I am not a mental health professional, and the suggestions in this piece are just general pieces of advice. If you’re experiencing severe mental health issues, I advise you to seek out the help of a qualified professional. 

The title speaks for itself. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Ah, finally, a well-being fact that health professionals on all sides of the political spectrum can agree on: having the right amount of vitamin D in your system, as a human, is good. Welp, most people get that from the sun, so if you live in the Pacific Northwest — you may not always have the option. That’s alright, though. Enter: vitamin D supplements. 

Just literally buy the normal vitamins that say “VITAMIN-D” on the bottle in some generic-ass font (or if you’re feeling frisky, maybe go with the sour gummies, which, now that I think about it, usually have some pretty heavy-hitter fonts — I guess vitamins are kind of coded like romance novel covers?). Beyond that, you can even just try to eat more foods with high vitamin D content, like fatty fish, orange juice, and even almond milk (and to think, those monsters tried to tell us to curb our latte-purchasing habits).

If you live in Portland, there’s a good chance you’re a big fan of the citizen-supporting, free healthcare-giving, and untouchably cool country of Denmark. To take this appreciation a step further, engaging in some homey, hug-like hygge isn’t such a bad idea; and it just might be able to help you shirk some of that gloomy-weather blues. 

Well, according to the official website of Denmark (the obvious authority on all things hygge), this cozy concept has to do with “taking time away from the daily rush to be together with people you care about – or even by yourself – to relax and enjoy life’s quieter pleasures.” But listen, the Cambridge dictionary definition kind of rocks too: “[A] Danish word for a quality of cosiness (= feeling warm, comfortable, and safe) that comes from doing simple things such as lighting candles, baking, or spending time at home with your family.” 

While each person, of course, has their own unique version of what’s cozy to them, don’t pretend you’re better than or above the tried and true classics. Baking some yum-yums, lighting a capriBLUE Volcano, and engaging in a frenzied game of Yahtzee with chums is a pretty potent antidote to the occasional drear of wet and sunless PNW forecasts. 

In a way, digging into some hygge time is almost like reclaiming the inclement conditions as your own. Let’s call it reframing our perspectives. And, as is the case with most things, I expect Portlanders to hit it out of the park when it comes to making hygge a unique, amusing, and let’s say “charming” exercise.

A SAD lamp — or seasonal affective disorder lamp — is a lamp that’s meant to kind of mimic the effect that sunlight has on us humans. Yeah, it might seem like kind of a drastic step, but those of us who moved to the PNW from places where the sun is ever-present know that the sun, or lack of it, can have a considerable effect on our mood and overall sense of well-being. I mean, try talking to a stranger in Seattle during winter, am I right? 

SAD lamps can greatly vary in price, with some with decent reviews on Amazon being like 40 bucks and other more hardcore-looking ones being closer to a thousand. Which ones are worth it – I have no idea. What do I look like a (sadly, there is no actual cool word like “luminologist” for a scientist who studies light – they’re just called physicists). 

But, while people on Reddit are apt to have some extremely harsh attitudes toward some truly very mild things, they honestly seem to like SAD lamps. And, in the modern age, I feel like Reddit has kind of become the place to get real scoops on what to buy — so I guess that’s kind of saying something. I will say that a good amount of Redditors praising SAD lamps do note that the more expensive ones do typically work better, so do with that what you will. 

Of course, we should all be trying to maintain good mental health throughout the entirety of the year. Regardless, like many other beneficial habits we try to maintain, things can get away from us due to the pressures of everyday life, such as jobs, family, and all the other good stuff. But I think using gloomy weather as a signpost to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining good mental health throughout the year can be pretty healthy. 

The last thing I will try to do here is give you some in-depth mental health advice. If you’re experiencing severe mental health issues, please seek out the help of a qualified professional.  

What you as an individual need to do is going to be different than what someone else needs. I will, of course, list the tried and trues: exercise, eat healthy, reduce stress, talk to a mental health professional, get good sleep, and all the other ones you’re already aware of. 

People really differ when it comes to this one. For some of us, trying to get out more and do stuff when the PNW gloom hits is instinctive, while for others it’s not. I think the point here isn’t that you have to push yourself to go have a The Hangover-calber crazy-ass night every chance you get. It’s just that doing things like going for a walk, having small talk with a barista, or just taking an hour to walk up and down every aisle of Costco can help just put you in a new headspace. 

Obviously, the weather can differ pretty significantly in different parts of the PNW. Here in Portland, I feel like we’re pretty fortunate that we get a couple of sunny days speckled throughout spells of grey weather. No matter where you are in the PNW, if you get that random sunny day during winter, please take some time to hang out in the outdoors — that is, when it’s safe to do so. And, it doesn’t even have to be in nature. Just being on a sidewalk under the sun can really do wonders. 

If you know that you’re prone to staying indoors when the weather gets morose, try making plans that you have to stick to, like meeting friends for a trivia night or going to a bike ride meetup. The more you put effort into living life in an entertaining and fulfilling way despite the bad weather, the better you’ll probably feel throughout the PNW winter.