“Appreciate winter for what it is without wishing it were something else”: Psychologist Kari Leibowitz on overcoming the seasonal blues | psychology

KAri Leibowitz has a doctorate in social psychology from Stanford University, where she studied the role of our mindset in our health and well-being. For ten years, Leibowitz has been studying people’s attitudes to winter and the ways in which it can greatly influence our mood and behavior – research that culminated in her debut book, How to overwinter: Use your attitude to thrive in the cold and darkness Or difficult times.

As Fulbright ScholarYou moved from Atlanta for the University of Tromsø in Norway. The polar night lasts almost two months there. How has this experience influenced your view of winter?
I was looking for a research project and started writing to Joar Vittersø, one of the world’s leading experts on human happiness and well-being. He told me he was at the northernmost university in the world, and I thought: How does the world expert on human happiness live in this place where the sun doesn’t rise for two months every winter?

I had assumed that winter was bad for mental health and that people in Tromsø would be depressed, but I found out that the rate of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is relatively low considering how far north they are and how dark and long their winters are.

How then does the prevalence of Sad vary by location?
The latitude hypothesis suggests that the frequency of seasonal affective disorder should increase as one goes further north or south of the equator and as winters become longer and darker. This hypothesis was reverse-engineered by psychologists who found that light lamps were an effective treatment for Sad: They assumed that if light treated this disorder, darkness must make it worse. There has been some evidence that people in the northern United States have higher rates of sad. However, as I was conducting my project, many other researchers began to question this idea.

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They looked at the role of mindset in people’s well-being in winter. What beliefs lie behind the different mindsets you studied, and how might they impact people’s susceptibility to winter? Depression?
Mindsets are our basic beliefs about how the world works and how different things affect us. For example, we might believe that stress is either reinforcing or debilitating – and research suggests that this can influence the way we deal with challenges.

Likewise, we might believe that winter is limiting or that it is full of possibilities, terrible or wonderful. We confuse the objective circumstances – that winter is cold, dark and wet – with subjective things, such as that it is gloomy, boring and depressing, when one could just as easily claim that it is cozy, magical and restful.

You showed this in your subsequent study People’s mindset is linked to their well-being in the winter months. Surprisingly, you even found that the further north you go, the more positive people’s attitudes towards winter are those in Svalbard have the rosiest outlook of allwhich seemed to protect them from the winter Depression. How can we cultivate these attitudes??
The first step is to appreciate winter for what it is, without wishing it were something else, and then try to notice the pleasant things about it. For example, we could complain that we have less energy, but we could also turn that on its head and say that winter is a time to do less and rest more. You can also reframe your narrative about the weather. When it rains, commuting to work may be more inconvenient, but the weather may also be particularly suitable for indoor work and creative tasks. Some research suggests that darkness boosts creativity. Which of these things you focus on will have a big impact on how you experience the rain that day. These things may seem small or silly at first, but they train you to notice different things in winter.

Many people are afraid of the time change. How can we make this more bearable?
Abrupt change is difficult for many people, but there are two things we can do. One is to prepare and anticipate the change. You can realistically expect to get more tired and plan to do a little less and take some time off. The second is to celebrate and highlight it. You could break out the candles and have your first candlelit dinner or have a cozy movie night at home. Do something to look forward to and take advantage of the darkness and turn it into an advantage as if you were welcoming it.

This reminds me of the research on the “reboot effect” – The Idea that we can use different events to mark a new “chapter” in our liveswith different behaviors and habits.
Just this small statement of intent can really show people how much power they have to change their experiences of winter and darkness. You get real-time feedback about the impact of your actions, which is very powerful.

This brings us to your second strategy: “making winter special.” What are your tips?
Ask yourself what activities you can do to cheer up the winter. This can involve eating different foods – such as soups – that you can look forward to just as much as a barbecue. This could be cold water swimming, a visit to the sauna or a movie night on Friday. Winter is a good time for indoor hobbies: playing music, baking, writing poetry, or going to a museum. I’m an amateur ceramicist and it’s hard for me to get to the pottery studio when it’s nice outside. But I can do a lot more of it in the winter. Making winter special requires a little effort, but so do summer activities like going to the beach—and we can expend the same energy any time of year.

One thing I noticed while traveling was that every culture does things to welcome winter, but you have to look for it. The United Kingdom is the perfect example. It doesn’t have a reputation as a winter destination like Scandinavia to go to Hygge. But if I go to a London pub on a rainy day, there’s an open fire in the fireplace and I can order a meat pie and a mulled wine – what could be cozier than that?

Finally, advise people to go outside – a Strategy that the Norwegians refer to as friluftsliv. Why is this important?
It’s the hardest sell, but I see it in every winter community where people are embracing and enjoying winter. Exercising, being close to nature and breathing fresh air – these are all natural antidepressants and an antidote to the “winter blues”.

• How to hibernate: Use your mindset to thrive in cold, dark, or difficult times by Kari Leibowitz is published by Bluebird (£18.99). In support of the Guardian And observer Order your copy at Guardianbookshop.com. Shipping costs may apply

• David Robson is the author of The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Change Your Lifepublished by Canongate (£18.99). In support of the Guardian And observerorder your copy at Guardianbookshop.com. Shipping costs may apply