Guest post: how to beat the winter blues

The last of this month's guest posts comes from the fantastic Michelle from Thou Shalt Not Covet. I love reading Michelle's blog and I'm really pleased to have her here on Tales of a Pale Face. Make sure you pop over to her blog for a read, and take a look at her beautiful wedding photos. Over to you Michelle...

Hey guys! My name is Michelle from Thou Shalt Not Covet and today I'm so happy to be guest posting for Kat! So, it's January, it's cold, and many of us are pretty skint after Christmas - there's not really too much to look forward to at the moment! :( with this in mind I'd like to share with you five tips for beating the winter blues.

Firstly, what are the winter blues? The "winter blues" are mild depressive feelings characterized by low mood, lack of motivation and low energy levels that many people experience during the winter months. The winter blues, in a more severe sense can be classed as Seasonal Affective Syndrome, this is where people are affected negatively by the lack of daylight during the winter season. I suffer from the winter blues myself so I've put together a few tips to try and help beat these feelings and set you on the right track! :)

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1. Eat and Drink Healthily - Ok I know, when you're not feeling great, the last thing most people want to do it eat healthily, if you're anything like me you'll be reaching for pasta, pizza, cakes and chocolate - I'm all about the comfort food! Though eating these foods may give instant gratification, in the long term they're really not good for you in vast quantities. Full of fat, sugar and lots of other artificial nasties these foods will rot your teeth and aid weight gain. Alcohol is another baddie - there's nothing like a stinking hangover to bring your mood down! So if you can, try to eat and drink healthily, try to eat lots of 'feel good' foods such as berries and broccolli which are high in antioxidants. Your body will thank you for it.

2. Chill Out - Winter can be a stressful time, Christmas can bring money worries and family issues, add this to the miserable weather and lack of daylight and you may feel like things are getting on top of you. It's important you make time for yourself so you can relax. Take yourself out of any stressful situations, read a book or watch a film. I't s also important that you allow yourself this time out, so you don't feel guilty about it afterwards. If you're feeling tense or stressed you could also practice some breathing exercises to help calm your body and mind.

3. Get Some Exercise - I know for a fact that when I feel down, the last thing I feel like doing is exercise, I stay in bed as long as I can and generally just mope about the house. But when I manage to scrape that last tiny piece of motivation up off the floor and make myself do a bit, just a tiny bit of exercise like a brisk walk, I feel a zillion times better. So try to exercise if you can; walk the dog, take your kids to the park, go for a bike ride, it doesn't have to be too strenuous. You'll feel great afterwards and have more energy in the long run.

4. Treat Yourself - It's very important to treat yourself, especially in winter as we mostly think of others, buying Christmas presents and looking after friends or family. Get together with your friends and have a shopping trip, you don't have to spend much to have fun! I love nothing more than treating myself to a new lipstick as a little pick me up :) You'll feel great for having a nice day out with friends too!

5. Think and Act Positive - We all know negative thinking breeds negative thinking. You need to start thinking positive thoughts and acting on those thoughts to help lift your mood if you have the winter blues. Again, this is a hard thing to do when your in that situation, but if you take small steps it can really work! Set yourself small tasks and congratulate yourself when you complete them. Write a list and cross tasks off as they are done. Even though small, this will create a sense of achievement and you can gradually build up to bigger things :)

Well I hope this is helpful, I'm really going to try to take my own advice now! If you get a moment, please come and check out my blog for fashion, beauty and lifestyle posts at Thou Shalt Not Covet. Michelle xxx