Okay, if you live in a sunny place like Maui then you probably won’t know what I’m talking about. The wintertime blues, well in our case it is Spring BUT wtf is up with our weather…no wonder we struggle here in the ’Wet Coast’ with what they tagged as the “ Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)” , usually begin when the days start getting shorter and the sky clouds over into perpetual gray. I know here in the West Coast of Vancouver Canada it this usually starts as early as mid September onward.  People with SAD dread October because the clocks move back an hour and, in a single day, autumn twilight becomes dark night.

• Go outside and walk briskly with your face in the light — even if it’s gray outside — for 20 minutes every day. Both the light and the exercise will kick up your feel-good serotonin. Of course, if the wind-chill outside will deep-freeze your face, find a health club with windows, locate a treadmill or a stationary bike in the brightest light, and hop on.
• Keep your curtains or blinds pulled open all the way so sunlight (or daylight, even on cloudy days) can pour into your living/work space.
• Paint your walls light colors — they’ll reflect the light.
• If your car has a sunroof, let in the light while you drive (singing along to your favorite songs is optional, but I recommend that too).
• Increase the wattage of your light bulbs to between 5,000 and 10,000 lux (units of light). Choose subcompact fluorescent bulbs, a bit more expensive but mine have lasted 7+ years. The newer bulbs don’t have the annoying flicker and strange light the old fluorescent tubes once had, use 25% less energy than a standard bulb, and fit in most fixtures. If you have any sort of a desk job, buy a full spectrum light box (available online) and aim it at your languishing self for an hour a day.
• Add the raw materials your body needs to make more serotonin by taking these supplements every day:  fish oil, Vitamin D  and full spectrum  B complex 100 time released.
• Eat a small amount of high-quality low glycemic carbohydrates with every meal and as snacks throughout your day. Fruits lower in glycemic levels, nuts, veggies, and whole grains are among the best choices, as are beans, hearty soups, squash, or a steel- cut oatmeal. You need a little carbohydrate at every meal for your brain to produce serotonin. In fact, craving comfort foods in the winter is your body’s cry for more carbs to boost serotonin — but, please, if you want to keep your weight stable, make good food choices most of the time.
• Premenstrual aggravation of wintertime blues is very common. If you notice a worsening in the week or so before your period, understand that your hormones are taking your serotonin levels on a roller-coaster ride: when your estrogen drops, as it does in the week before your period, your feel-good serotonin goes right along with it. Get your PMS under control by following the healing path in The Triple Whammy Cure.
• Try alternative therapies: acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies — together called traditional Chinese medicine — have a seasonal component that make them effective for mild wintertime blues. Flower essence therapies like honeysuckle, mustard, and sweet chestnut all have antidepressant and energizing qualities. And bodywork therapies such as massage and Reiki allow your chi to flow freely thought your body, reducing symptoms of wintertime blues.
• If after trying the ideas in items 1-9 your symptoms haven’t budged, consider taking St. John’s wort or 5HTP, both of which increase serotonin levels. Even my personal favorite and ‘happy’ pill Tyrosine.

Want to know more about this, check out my e-Book “Your Diet Diva Gone Raw“