Banish Feeling Blue with Hygge and a Gratitude Mini-Memoir

If you love snow more than palm trees, then this has been a perfect winter for many people. However, while we have seen children happily sledding and building snowmen, approximately 10 million adults in the United States reportedly suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Whether it is because of early darkness or winter malaise, this depression can be disconcerting. In addition to seeking help from a therapist, here are two practices that can lift your spirits.

• Embracing hygge, a concept of warmth, has been adapted by people in Denmark to cope with long, dark winters.
• Gathering your thoughts to write a winter gratitude memoir.

The Concept of Hygge

A paper in Creative Nursing notes, “Hygge offers practical self-care behaviors that have the potential to make positive impacts on quality of life across healthy communities and those with chronic conditions.” (Ladores and colleagues, 2022).

Additionally in the Multicultural Education Review, it was reported, “In a time when the world is facing social, political, public health, and environmental upheaval, Danes are lighting candles, baking cookies, and engaging in hygge, or cozy togetherness.” (Lee and colleagues, 2022).

Writing a winter gratitude mini-memoir

During winter months writing a six-week mini-memoir provides continuity. By merging happy remembrances with creative non-fiction, you are not bound by the rigors of autobiography. In winter, perhaps the easiest of recollections may come to us simply by looking at the snowfall.

A gratitude memoir can propel us out of a dark place to remember a time when we looked forward to snowbound days. We probably laughed, searched for a scarf for a snowman, and made angels in the snow. Perhaps we huddled by a fire to stay warm.

Although journal writing is valuable, committing to a creative nonfiction memoir may give you the incentive to build on memories, feelings, and remembrances of playmates or relatives who come to mind.

Any form of writing can be uplifting; committing to a mini-memoir gives you the advantage of something to look forward to each day, continuity. It is helpful to give yourself a six-week topic outline.

Viewing the memoir within the genre of creative nonfiction makes it easier to write a personal, family, or love history from the perspective of gratitude. There is no longer the constraint of rigidly adhering to dates and history. Even events as you remember them may be disputed by family. However, the gratitude mini-memoir is yours alone.

Steps to writing a winter gratitude mini-memoir

Happy memories are refreshing and restorative. You can adapt these suggestions for any event that you wish to treasure.

If you decide to write about winter, think about categories or chapters as a way to help you remember just how rich the mini-memoir can be.

• A theme or title: Give your memoir collection a title or set a theme that will help you put the stories together. Then think in terms of the following.
• Feelings: Did you experience joy, happiness, relief, silliness, or perhaps a sense of relief when school is called off and you had a snow day?
• People: Who shared the event or memory with you? Pretend you are writing a play. Name and briefly describe the characters. Listen to their voices and recreate a few short conversations.
• Place: Describe the area; that is, your backyard, a park, or a neighbor’s lawn.
• Describe: On that day or evening, was the sky filled with sunshine or clouds? If at night, were there stars in the sky and a luminous moon? Was it snowing? Explain what it was about the event or experience that resonates with you.
• Gratitude: What about the experience was most important to you? Express gratitude.

Transform the past

While writing your mini-memoir, what happens if hurtful or sad memories suddenly creep in? Try recasting them in a more positive light. It can be helpful to find one positive aspect as a simple way to edit the memory.

In research on image rescripting, Moritz and colleagues (2018): pointed out: “We cannot change the past, but we can change its meaning."

Gratitude Essential Reads

What I Learned from One Trip Around the Ferris Wheel

8 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude

_{Copyright 2024 Rita Watson, MPH}