[GradPhase]

Vitamin D supplements are really, really, important. As is adequate exercise to get those endorphines going - some studies now suggest that six months of adequate exercise is as effective as six months on anti-depressants. Be sure to stay very hydrated through the winter - give your body that extra help. Going outside is very good, for that vitamin D and fresh oxygen - but it is even better if you can find something you ENJOY doing outside in winter to work *with it* instead of against it. Maybe take up winter photography? Bundle up up up (don't wear denim unless you have long pants under them etcetera) grab a nice mug of tea and get out there. I find it also helps to have some hobbies that you like, that you ONLY do in winter - I knit.

Also - if you had a super super young person help diagnose you, it means you have the latest and greatest studies and statistics on your side!

ETA: It's also pretty well known that Alaska consumes more ice cream than any other place in the US, because when it's cold, we want cream, and fat, and sweet! We want to pack on that blubber and hibernate - so yes, it's very very good to find foods that don't fight against that extremely strong survival-instinct to pack in the calories, but to work with it in a modified way that won't make you grow out of your entire wardrobe just in time for the sun to come out!