Alright, you know what time it is. It’s getting cold, dark, grim, nasty, ugly, wet, horrible, and all together just not great, BUT that does not mean this upcoming Winter will be as bad as we think. Even though Covid-19 and Oregon weather impose pretty scary thoughts, the Beaver’s Digest Magazine has got your back with ways to survive the winter and the virus. 

Now, everyone has their own way of dealing with these stressful times. The possibilities are really quite endless regarding everybody’s different preferences. However, I think we can all agree that keeping our mental health in the utmost best condition is critical. Covid-19 is a very  stressful topic, but it is possible to keep a healthy mind-set nonetheless.

As the weather gets colder and less inviting, our mental health can start to dwindle. In order to combat the sluggishness of winter, try some of these fun indoor activities:

• Baking

• Cooking

• Reading your favorite books

• Watching the best seasonal movies

• Seasonal outdoor activities

• Meditation

Baking and cooking new kinds of foods can be an extremely fun and yummy experience. Throughout the quarantine, hundreds of thousands of new cooks and bakers have started this meditative practice. Food in itself is a language for the heart. Remember that scene from Ratatouille? When the super tall, vampire looking guy ate the ratatouille and was transported back to his childhood? Yeah, that’s the power of food, 

Also, it’s the time of the year when seasonal foods are an absolute necessity. We got big players like Thanksgiving and Christmas ahead of us, so you know cooking and or baking is an absolute must! If anyone of you are interested here is a link for an amazing Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake recipe:

Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake

Books and movies can also be another form of mental fortitude. Get lost in another world, far from our own, or imagine yourself alongside your favorite character from a movie. The art of literature and cinema have the potential to transport you into another realm, a perfect escape from our own nasty plague-ridden landscape. It’s also getting to the point of the year where the seasonal movie grind is getting real. Halloween movies and Christmas movies (maybe Thanksgiving movies?) are absolute bops, so do not miss out on these opportunities.

There’s “Elf,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” literally any “Peanuts” movie, and so much more to choose from. If you need any ideas, Beaver’s Digest has an article listing some of the best seasonal movies.

As the snow seems to be moving in, many students are eager to pick up their skis, tubes, or snowshoes to get out in that magical white crystalline utopia; however, we have to deal with Covid-19 now, so be wary. Getting out to enjoy your favorite outdoor Winter activity is an awesome way to keep your mental health in check. The last thing we would want though is to have everything packed up, get energy moving, and get up to the ski resort just to find out that it is closed. In order to keep disappointment out of our lives, use the internet to your advantage. Make sure your favorite outdoor location is open, and if it is, don’t forget to put chains on your car!

If you aren’t into anything that is listed up above and are worried about your mental health, there are more options. Meditation is a way to keep your thoughts from bouncing all over your cranium and calms you down so you can enjoy yourself. Now, I know that for some people meditation is not the ideal way of relaxing, but it’s always worth a shot. Three apps that offer awesome meditation practices are Headspace, Calm and Insight Timer. Just log into any one of those apps to see if it’ll work for you. And another thing, meditation does not look the same for everyone. You don’t have to sit down and close your eyes for 10 minutes if you don’t want to. Just do the things that get you in a flow and depart you from your everyday problems.

Now, I know that this period of time is not ideal for all of us. There are some really hard things affecting everyone in the country, but that should not stop us from recognizing what opportunities lay ahead of us. Look outside, isn’t it awesome. Oregon is one of the best places on Earth, and we should all find some thanks in being able to live in such a gnarly place. Keep your head’s up OSU, it’ll all be fine.