Fall is officially here, which means winter isn’t far behind. As a psychotherapist, I am already hearing clients express concerns about how they will feel during the winter months. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, about 2-3% of people will be impacted by seasonal affective disorder (2022).

A great way to fight these winter blues is to incorporate our five senses. Our senses can be powerful. One study reported that a loss of smell was correlated with depressive-like behaviours (Sangzin et al., 2018). With this knowledge in mind, there are several ways we can use our five senses to bring back memories of summer. For example:

Sound

Try listening to nature sounds on Youtube; you can even access clips of birds singing. If there are songs you only listen to in the summer, you can put them on that playlist to bring back your memories of warmer months.

Sight

Before it gets too cold, taking pictures of summer and fall views to look back on can be helpful. You can even go a step further and record the views of your favourite walking trail. You can also keep the curtains open to let in as much light as possible. As an alternative, many people access the benefits of using a sun therapy light throughout the darker months.

Touch

One way to incorporate the sense of touch is to save sand from the beach to play with as a reminder of sunnier days. If you have plants around the house you can touch their green leaves to remind you what the world looked like before the snow hit.

Taste

While fruit may be out of season, you can still make some summertime favourites.

Smell

Candle lovers, this is your time to shine. When you feel yourself missing the summer months, light candles with a scent that reminds you of warmer days. You can even use something as simple as a gas station air freshener to remind you of the smells of summer.

We can use the five senses for more than just creating a summer feeling. For example, when we feel anxious, we can use the five senses to create a sense of safety. For example, if you feel most grounded when playing hockey, you can listen to the sounds of blades scratching on ice, or you can hold ice cubes to remind you of the cold. Our five senses are powerful. I challenge you to consider how to incorporate your senses into your life to offer yourself comfort and to stay mindful.

Sources:

Ahn, S., Choi, M., Kim, H., Yang, E. J., Mahmood, U., Kang, S. I., ... & Kim, H. S. (2018). Transient anosmia induces depressive-like and anxiolytic-like behavior and reduces amygdalar corticotropin-releasing hormone in a ZnSO4-induced mouse model. Chemical senses, 43(4), 213-221.

Seasonal Affective Disorder. CMHA British Columbia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://cmha.bc.ca/documents/seasonal-affective-disorder-2/.

Lauren Middlemiss, M.A., RP, CCC.