Content creator & FNZ Power List alum, Connie Langbrown shares her personal guide to navigating seasonal depression, protecting your mental health, and finding comfort during winter.
Winter has a way of slowing everything down. Plans get cancelled, social calendars clear out, and suddenly staying in bed all day feels far more appealing than leaving the house. While many of us experience a mild shift in mood during the colder months, for others, winter can bring something much heavier.
Connie Langbrown – a part-time content creator with a Masters degree in Psychology – is all too familiar with the emotional dip that can arrive alongside shorter days and colder mornings. Here, she shares her personal “cheat sheet” for navigating the winter blues, from understanding seasonal depression to the small rituals that can make a meaningful difference.
What Is Seasonal Depression?
Seasonal depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is a subtype of depression that commonly appears during the months when natural light is limited.
“It’s not just simply a low mood,” Connie explains. “It’s a recognised mental health condition affecting around 5% of New Zealanders.”
Symptoms can include:
- Low energy
- Fatigue
- Restlessness
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
For some people, the changes are subtle. For others, the impact can be significant, affecting everything from relationships to daily routines.
Why Does Seasonal Depression Happen?
While researchers are still uncovering the exact causes behind seasonal depression, reduced sunlight is believed to play a major role.
Lower exposure to natural light can disrupt serotonin production and throw off our circadian rhythm — both of which are essential for emotional wellbeing and healthy sleep patterns. When this internal body clock becomes disrupted, melatonin production can also be affected, making it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake feeling rested.
Connie Langbrown’s Top Tips for Battling the Winter Blues
1. Honour the Light
One of the simplest yet most effective things you can do during winter is seek out sunlight early in the day.
“This could look like having your morning coffee outside on your front steps that catch the morning light,” Connie says, “or even having a moment of stillness in the sunny corner of your living room.”
A 2020 study published in Nature and Behaviour found that people who intentionally sought out morning sunlight reported significantly lower rates of seasonal depression compared to those who didn’t.
“Find it, bask in it, and allow your body to feel the healing properties of the sun.”
2. Hold Onto Your Pillars
During difficult seasons, Connie recommends leaning into the people, routines, and places that ground you.
“For me, it’s making time for friends, moving my body, spending time with my family and being by the ocean,” she says.
Whether it’s exercise, community, creativity, or simply spending time outdoors, reconnecting with the things that make you feel most like yourself can provide stability during emotionally heavy periods.
“Regardless of what uplifts you and makes you you, one of the most powerful things I can recommend is to lean on these pillars and make time for them.”
3. Be Gentle With Yourself
Perhaps Connie’s most important reminder is this: struggling during winter does not make you weak.
“Season depression is not a personal failure, nor is it anything to be ashamed of,” she says.
When energy feels low and even simple tasks become overwhelming, self-compassion matters more than ever.
“Rest when you need to. Reach out when it gets too quiet. And remind yourself that you are human, moving through a hard season the best way you know how.”
Final Thoughts
While winter can feel isolating, seasonal depression is more common than many people realise — and there are ways to support yourself through it. Small rituals, sunlight, connection, movement, and self-kindness can all help soften the heaviness that colder months sometimes bring.
And if things begin to feel too overwhelming, seeking professional support is always a strength, never a weakness.
Follow Connie on Instagram @connielangbrown and on TikTok @connielangbrown
Find her podcast, Everyday Psychology HERE