{"id":174392,"date":"2022-01-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ceotudent.com\/?p=174392"},"modified":"2022-10-28T19:29:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T16:29:38","slug":"a-hard-winter-awaits-us-how-can-we-get-a-better-off-this-winter-according-to-psychologists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceotudent.com\/en\/a-hard-winter-awaits-us-how-can-we-get-a-better-off-this-winter-according-to-psychologists","title":{"rendered":"A Hard Winter Awaits Us: How Can We Get A Better Off This Winter According to Psychologists?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With the cold weather in the winter months, it becomes difficult for us to socialize. In the pandemic conditions we have been in for about 10 months, it has become even more difficult for us to socialize. The number of cases that started to increase all over the world again, with the flu epidemic that will increase with the cooling of the weather, the coronavirus measures have to be tightened even more. In this case, it is very likely that we will be confined to our homes again. So, how will we spend this season when socializing is already difficult in the winter months? How do we protect our psychology? Sigal Samuel has written a good article on this subject. Let’s take a look together:<\/div>\n
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We know that as the weather gets colder, it will be more difficult to socialize outside. We also know that there will likely be an increase in new Covid-19 infections. Many of us are worried about how we will get through these lonely, gloomy months ahead.<\/div>\n
I see a lot of people trying to deal with this anxiety by creating one-time solutions. Instead of thinking about the myriad negative emotions you want to avoid and the myriad of things you can buy or do to serve it, consider a single regulation principle that is highly effective in generating positive emotions in all areas. “Shift your focus outward.”<\/div>\n
Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside and author of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Reaching the Life You Want, says:<\/div>\n
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“Research shows that anything we can do to divert our attention from ourselves to people or other things is usually productive and makes us happier. Many of life’s problems stem from too much self-focus and self-absorption. We often focus too much on the negatives about ourselves.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Instead of focusing on our inner worlds and troubles, we can activate what some psychologists call the “little self.” Virginia Sturm, who heads the Clinical Emotional Neuroscience lab at the University of California San Francisco, describes it as “a healthy sense of proportion between your own self and the larger picture of the world around you.”<\/div>\n
This easy-to-remember principle is like an emotional Swiss Army Knife. There are a number of different practices that research has shown can stave off mental discomfort. These practices can be especially helpful in the harsh winter months ahead (though they are certainly not a panacea for broader problems such as mass unemployment or a failed national pandemic).<\/div>\n
Practices involve cultivating different states such as social connectedness, a clear purpose. But they all have one thing in common: They allow you to focus on something outside of yourself.<\/div>\n

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A sense of social connectedness<\/h2>\n
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Some of the practices are about cultivating a sense of social connectedness. Some psychological research<\/a> has taught us that this is the key to happiness. This is what Harvard’s Research on Adult Development<\/a> has discovered by tracing the lives of hundreds of people over 80 years, from adolescence to their 90s. The large longitudinal study revealed that those who are happiest are those who have really good relationships with family, friends and the community. Close relationships satisfied long and blissful lives better than money, IQ<\/a>, or fame.<\/div>\n
The psychiatrist, George Vaillant, who led the study from 1972 to 2004, summed it up this way: “The key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, and relationships.”<\/div>\n
Other research has found<\/a> that social connections not only improve our mental health, but also our physical health. It has found evidence that it helps combat everything from memory loss to fatal heart attacks.<\/div>\n
In our pandemic winter, yes maybe we can socialize with a very small audience. But this is not a large and adequate social network. There are other ways to make others feel connected to the wider network. Donating to a charity or volunteering to read a book to a child or older person online is a great option.<\/div>\n
“I’ve been doing a lot of research on kindness, and people have come up who help others feel more connected and happier,” Lyubomirsky said.<\/div>\n
Lyubomirsky’s research<\/a> shows that taking action of any kind can make you happier. But you should choose something that fits your personality. For example, if you don’t like children, reading to them may not be for you. You may also want to change what you are doing. Because once you get used to doing something, you start to underestimate it and you don’t get as much support from it. In contrast, people who change their behavior show an increase in happiness immediately after and up to a month later. So you can call a lonely friend to check in one day, deliver groceries to an elderly neighbor the next, and donate the next day.<\/div>\n

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A Sense of Purpose<\/h2>\n
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Other practices are about developing a sense of purpose<\/a> . Psychologists have discovered that having a clear purpose is one of the most effective ways to cope with isolation.<\/div>\n
Steve Cole, a researcher at the University of California Los Angeles, is working on interventions designed to help people cope with loneliness. He discovered that employees tend to focus on increasing people’s sense of purpose, not reducing loneliness.<\/div>\n