Spilling The Green Tea

It that time of year again. A time of cold mornings, frost on the grass and cars, darker evenings and blistery nights. A time of coats, scarves, boots, blankets, candles and hot coffee. A time of cozy and a time of sanctuary and reflection. A time of hibernation. A time of warm hugs and frost-bitten rosy cheeks.

While all those items may get people excited for the coming winter season and holidays, there is a growing number of people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Per the Mayo Clinic, SAD is defined as, “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — seasonal affective disorder (SAD) begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

Symptoms include depression, fatigue, hopelessness and social withdrawal. SAD is mostly treated with light therapy, talk therapy and, of course (surprise! surprise!) medications.

However, I believe the solution to people who not only experience SAD, but also those who get caught up in the holiday season, is to practice the fine art of Hygge.

Happy November, everybody! November, to me, always feels like the start of the winter season even though winter doesn’t officially start until December 21st. The weather turns cold, and the night comes earlier especially when we turn the clocks back on November 5th. It is harder to get up in the chillier mornings as you are too comfortable in a warm bed. Cooler showers once enjoyed in the summer are now a memory as a hot shower is the preferred choice in the mornings. Iced coffees and teas, milkshakes and smoothies are a memory and now hot chocolate, hot coffees and teas and cider occupy your mugs.

With the birth of colder temperatures, leaves on the ground and quieter evenings, it makes me think of Hygge. For those of you who don’t know Hygge, the Cambridge Dictionary defines it as:

“a Danish word for a quality of coziness (feeling warm, comfortable and safe) that comes from doing simple things such as lighting candles, baking, or spending time at home with family”

The word Hygge can be traced back to the Middle Ages where it was defined as “protected from the outside world”.

Hygge is religiously practiced within the Danish culture. During the colder seasons, Danes prefer to make home-cooked meals, and bake pastries from scratch. They use candles and oil lamps for light rather than lamps and lighting that run on electricity. Their homes are decorated with blankets and throw pillows on every seat, candles or fairy lights, fireplaces, heavier curtains at the windows, neutral colors for accents and lots and lots of books.

It is a time to slow down from the hectic schedules of day to day life, enjoy the traditional practices that get so lost amongst the day and just de-stress your body and mind.

During this time of year, anxiety tends to run high as people start thinking about the Christmas holiday and what they need to buy, what they need to bake, what they need to decorate, what parties to attend, what Christmas programs to attend and, humorously, how their credit cards will look like after the Christmas season. It is too much stress and, as we know, stress can negatively affect our bodies and mind.

Why not slow down and enjoy the season? Is fighting over a parking space at the mall really worth it? If you don’t find that particular toy, will your child ultimately survive? If you don’t bake five dozen Christmas cookies, will there be no cookies left on Earth? If you don’t go all National Lampoon’s Christmas on your house, will Christmas still happen?

As humans we put too much responsibility and unneeded stress on ourselves. Stress can cause our immune systems to wear out (Who wants to be sick for Christmas? Nobody!), our sleep disrupted so we feel grumpy and groggy the next morning, tension amongst our family and friends, anxiety, headaches, tense muscles, and elevated blood pressure.

The Danes have it right! I have learned to take a step or two back and just let it go. Enjoy your family, your home and your surroundings. All too often those things get swept under the rug, and work and the outside world are the priority.

If you would like get into the Hygge spirit, here are some things you can do to bring warmth and quiet into home:

• Forgo lamps and harsh overhead lighting and use candles, fairy lights, oil lamps or a fireplace. Soft lighting is easier on the eyes.
• Drape a blanket over every armchair
• Toss throw pillows on every sofa
• Use neutral décor and/or rustic décor
• Warm up your windows with heavier curtains
• Surround yourself with lots of pictures of family
• Bring the outside in: potted plants are a great idea
• Stock your pantry with warm drinks and comfort food
• Use essential oils
• Keep a drawer of warm socks
• Keep relaxing music on play; nothing loud or harsh

And here are some things you can do to bring Hygge into you:

• Read lots of books
• Cook or bake from scratch
• Take a winter hike
• Lounge in a bubble bathtub amongst candlelight
• Craft or Sew/Knit/Crochet
• Establish a bedtime ritual
• Go to bed early and wake up late
• Write, do NOT type, a letter or two for a friend
• Put away the phone, tablet and computers
• Play board games
• Write a book
• Eat comforting food
• Tell ghost stories
• Create a cozy nook; your own personal space
• Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes
• Practice gratitude and self-love
• Slow down; enjoy the little moments in life

If you would like to learn more about Hygge, I highly recommend “The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living” by Meik Wiking. Very informative and I read it every year when the weather turns cold.

There is a reason Hygge was created and still practiced today. From those who lived during the Middle Ages to the people living now, in the 21st Century, we as humans need peace, we need reflection, we need quiet and we need gratitude.

Those needs, my friends, cannot be bought for the holiday season.

Happy Hygge indeed!