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Get Through the Coming Long, Dark Winter Using This Scandinavian Trick
Scientists across the world are racing to learn more about the new Omicron variant, but whatever they eventually discover about its exact transmissibility and virulence, one thing is for sure: we’re in for another long, dark, pandemic shadowed winter.
How can you survive your second Covid winter with your sanity intact? One way might be to talk to a Scandinavian.
Is it possible to actually look forward to winter?
Despite the darkness in parts of Norway, Sweden, and neighboring countries during the winter months, Scandinavians experience much lower rates of seasonal depression than people from other nations. I’ve written about this phenomenon before, but a recent New York Times article by a psychologist who studies how people cope with Arctic living reminded me that this Northern wisdom might be more necessary than ever this year.
In the article, Kari Leibowitz explains that the difference between mopey Americans and cheery Scandinavians isn’t genetics — it’s outlook. (Though I’m betting the strong social safety net helps the local mood as well.)
Scandinavians “tend to have a ‘positive wintertime mind-set,’” she writes. “People there see the winter as a special time of year full of…
