The winter blues can be frustrating and discouraging during the darker months of the year. Sometimes it's the strongest when we can almost taste spring coming around the corner. Other times we struggle with the winter blues all winter long as soon as daylight savings happens. Luckily there are hypnotic techniques we can use to combat the symptoms of these winter blues.
Understanding the Winter Blues and How Hypnosis Can Help
The Winter Blues is a way to describe a general gloominess during the winter months. It is also known as Season Affective Disorder (SAD). People often describe feeling more lethargic, having trouble focusing, experiencing increased anxiety, and struggling to maintain a healthy diet or exercise routine. These symptoms can range from mild to severe. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, please visit your doctor.
There are scientific hypotheses as to why this might be happening like lack of vitamin D or our bodies are making more melatonin because of the extended hours of darkness.
What we do know from working with hypnosis clients is that there are powerful hypnotic techniques that can help alleviate some of the frustrations of the winter blues. Here, we explore three easy-to-practice hypnosis techniques that you can do on your own to light up your days and lift your spirits.
1. The "Two Breath Hypnosis Technique" for Instant Relief
This simple yet effective technique can quickly reduce stress and shift your mood. Here's how to do it:
- Rate your level of stress - On a scale from 1-10, rate how stressed you are feeling in this moment.
- Assign colors: Imagine the scale as a color spectrum where red and orange are 1-2 and represent feeling stressed, and blue and purple are 9-10 which represents complete relaxation.
- Breathe: Close your eyes and begin a deep inhale, imagining that you are inhaling the color of relaxation and it spreads to your fingers and toes. As you exhale, imagine you are exhaling the color of stress and removing it from your body. Repeat this sequence a second time.
- Reassess: Once you've done the two breaths, reassess where you are on the scale and notice any improvement no matter how small. Repeat the exercise as many times as you'd like.
2. The Alpha Sequence
The Alpha Sequence is a powerful hypnosis tool backed by neuroscience designed to help you achieve clarity of thinking, faster decision-making, and the ability to remain "in flow". It's a simple 4 step process that can be achieved in as little as one minute.
- Close your eyes: Close your eyes to quiet external stimuli so that your mind has the right environment to relax and reset.
- Relax your jaw: As you release your jaw you should feel it hang open slightly. We often clench our jaw when we're feeling stressed so this is a wonderful immediate step to initiate a state of relaxation.
- Gradually slow your breathing: Each time you breathe take a slightly longer exhalation until you feel a comfortable slow pace of breathing. This helps our whole body relax and allows us to be aware of any specific areas of the body where we may be storing stress.
- Relax the back of your tongue: This alerts our brain that there is no need to speak or communicate right now. When we don't have to speak we can bring our intention inward.
We have several guided versions of the Alpha Sequence available at www.theAlphaSequence.com
Here's one of our favorites:
3. Stimulating the Vagus Nerve to Relax
The vagus nerve plays a key role in your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps control relaxation and stress reduction. Here's an infographic with four amazing exercises that stimulate the vagus nerve:
Conclusion: The winter blues don't have to define your experience of the season. By practicing these self-help hypnosis techniques, you can cultivate a sense of warmth, relaxation, and joy from within. Whether it's through the Two Breath Hypnosis Technique, the Alpha Sequence, or stimulating your vagus nerve, you have the power to transform your winter into a season of serenity and renewal.
Remember, these practices are tools at your disposal, ready to be used whenever you need a burst of light in the darker months. We hope these tools help you experience warmth and relief.
