Winter is Coming: A Survival Guide

Lachlan Ewing (he/him)

The leaves redden. Mould creeps across your flat’s ceiling, and daylight hours retreat. Sandals have been replaced by battle-hardened Doc Martens. Clomp, clomp, they march up Kelburn Parade. The standard-issue uniform of an army ready to knuckle down into a gruelling campaign. This is not the socialist revolution many Doc owners envisioned deploying their boots for. They enter a battle against the forces of Tāwhirimātea, who is once again rallying his legions of rain, hail, squall, and gail to purge us children of Tāne Māhuta from the land we walk upon. On the back of gulls blown high above the grey city, winter is coming. Between the lines of extortionate power bills that hit your flat dynamic like a southerly gust, winter is coming. In the beads of sweat that roll down your forehead when you hike up Mount Street in four layers, winter is coming.

I’ve lived here four years, winter is coming, and I am still quite scared. It is very understandable if you are too. But fear not! Here is the ultimate students’ winter survival guide:

Mental Wellbeing

Dr Dougal Sutherland, from Vic’s School of Psychology, explained that people often feel a drop in their wellbeing during winter. He thinks this is probably due to a combination of bad weather, being stuck inside more, less opportunities to socialise or do things we usually enjoy, a long period without any public holidays (Queen’s Birthday on 7th June through to Labour Day on 25th October), and less exposure to daylight.

Some people even suffer quite severe levels of depression from the onset of winter to the coming of spring. When this pattern occurs regularly, it is considered Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Dr Sutherland explained that SAD is “...essentially a type of depression that is linked to less exposure to daylight. It’s still pretty rare though, with estimates being that it affects about 5% of people.” “Treatment for SAD can involve light therapy, (filtered so it doesn’t give out UV rays).” This involves exposure to a box which emits very strong bright light. But Dr Sutherland advises there is plenty more you can do in your own life to help beat those winter blues.

“Keep exercising—don’t hibernate too much—as we know exercise helps prevent low mood.” Crush the hill on the way to campus. 

“Keep socialising. Make sure you keep up with your friends and whānau and social contact can help keep our spirits up.” Resist the temptation to binge watch The Crown. 

“Try and get outside as often as you can—you might have to adjust your schedule to make sure you get some exposure to daylight to get the maximum benefit from being outside, so maybe consider going out at lunchtime or the middle of the day rather than early morning or in the evening.” 

“Embrace it! See if you can learn from the Danish concept of hygge (cosiness) which focuses on creating warm snuggly environments with other people. See if you can find some new activities or hobbies that lend themselves to being done during winter, making sure that they incorporate others as much as possible.” Resist the temptation to binge watch The Crown—alone. 

Physical Wellbeing

Of course, it’s a lot harder to be in a good mood when your body is feeling shit. Especially since this can get in the way of all that important exercising and socialising. A blessing of this last turbulent year is that we have all learnt how to wash our hands, and cover coughs and sneezes. As well as the regular COVID rigmarole, I have collated some top tips to ward off winter colds and flus:

Eat a raw clove of garlic every morning. I first heard this tip from a Massey student, who heard it from their grandmother. But surprisingly, there seems to be some science behind it. Garlic contains allicin, which is apparently pretty good for the immune system. One study even found that people taking a garlic supplement had a 63% lower risk of catching a cold, and recovered from their colds 70% quicker. Interestingly, participants were not required to take their garlic in whole, raw form. Maybe the raw element is to render your breath rank, and you therefore unkissable...?

Don’t kiss strangers. You wouldn’t lip any old water bottle in the library. Why would you lip any old person in Siglo? Turn that bump and grind into a date the next week first. If they’re worth it, they’ll wait. Assess their hygiene habits. Monitor for sneezing, coughing, sniffling etc… You can never be too safe out there.

Drink water!!! If you are living in a city with abundant free water in 2021, and are still dehydrated, get with the programme. People who start the day with a glass of water and then just have a coffee or two to get yourselves through, how the fuck are you functioning? H2O is just as important in winter, even if we may not feel as thirsty. Your body is soaking it up, burning energy to keep you warm and fight off diseases. Get eight glasses, or nearly three 750ml pump bottles, down a day. Don’t lie and say it makes you feel full. You can drink 12 beers in a sitting. You’ve got this champ.

Keep warm!!! But keep warm in style...

Keeping warm, looking cool

Photo:  Adam Driver and Lady Gaga in warm clothes for a Gucci ad.

Nina Weir—BA LLB WAP—Independent Fashion Intelligence Consultant, had plenty of advice for the coming season’s fashions. If you are braving Courtenay Place on a midwinter’s night, consider knee-high boots, fluffy hats (recently spotted atop both Rihanna and Gaga’s mugs), and long sleeve mesh to add layers of warmth while still looking fly. Cold walking between the clubs, but too hot inside? Rock a cardi, windbreaker, or something easily compactable, and scrunch it up into your purse!

Wellington can get wet, so consider leather jackets and boots, which will keep the rain out if you invest in leather care and look after them. To keep your feet extra safe on those days the footpaths turn to rivers, rock platform boots. Both the 70s and 2000s are in right now apparently, and some chonky soles will help you tap into both. Nina also predicts corsets to be trending this winter, which provide an exciting layering option. If you, like me, are a large and conspicuously heterosexual male that all of this fashion lark is a bit new to, don’t worry. Swandris are still in, and always have been. Otherwise, you will be pretty safe following Adam Driver’s lead. 

Fun stuff

Winter shouldn’t just be about surviving. There is plenty of living to be done in the cold months. 

Wishing you could go back to New Years? There’s one in winter too! In te ao Māori, Matariki is the celebration of the New Year. The new year officially begins on the night of the first new moon since the rising of the Matariki constellation, which will fall on June 10 this year. Each year the celebrations have grown in Wellington, and expect plenty of awesome events in 2021. In the meantime, don’t let Matariki sneak up on you by surprise. You can begin to follow the Māori lunar calendar, the maramataka. There are heaps of awesome resources online, and observing the cycles of nature may even help to ward off those seasonal blues. 

Seals. On those rare days it is not raining and/or the wind isn’t howling, go visit the seals out at Red Rocks. There’s a lot less of them around in summer, as the colony out there is a non-breeding one, so they all go and have a summer fling elsewhere. But in winter, up to 300 seals call these rocks just a short walk from Owhiro Bay their home. Cuteness wrapped up in a waterproof coat, it confounds me why ex-All Black Andrew Hore would want to shoot one. It confounds me further that he was convicted and continued to play for the All Blacks for another eight years. But that is another issue for another issue.

Photo:  Fur seal hanging out at Red Rocks

Conclusion

We do not need to be afraid of the coming winter, but should look to embrace it. Stay cosy, stay fly, look after your mind, body, and soul. As well as surviving, you might even end up thriving if you get amongst some of what our region has to offer. 

Winter is coming, crush it. 

Disclaimer: Dr Dougal Sutherland is the only person in this feature that is in anyway qualified to give any sort of advice. This is a list of suggestions, and not exhaustive. No amount of mouthwash can overcome raw garlic, you will become a social pariah. Be careful not to wear your corset too tight.