Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some suggestions to help me deal with my peri issues for the winter. It has been dull and dreary here and I can already feel my energy level being zapped plus I know how I get when I have lack of sunlight.

Last year, I had paxil to help me thru, this year, I am trying to use knowledge of peri/hormones et al to get me thru.

Any advice? Any thoughts on a good one a day vitamin? Any other tips to get me thru???

All advice appreciated!

TM

PS: I will be working out but I was wondering if there are any other peri secrets that can be passed on to help!!!

Cut out processed sugar from your diet. Get one of those mood enhancing lamps. Join an activity. Or do some volunteer work.

All I can think of at the mo.

Dear The Moll
Definitely get out and about as much as possible,long walks till you warm up in the fresh air.Take a neighbours dog to spur you on.Have some friends over twice a month for hot chocolate and board games or just watching movies.

Make sure you take the Omega3 fish oils to avoid dry skin and if off the Paxil try St.John's Wort natural herbal depressent.

By the way,can you tell me if not too personal how long you were on Paxil and how did you come off it?Have been taking Prozac for many years tried twice to come off it slowly.Felt I was going insane and had to go back on it

Also,I think marian's advice about volunteering is great.What about Soup Kitchens for the homeless and helping serve Christmas Dinner to those in need.

Hope this helps
Love and Blessings
Elizabeth

Walking for as long as you can,even if its mall walking.Keep your house clean,when mine is messy in winter it depress' me badly.B vitamins for energy,vit c to keep you healthy,and try to keep a good sleep schedule.Read good books,and rent movies.I try so hard to make it through winter,it is very hard.GOD-bless

I will ditto Lady E with the B vitamins, you need them for energy, and Vit C for immune health. Also vit D, as many don't get enough sunlight in winter and as "aging" women (don't ya just LOVE that ) it is imperative to get enough Vit D. Keep your diet as clean as possible (a constant struggle for me) and keep moving. It is so easy to become a couch potato in winter. I am going to get myself a "happy light" as my daughter calls it (she has one) as it seriously helps with seasonal depression and most of us northerners feel the lack of sunlight in one way or another.

Play your favourite upbeat music while cleaning the house, it helps lift your mood as well as inspires you to keep moving.

"Play your favourite upbeat music while cleaning the house"


I have to clean my house?????

hi i was going to offer my words of wisdom,and found that what I was ready to suggest has for the most part hs already been written.the fact that you have the foresight to think about planning a strategy says a great deal.Vitamin D is a must.Going out in the mornings has been a wonderful idea---go out early,when the light is at its peak,also it will 'get you going' when you don't feel like doing it.Starting a new hobbyis also a good idea.I sewed a beautiful tablecloth that i enjoy.listenijng to politics has really fired me up,and educated me.feel good.and you can always come here for support.

Great suggestions, ladies...

Fall is my favorite time of year...

I find comfort in making soup, taking long morning walks, when I can, watching old movies, redecorating my bedroom, making my own beauty products, reading for relaxation w/ a big ole cup of tea......

It just seems easier to care for inner self during the fall...

I'll surely be back to this thread to add more... I'm in a hurry, got to get to the gym before the crowds hit...

Everyone has excellent suggestions, but I have one more to think about.

In Winter, I need all the sunlight I can get, so I removed all of the heavy drapes/curtains in the house and replaced them with lacy valances and have blinds when privacy is needed. Even when the old drapes were opened all the way, it still gave a feeling of heaviness/darkness. I also have a tendency to leave a lot of lights on in the house on dreary days to fool myself into thinking it is sunny out.

Flora, I haven't had heavy drapes for years! I have blinds or nothing. My house is not frilly at all. I like the clean look of bare windows, or windows with just blinds or shutters. I love light, and we get so little of it in winter!!

Hi The Moll,

The ladies have some good sugestions. I find the period from the end of October to Christmas and New Year pretty busy, like most people do, but it's during the January, February March period that for me feels like winter. January is always an anticlimax after all the preparation for the Holdays. The house is brighter with Xmas lights and when they come down everything looks so bare. Last year I planned an inexpensive weekend away in the middle of January. So as soon as the Christmas decorations were put away for another year I had something fun to look forward to rather than the thought of several more weeks of winter. We were lucky with the weather and did lots of walking and although it was cold it was good to be out and about.

Over here I heard that they have something called 'Mallercise', I think that's how you spell it. Basically what it means is that people get together to walk around shopping malls. Sounds strange at first but thinking about it, it makes sense. It extends your day because these malls are often open well in to the evening and they are safe, which is more than can be said of walking around the streets after dark in the winter. Having said that there is nothing better on a cold evening than lighting a fire and staying home with a good book, film.

I always have the temptation to eat stodge during the cold weather and then I'm on a go slow, so watching what I eat is always a priority as is taking all the vits that the girls have mentioned.

My husband and I always try to plan a vacation for early March. We go south, and it hardly matters where, as just about ANYWHERE is warmer than Maine in March. Connecticut, which is only about 4 hours from us, usually has a few early bulbs peeking out, and even this is hugely heartening! The farther south one goes, the better the visual "news."

We return home to the usual 2 feet of snow, but it always helps us to have witnessed that spring IS arriving in other parts of the country! We know that our snow will melt by, oh, the second week of May anyway!

I highly recommend saving vacation time for late February/early March - it's so worth it!

(((HUGS)))

JJ