• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Dealing with winter... The blah's, short days, etc...

Sherlock77

Sherlock77

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Winter at its worst, for those who live in northern climates, just to set the mood... I intentionally went to this spot on the most dreary and cold winter day (March 2013) to take this photo... This is actually a colour photo and yes I'm strange...

8562628807_b5bbd75bf1.jpg


Now that I've set the mood, I have a love/hate relationship with winter... On the negative, with the days being so short for several months, I drive to and from work in the dark, thus seeing sunlight and daytime except on weekends, and when you get the cold days, like the one above, even the weekend gives me very little of it...

Which gets me into S.A.D.S. (a form of depression) which those of us in the northern climates likely know about it, for everyone else - Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic I don't think I have it but I do have moments of winter that can be downright depressing, those nasty stretches of cold and dreary days, again lack of any real light... I don't have any of the special lights some people use

Then there are fun moments of winter, when the sun is out, I do chase and follow some of the fun events of winter with my photography... I don't do winter sports much, some people do... Such crazy events like the Great Canadian Kilt Skate!

32828793096_d1dcb378c0.jpg


How do some of the other northerners deal with winter? Especially when many of us tend to be isolated already...
 
Great socks and skirt combos on a couple of those skaters! And that top photo, with all the tire tracks, just love it. I like winter quite a bit and live too far south to fully enjoy it. But then maybe not living up north is why I like winter. Perhaps I might quit liking it if I had a bit more winter. Anyhoo, nice photos.
 
I remember that I could return to the Greenstone area, where the weather is even worse in the winter.
 
I also live in a cold, winter climate, although it looks like I am not quite as northerly as you are. The darkness is the most difficult piece to deal with. I don't really mind the cold or the snow so much. I work in an office so really don't see the sun much at all during the week. And on the weekends, it seems that half the time or more it is cloudy. What helps me is one of my interests which is running. I run through the winter outside in the snow and often times in the dark. Most people probably think I'm a little crazy, but the benefits far outweigh the efforts that I put into it. If all I did every week is go to work and come home just to stay inside I would go nuts. More than I already am :). One thing that I like about winter is that it seems to be quieter and a little more peaceful. Being very sensitive to noise, this is a welcoming change. I think it is a combination of snow giving the earth some insulation as well as the fact that life seems to slow down just a bit. Except my job which heats up shortly after the new year. I think just getting outside and being active is important to stave of depression. Sitting inside and staying warm may be the easiest choice in the moment, but doing that all the time leads to problems I think. Getting out and spending time on your photography interest sounds like a great way to keep depression at bay.

I really like the first picture you posted in this thread. It gives me a sense of peacefulness and calmness that winter can bring which I was speaking to earlier.
 
Hmm I've lived most of my life in the cold, and I think you have as well Sherlock. I'm in northern Quebec, and at the moment it's -18C. Without any wind, so not too bad.
You're somewhat lucky in Calgary, as you do get those chinooks that come out of the rockies and melt things for a few days:D Something that doesn't happen here, it just stays cold for months it seems, and then starts to taper off in March.
Although it seems as if the cold came earlier this year all over the place. It's usually February for this kind of weather.

I don't mind the cold weather all that much. Winter is time to slow down for me a little, and cook more and draw and paint more. Make more stews and soups and drink tea, work in the house, because it's not so comfortable outside. Have a northern lights, light, that I use on occasion, which seems to help. Also read more.
 
Flinty said:
I remember that I could return to the Greenstone area, where the weather is even worse in the winter.
Click to expand...

Learned something new today... I drove through Longlac in early October of 2003, on a quiet weekday, one of the favourite drives I've ever done, due to lack of traffic...
 
Excellent photos! I tend to just watch the fire and stay warm in the winter. Where I am it's always snowing or raining/both, so the depression sometimes hits me hard. To get out of it, I try to exercise and do things like splitting wood, using my heavy bag, and walking my dog. Staying active seems to somewhat alleviate it, but not entirely. I also try not to dwell on negative things/ the future or past. The hardest part is not being able to stay outside with my son long, and he gets very bored. This causes mayhem in the house, because when he is bored he likes to vocally stim and I am very sound sensitive.
So yea, I feel you, winters can be tough..
 
Personally, I love the change of seasons, and where I am, they are all different and very defined. I would find winter to sucks less if I had more control over my environment, like our landlord is rather iffy about plowing, but still, the bad outweighs the good.

It helps that I spent ten years in Florida, suffering. Heat and humidity tries to kill me; it is not my natural environment. Here where I am now, whatever the climate is, it is my natural environment :D
 
I don't really deal with the short days very well, it disorients me and screws up my circadian rhythm at times.

I make a point of taking low-dose vitamin D drops during the winter because I don't get out much and it's often dark when I do get out. I think it might help a tiny bit with the circadian rhythm issue. Some people say it helps them keep winter blahs or SAD at bay.

I think this winter has been pretty awesome as far as cold in Alberta -- very mild, even more so than last year, I think (so far, anyways).

If my dwelling-place didn't suck I don't think I would mind the winter at all. (Winter just complicates the suckiness, adds to it.)

If I had a house I would build snowmen or other snow sculptures in my yard and I benefit a lot from shovelling snow (I have proprioceptive hyposensitivity and I need a lot of proprioceptive input -- shovelling snow is a good way to meet that need).

Knitting woolly winter things like scarves and mittens makes me delighted about the cold....because, you know, it makes the woolly things useful and gives me a reason to knit them. And what better way to test their insulating quality and judge my choices for yarn and stich selection than to wear them in -30 degrees Celcius?
 
Sherlock77 said:
Learned something new today... I drove through Longlac in early October of 2003, on a quiet weekday, one of the favourite drives I've ever done, due to lack of traffic...
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't know there was a Greenstone, Ontario. I'm talking about the Greenstone area of Manitoba.
 
the_tortoise said:
I don't really deal with the short days very well, it disorients me and screws up my circadian rhythm at times.

I make a point of taking low-dose vitamin D drops during the winter because I don't get out much and it's often dark when I do get out. I think it might help a tiny bit with the circadian rhythm issue. Some people say it helps them keep winter blahs or SAD at bay.

I think this winter has been pretty awesome as far as cold in Alberta -- very mild, even more so than last year, I think (so far, anyways).

If my dwelling-place didn't suck I don't think I would mind the winter at all. (Winter just complicates the suckiness, adds to it.)

If I had a house I would build snowmen or other snow sculptures in my yard and I benefit a lot from shovelling snow (I have proprioceptive hyposensitivity and I need a lot of proprioceptive input -- shovelling snow is a good way to meet that need).

Knitting woolly winter things like scarves and mittens makes me delighted about the cold....because, you know, it makes the woolly things useful and gives me a reason to knit them. And what better way to test their insulating quality and judge my choices for yarn and stich selection than to wear them in -30 degrees Celcius?
Click to expand...

I'm staring at fresh snowfall coming down here in Calgary... And after this snow is finished it will be a cold run to Christmas...
 
For the past years I've enjoyed winter more than summer. I think it's too hot, and bright outside in the summer. On the other hand, for me there are few things nicer than a mild to warm summer night around June, when the sun doesn't properly set anymore. And cold winters can be annoying cause I don't like bulky, heavy clothes, or being cold.

Winter can get depressing sometimes, mostly because the almost complete lack of light over 2 months (where used to live until last winter). Things that help me are: using sunscreen (I associate the smell with warmth and sunshine), making sure i get enough vitamin D either through fishoil, or other supplements, going to the sun studio a couple of times a month (I do find sun studios a bit scary, and you have to make sure to protect your skin, but I always feel better after I went), you could also just get a tabletop UV-lamp, which apparently also help, but I've never tried it.
 
Last edited:
Oda said:
...

Winter can get depressing sometimes, mostly because the almost complete lack of light over 3 2 months (where used to live until last winter). Things that help me are: using sunscreen (I associate the smell with warmth and sunshine), making sure i get enough vitamin D either through fishoil, or other supplements, going to the sun studio a couple of times a month (I do find sun studios a bit scary, and you have to make sure to protect your skin, but I always feel better after I went), you could also just get a tabletop UV-lamp, which apparently also help, but I've never tried it.
Click to expand...

Like today? Steady snowfall since noon, 10 hour work day, after work one freeway I almost took was backed up and had (according to a sign) 60 minute drive, normally a 10 minute drive! Quickly went a different way... It took me twice as long still to get home, I chose to miss a Christmas function for camera club because of crappy roads... That kind of day... And I still have to get to work tomorrow morning, should be fun... o_O There will be better days...
 
One of the most beautiful but also kind of creepiest I remember from long winters are these steady snowfalls... they are so quiet, like the world just stopped working. No one and nothing is outside, just this snow, falling an falling. Feels very isolating but also very peaceful.
Still, the winter was always a slightly deeper breath for me after a wet, cold, rotten autumn. Don't misunderstand. I do like autumn colors but there are these months where autumn turns really nasty like everything is dying, drowning and rotting. In comparison the winter is more of a standstill, a waiting time. At least it's white and grey and white, not this rotten brown.
 
I started taking chelated magnesium and my cold tolerance went up. I improved my sleep with circadian rhythm strategies and my cold tolerance went up. I went out in the cold more and my cold tolerance went up.

I think I see a pattern :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom