6 minute read
A RAY OF HOPE
It’s that time of year again, short dark, gloomy days combined with a lack of sunlight. A trip to the winter sun would be ideal but there are other ways
CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN and gone and now there are just those endless winter months to get through when it barely gets light all day, the lights have to be kept on, many people commuting to work never actually see daylight and the sun never seems to be seen, particularly this year.
No wonder everyone is miserable. But for many of us it can be a bit more than feeling down. At least two million people in the UK are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which can cause sleep disruption, depression, lack of energy and a low mood. This can be debilitating for many. There are ways to help keep it at bay, or even just to manage it. The obvious one is to get outside in the fresh air however miserable you may feel. I promise you will feel better afterwards. The vitamin D will help, as will the exercise and exposure to daylight however dim it may be.
Exercising outside for at least 30 minutes a day, such as going on a brisk walk or cycle, is ideal and combined with other forms of exercise such as yoga, Pilates or a trip to the gym will really help. All release the feel good endorphins and the more of that the better at this time of year.
An extra boost for SAD sufferers is the SAD lamp which simulates the light of bright sunlight and helps regulate your circadian rhythm and has been proven to be effective. But you don’t necessarily need to invest in a lamp, a MiniSun light bulb can be just as effective if you put it in one of your lamps at home.
David Letts of Harborough Lights sells these bulbs and explains how they work:
‘These bulbs help with Seasonal Affective Disorder, assist reading with eye conditions like macular degeneration, glaucoma and for anyone wanting to do close up tasks and hobbies.
‘They are only 10w LED bulbs so cheap to run. You don’t have to buy a specific SAD light which can be expensive, just the bulb for £5 which you can put in your own lamp. LED lights can be more expensive as an initial outlay but are cheaper to run over time. These bulbs use 90% less energy than halogen bulbs and are available in bayonet and screw in fittings and many different shapes.
‘The colour temperature (the Kelvin scale) is the important bit. White light is on a spectrum from yellow to blue. Yellow bulbs psychologically make you feel warmer but the cool white at 6500K is the same colour temperature as the sun and gives better resolution and correct contrast.’
David very kindly gave me a bulb to try and I have been using it for the last few months. When I first turned my lamp on I was surprised at how bright and ‘white’ the light was. It really does feel like a bright summer’s day and it was great to have a light which I could easily read with. I hadn’t realised how much I missed the clarity of sunlight and this simulated summer light reminded me of it straight away.
Be warned, you can’t expect to turn on the lamp and get an instant hit and lift of mood. This is a long term solution to the problem of lack of daylight hours. You need to spend part of the day – at least 20 to 60 minutes - near the bulb over an extended period of time. Apparently, the ideal time is first thing in the morning (which makes sense) but I have been using my bulb in the evenings reading in front of the fire. I do think it is helping and I fully intend to use it until the clocks change in March as, combined with getting outside for good long, daily walks I think it is certainly helping. And a bonus is that they are cheap to run, what’s not to like!
How to become genuinely confident
Diana Robertson, a member of Toastmasters International gives us some useful tips
HOW WOULD YOU rate your overall confidence? Do you notice yourself thinking, ‘I’ll be confident in my abilities when I can run a 10k’ or ‘I will be confident in myself when’ … (fill in the blank with something specific and meaningful to you…) I’ve been there so let me share some ways to build genuine confidence as we start a new year.
Identify where you are already confident
What are you already good at? The most important step towards building confidence is to be aware of what you have already been successfully doing. This could range from regularly attending your local gym to being a talented climber or being brilliant at cooking healthy, tasty meals. Write down anything that springs to mind because everything you’re good at counts.
This will reveal that confidence is not absolute, because nobody is fully confident about everything in their lives. We feel confident about what we know we’re good at. Equally, we have struggles with specific areas that need improvement. And you’ll notice that once you start working on a new skill, your confidence will grow with it.
Using affirmations for positive thoughts
Changing your thought process is easier said than done. However, our thought patterns are no different to our muscles. Both can be trained.
A great way to start reprogramming your mind is to repeat encouraging affirmations or statements before facing challenging situations. To find what will work best for you, go with the opposite of your negative thought. For example, replace ‘I’m terrified of having to share my opinion on a work Zoom call,’ with ‘I’m excited to share my opinion on the call.’
Give yourself time to practice your affirmations properly so they sink in. Feel free to improvise and find wording that works for you.
Changing your negative thoughts – with some powerful questions
If you prefer a more analytical approach, begin by answering the following questions. You’ll identify the fears behind your lack of confidence and learn how to transform your destructive thought patterns into constructive ones. 1 How can I describe the exact negative thoughts on this particular subject in only one sentence? 2 Is this thought 100% true? Is it a fact or is it my assumption? 3 What proves that this negative thought is completely or partially false? 4 If the event that I most fear were to happen, how would it truly affect my life?
What would I do (realistically, without exaggeration)? 5 If my best friend had this exact thought, what would I tell them?
These questions helped me through some difficult times. I hope they’ll be useful for you as well.
I used to be extremely bad at speaking in public. At my first presentation I totally forgot my script despite spending three days memorising it. My hands shook and I felt terrible. This experience shattered my confidence. But after a couple of days of fretting I switched focus onto how poor my speaking skills were. Separating myself from my skill was crucial to working out what I could do about it. I decided to join a Toastmasters’ public speaking club where I got the supportive help I needed. This is something you could consider as there are clubs throughout the East Midlands including Stamford, Peterborough and Northampton.
Celebrating
Remember to celebrate small achievements. It’s easy to forget that one unsuccessful event means little and that true success is achieved by taking small but consistent steps towards the goal. So, if you’ve just failed at something, don’t hold onto the setbacks, move on. The key to becoming better at anything is to shift your focus onto your long term progress.
Diana Robertson is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management
