Are You S.A.D?

The Three Most Supportive Things You Can Do to Protect Your Mood and Nervous System During Winter.

“Light to a tree is food, to a star is honour, to a sage is truth, and to a universe is life.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

Dear Friend,

Thank you so much for the outpouring of sympathy expressed in your beautiful emails in response to last week’s Newsletter about the passing of our dog, Rosie. I’m really sorry I couldn’t reply to each of you individually, but please know how deeply moved I am by your kindness. It meant so much to feel your support and to hear your own stories of pets you have loved and lost.

As Ciaran said to me recently, and as so many of you echoed, there is a place pets hold in our hearts that never dies.

If you are reading this on the northern side of the equator, you are like me, right in the thick of winter; this is the season that asks most from us on an emotional and mental health level. I was chatting to someone last week who told me that her husband is “a different man in the summer.” She said the short days and lack of light really affect his mental health.

He is absolutely not alone.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D., is now well-recognised condition and research is showing us more and more clearly is that this is not simply something ‘in your head.’

Light is one of the primary regulators of your circadian clock, the internal timing system that governs sleep, hormones, energy, appetite, and mood.

When light hits the eyes in the morning, it sends a powerful signal to the brain to suppress melatonin (the sleep hormone) and to regulate serotonin and dopamine, chemicals deeply linked with motivation, mood, and emotional resilience.

When daylight is reduced, especially in the dark mornings, that clock can drift. Melatonin can linger too long, serotonin activity can drop, sleep becomes more disrupted, and emotionally we can feel flatter, heavier, more anxious, or more hopeless. Even those who never meet the criteria to be actually diagnosed with S.A.D. are often affected on a subtler level.

I definitely have to dig a little deeper in winter to keep myself mentally and emotionally well.

This is where my word for the year, gratitude, has already helped me more times than I can count. Gratitude cuts through the brain’s natural negativity bias faster than almost anything I know. It doesn’t deny pain, but it stops the mind from letting it build a permanent home there.

On Saturday morning, Ciaran and I drove to Bellinter House (where we’ll be hosting our Better Together retreat in March) to film some promotional material in the spa area. We left in complete darkness, that familiar ‘inhuman hour’ feeling you get heading to an early flight. But as we arrived, the light started to seep through the freezing fog. Although it was bitterly cold we had such fun filming, laughing and enjoying the beautiful sauna and outdoor heated infinity pool. I am so grateful to the staff there who went above and beyond to look after us. Afterwards, we drove to the beautiful and spiritual Hill of Tara. The ground was edged with ice, the sky was wide and bright, and the light was genuinely magnificent.

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The Positive Habit is a 6-week program that guides you through adopting a positive mindset. The course has helped thousands of people of all ages and from all walks of life feel empowered to reach their full potential; to find the positive in every situation, even stressful and challenging ones; to use practical techniques to deal with stress and negative thinking and to enjoy peaceful and harmonious relationships with those they love.

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Bring Fiona to Your Company
My 2026 calendar is filling up with in-person and online training and talks. I continue to work with forward-thinking organisations, helping teams thrive through emotional wellbeing, mindset training, and stress reduction. If you’d like to explore the idea of having me give a keynote or corporate workshop, you can find out more here. I currently have availability for International Women’s Day on Friday, 9th March.

Join Fiona and Ciaran for January’s Wind Down: Sleep Well – The Stillness of Winter, a meditative and nourishing soundbath designed to help you rest, reset, and reconnect. Winter invites us to turn inward—to linger in silence, to listen beneath the surface. This is a serene sanctuary where sound and stillness meet. You’ll be immersed in calming tones from singing bowls, chimes, and atmospheric instruments that invite you to release what you’ve been carrying and make room for renewal, ease, and quiet magic. support. This experience is perfect for anyone seeking deep relaxation, nervous-system ease, spacious reflection, restoration, clarity, or simply a peaceful pause.

If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – playback and audio streaming will available until February 2nd to help you unwind before bed.

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It was such a simple but powerful reminder of how deeply light nourishes us, not just physically, but emotionally.

So here are three of the most supportive things you can do to protect your mood and nervous system during winter, on both a practical and emotional level:

1. Make light non-negotiable.
Whenever there is daylight, especially in the morning, try to get outside. Even ten minutes helps. Don’t wait for the ‘proper walk’ later on if you can step out now. The circadian clock responds best to early light, and the earlier and longer the exposure, the stronger the benefit for mood, sleep, and energy. Sit near windows, open blinds fully, and if winter is particularly hard for you, consider a good-quality light therapy lamp. Light is not a luxury. It is biological medicine.

2. Support your body biochemically.
A good quality, high-strength vitamin D supplement is very advisable in winter. Vitamin D receptors are widespread in the brain and nervous system, and low levels are strongly associated with low mood, fatigue, and reduced immune resilience. If ever in doubt, speak with your GP about testing levels, but in Ireland, supplementation through winter is one of the simplest things you can do to boost your mood and energy.

3. Use gratitude as emotional hygiene.
Choosing ‘gratitude’ as my intention (and word) for the year is, as I said, really working for me so far. As soon as I notice my mind spiralling, comparing, complaining - or ‘puffling’ as I call it, I gently return to my intention. Make it something real. Something alive. Something true. Something specific. This does not mean bypassing grief or difficult emotions, it means we don’t let them harden into a permanent state. Gratitude interrupts the downward pull and lifts you each time you fall.

In case you didn’t get January’s free sleep time audio last week here it is again. If you are in a position to donate, please know that your support is always deeply appreciated. Sharing the newsletter is another beautiful way to help this community grow and to reach those who may need this work right now.

Winter asks more of us. Less light, more stillness, more vulnerability. But with the right support, it can also become a season of deep restoration.

Keep your emails coming, I love to receive them and read each one. Thank you.

Have a great week, and I look forward to sharing more next Monday.

Love,

Fiona xxx