your service delivery as a nurse. This post has shown you five ways to deal with this issue. Do you have any others? Kindly share them with us in the comments section. Meanwhile, spend some time perusing our articles on Natty Nurses to help you become a better nurse.

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