The tail end of winter can be a bit rough. In the Northeast, I’ve had enough of extreme cold, gray skies and piles of snow that refuse to melt. The holidays are a dim memory. I’m sick of my giant parka. Spring doesn’t arrive until March 20.
“By this time of year, winter can feel like it drags,” said Mark Seery, a professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo who studies coping and resilience. But telling yourself that “this is going to be crap for the next month,” is not the best strategy, he added.
Instead, Dr. Seery recommended “finding things you can control around the edges.”
Research shows that we can often cope better with difficult situations when we feel like we have control over them, he added. So adjust your expectations and focus on what you can do that you enjoy right now.
I told Dr. Seery that I get through the last weeks of winter by making long phone calls to friends who live elsewhere.
“Social connection works for almost any sort of stressor,” Dr. Seery said.
With coping on my mind and another month of cold weather to survive, I tapped my colleagues for inspiration. They shared their personal strategies for making the most of the season.
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Sometimes I imagine myself on a terrible quest that I simply have to soldier through with Gandalf as my guide. And I’m also a big believer in the cathartic power of complaining. — Maggie Astor, reporter
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I’ve been watching the Olympics with my kids every night and our whole family is aspirationally embracing winter sport. Will my girls podium as sisters in Utah in 2034? Probably! And surely it’s not too late for me to take up luge or curling — or at least to stay up late looking at my phone and dreaming about it. — Blake Wilson, editorial director
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When I lived in the U.K., I did a lot of Bikram yoga. It was the only time I felt warm. — Dana Smith, reporter
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Winter is my spirit season. I embrace the coziness and delight in less social pressure to leave the house. (I find summer very stressful.) I also do a digital fireplace with a fire-scented candle. — Tiffanie Graham, staff photo editor
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I survive on saunas and steam rooms, knitting and sewing, and trash TV with friends. — Patia Braithwaite, senior staff editor
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I just embrace inside activities, like going to the movies, playing video games or inviting my friends over to play board games. Those are all things I do less of in the summer. — Nia Adurogbola, senior news assistant
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I try to adopt the whole “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” philosophy — and we get out and do stuff, regardless of the weather. It might mean wearing snow pants and using hand warmers — whatever works. — Christina Caron, reporter
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I like to make a pot of brothy beans. — Julia Calderone, assistant editor
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My partner recently got me a wearable sleeping bag, and I’ve been living in it since the beginning of December. I’ve also been “rebounding,” or bouncing on a small indoor trampoline, while listening to music. It’s a great way to get some cardio in without having to go outside. — Claire Merchlinsky, staff editor
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I have a tiny indoor gym in the garage, outfitted with stuff I got for free or cheap, including used items from Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. — Erik Vance, staff editor
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I bought a bunch of eucalyptus at the bodega and put it in my shower. The scent with the steam is amazing. — Lori Leibovich, editor
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Sometimes I bake, so I can have cookies with my chai or coffee all week long. — Nina Agrawal, reporter
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I just keep making soup — lentil soup with chicken sausage, broccoli soup, borscht. I love winter soups, and summer soups don’t please me the same way. I have a robin’s-egg blue Le Creuset pot that my grandmother brought when she moved to this country long ago. So I cook soup in that pot and commune with her spirit. — Lisa Miller, domestic correspondent
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Jancee Dunn, who writes the weekly Well newsletter for The Times, has covered health and science for more than 20 years.
The post How to Get Through the Rest of Winter appeared first on New York Times.
