lystn

Winter is hard. It's long. It's dark and cold. I mean, at least where I live. Winter can be difficult as a homesteader, especially if you are north. There's no dirt. There's no grass. Everything is frozen. Nothing's growing. And if you have animals, you're shoveling show or chipping ice to get to them. Like I said, winter is hard. (Don’t want to read all the words? This blog post is also a podcast—just press the triangle play button on the little black bar at the top of this post!) This is the stuff that people don't talk about. We talk about how to deal with winter for our animals, but we rarely talk about the reality of winter for the actual homesteader—at least not how it relates to mental health. I’m not saying this isn’t an issue other times of the year. Mental health is always important, and there are many stressors on a homestead that can make mental health an issue year round. And yes, mental health is an issue across the board, not just for homesteaders.  But today we’re talking about the reality of winter, and the special situations we can find ourselves in as homesteaders. Why winter is especially hard: three reasons 1. If you're having a hard time in the winter, you will often be told you just need some sun. Clearly the short, dark days affect us physically, and Seasonal Affective Disorder is a valid thing. And sometimes sun and Vitamin D are the answer. But I often think there are deeper issues about winter on the homestead that people fail to make a connection about. For instance: 2. Many people say winter is the time to take a break. The earth is taking a rest and it’s what we should do, too. The problem is that sometimes taking a rest and not having enough to do is bad. Staying busy keeps you out of trouble. Trouble doesn’t always refer to jail. Sometimes trouble refers to places in your head that you shouldn't be spending time in. The "break" of winter gives you time to sit—and think—and spend time with mental demons that you're able to keep at bay in the much busier spring, summer, and fall of homestead life. 3. Related, sometimes the “rest” of winter gives us enough pause to bring issues to the surface that need to be dealt with. Financial situations. Relationship issues. Commitments we’ve said yes to that we need to let go. Parenting drama. And it’s good to deal with issues. But in the quiet and dark and cold of winter, sometimes those issues can feel suffocating and overwhelming. Sometimes the homestead is the place that saves you. There is life. There is nature. There are miracles everyday. In winter, you have to look harder to find those things. Some people welcome the quiet and peace and break of winter, but if you're not in the right brain space, it's not quiet or peaceful and it's not a break—at all.  I bring this up because: I really struggled this past winter. At a low point, I brought it up on my farm page on Facebook. And although I didn't give voice to how deep in a hole I was, I did receive many comments and messages. Because of all the resulting conversations and the different ways people approached my post, I decided I would make a blog post/podcast/video about the topic. I don't think we talk about it as much as we need to. When the winter is hard, it's so common for people to say you just need sun or that things will be better when you can see the green grass. But I think for many people it's deeper than that—especially homesteaders who are used to being so busy—and a lot of my Facebook messages and emails tapped into that. We had some great, honest conversations.  Why it’s hard to talk about what to do when you're struggling: In all honesty, different things work for different people. And regardless of what will help you, you have to be in the right frame of mind to hear it. So while someone can suggest all the things that will actually help, if you're not ready to hear it or are too far into a pit to listen, it doesn't matter. Even so,