Dreading a dark winter lockdown? Think like a Norwegian (Guardian) {Psychology of isolation}
Studies show people living in the Arctic Circle are armed with a mindset that helps combat the long polar night. It might come in handy for us all
When Kari Leibowitz first arrived in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, she was both intrigued by, and fearful of, the approaching winter. Two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, the city does not see the sun from mid-November to mid-January. It was a far cry from the state of New Jersey, where she had grown up, or Stanford, California, where she had been studying before travelling to Norway.
As a health psychologist, Leibowitzs aim was to understand the ways that Tromsøs citizens coped with the long polar night. In many countries, the short days of winter are thought to cause lethargy and low mood, resulting in seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This is sometimes assumed to have a purely biological basis levels of mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin are generally lower in winter than in summer, and last week a study suggested that people with more neurotic personalities are particularly susceptible to low winter moods. SAD is often treated using standard antidepressant drugs, as well as psychotherapies.
During the darkest periods of the polar night, Tromsø only receives two to three hours of indirect sunlight, shining into the sky from below the horizon. Yet its inhabitants do not show the kind of wintertime depression you might expect of a city cast in darkness. One study by May Trude Johnsen at the University of Tromsø found that the citizens wellbeing barely changed across the year. Their sleep was a bit more disturbed without the daily rhythm of the rising and setting sun, but they reported no increase in mental distress during the winter.
So whats their secret? Of the many potential explanations, Leibowitzs work suggests that one vital component may be a particular mindset that arms the citizens against the stresses of the long polar night.
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more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/sep/26/dreading-a-dark-winter-lockdown-think-like-a-norwegian
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,674 posts)In Norwegian it even rhymes: "Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær." It's how we cope in Minnesota, too. The only thing I hate about winter is driving, because every year people forget how to do it. But now that I rarely drive anywhere because of covid19, I can just put on warm clothes and enjoy a walk in the snow.
I_UndergroundPanther
(12,463 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Give me eternal summer any day of the week...
Doreen
(11,686 posts)I live in Washinton State and even the darkness with rain does not effect my mood. I do know a lot of people however that do have that problem.
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)Solly Mack
(90,762 posts)I love when the shadows change. The bluing of an autumn sky. The cloud formations at winter. I love watching the night come quicker and grow longer. The sounds, the smells, all the impressions of change. The bleakness of cold that gives way to new growth and new life. The promise of summer, pregnant with anticipation. The cycles of change giving us all the chance to change as well. To grow. To do. To seek. To remember.