Montreal winters have a way of sneaking up on you. One day, you’re enjoying a pumpkin spice latte and pretending your light jacket is still acceptable, and the next, the city is buried under its first snowfall, far earlier than anyone emotionally agreed to. Suddenly, it’s dark at 4 pm, your fingers go numb the second you step outside, and every walk up the treacherous hill to McMed feels like a Sisyphean test of resilience.
For a lot of us, the shift in weather brings a slump that makes everything harder. Seasonal depression, or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), shows up when daylight disappears. I’ve definitely felt it: the constant gloomy days slowly draining my motivation, my social battery, and my will to leave my room. However, over time, I’ve picked up a few habits that can make the next few months feel slightly less unbearable, and I hope sharing them with you will help brighten these rapidly darkening days.
I’ve picked up a few habits that can make the next few months feel slightly less unbearable, and I hope sharing them with you will help brighten these rapidly darkening days.
One of the biggest things for me is simply not staying trapped in my room. When it’s cold and dark outside, it is easy to spend entire days in the same space. Even if it’s inconvenient, I’ll always try to work somewhere else: a café, the library, or even at the tables outside my classrooms between lectures. There’s something comforting about being surrounded by other people pretending to be productive, and the possibility of bumping into friends is an added plus.
I also try to bring a little bit of summer into my everyday life. When everything outside is grey and slushy, I’ll deliberately add things to my daily routines that feel bright or warm. That’s why I’m the type of person who orders an iced fruit drink at a café, even when it’s -10 outside—I’m gaslighting myself into thinking I’m actually on a Hawaiian beach. Other times, I wear lighter colours, light a candle that smells like summer, or play music that reminds me of warmer days.
Music has a strong effect on my emotions. As tempting as it may be to turn up a slow, sad winter playlist (Phoebe Bridgers is usually the soundtrack for all my winters), I’ve learned that this can quickly seep into my energy levels and mood. To ward off my SAD-ness, I switch to upbeat music—early 2010s pop, or in my case, my favourite musical theatre cast albums and Glee covers. I take special care to find songs that are dramatic, over-the-top, and impossible not to sing along to. You’d be surprised to find how this can unexpectedly shift the entire tone of the day.
I take special care to find songs that are dramatic, over-the-top, and impossible not to sing along to.
There are also other methods that Montreal winter survivors attest to. Light therapy lamps, for one, replicate sunlight and can help regulate your body clock during darker months (they’re available for lending at the Library Services Desk!). Additionally, taking vitamin D supplements in moderation is often recommended.
Winter is an inevitable part of life in Canada. But the good part is that it does eventually come to an end. Finals will pass, the days will stretch longer, and the snow will melt (even if it randomly returns on a random April day). Until then, we’ll survive on small comforts, and I hope these tips can help you make it through.
