Mental Training For Preventing Winter Depression - ASMR

Are you located in the Northern hemisphere, and do you suffer from winter depression? Or do you just, in general, dread the winter season and struggle to go through it? Then, listen to this Mental Training session which I have made especially for you now that the winter season is approaching.

DISCLAIMER: This session can’t replace any medication or professional treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have any health or mental conditions.

Transcript

Welcome to Your Way Mental Training.

In today's session,

We will focus on shifting your mindset and beliefs about the winter time and for you to start looking forward to the winter season.

Making this year the year where you will experience winter happiness.

Now you are welcome to sit back and relax or lie down in a comfortable position.

Just make sure that you are as cozy and comfortable as possible.

Perhaps you need to get a blanket or put on some warm socks so that you don't get cold.

And when you are ready or cozy and comfortable,

Please close your eyes and we will begin to today's session in a few moments.

Good.

Let's begin by becoming aware of your breathing.

Take a deep breath in,

Inhaling through your nose,

Hold it and now exhale through your mouth.

One more time,

Take a deep breath in,

Hold it,

Hold it and now exhale.

Very good.

So every time you exhale,

Notice how you become more and more relaxed in your body and how tension slowly is released inch by inch.

Now I would like you to direct your attention to the top of your head.

Relax and soften the crown.

Just release all the tension in the crown and let this feeling of relaxation flow down your face,

Opening and softening the face.

And bring your awareness to your forehead.

Feel how all the tiny muscles in your forehead are starting to loosen up.

And as the muscles are loosening up,

It might almost feel as if your forehead is smoothing out.

Making the tension in your forehead disappear completely.

Notice how your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.

Even though you could easily open your eyes,

You want them to remain closed.

And the fact that you want to keep them closed makes you drift deeper and deeper into a state of complete relaxation and decompression.

Now go ahead and relax your cheeks,

Allow them to become heavy.

And as you allow the cheeks to become heavy,

Let your jaw become heavy too.

Release all tension and tightness in your jaw.

Now that your jaw is loosening up,

Notice how the muscles in your throat and neck loosen up too.

And just feel how the relaxation automatically continues to your shoulders.

Keeping your shoulders all heavy and relaxed.

Just let them hang loose,

Heavy and relaxed.

And let this pleasant feeling of relaxation and decompression flow down through the upper arms and continuing through your forearms and all the way down to your wrists,

Hands and fingers.

Simply relax the muscles and joints in your fingers.

Now bring your attention to your back.

Let the relaxation slide down the back,

Imagining that a warm wave of relaxation wash over your upper and lower back,

Loosening up the back,

Releasing tension and any stiffness that you might be experiencing,

Bringing you into a deeper and deeper state of complete relaxation and decompression.

Now focus on your chest,

Take a deep breath,

Expand your chest and now breathe out.

And as you breathe out,

Release the heaviness and resistance that you might have accumulated in your chest without fully noticing it.

Just let it all out and notice the calm in you.

Very good.

Now moving down to the abdomen,

Take another deep breath into your belly and breathe out.

Let your belly become all soft and relaxed.

Soft and relaxed.

Now let's move down to the hips and pelvic area.

Have your hips and pelvic area some attention,

Allow the area to loosen up and release any tension that you might have built up here.

Just let it go and relax completely.

Very good.

And let this pleasant sensation of relaxation flow down to your thighs.

Notice how your thighs are getting super heavy against the surface below you.

You are heavy and relaxed now,

So heavy and relaxed.

Heavier and heavier.

Now I would like you to focus on your knees,

Relax the muscles in your knees,

Just release any tension and let the relaxation flow through the rest of your legs and down to your feet and toes.

Relax your feet and toes completely.

Just feel the weight of your body as it melts deeper and deeper and deeper into the surface below you.

You are safe,

You are taken care of.

Everything is exactly as it should be.

Just allow yourself to go deeper and deeper and deeper at your own pace.

And as you're sitting or lying here,

Feel how it is almost as if the heavy weight of the body is replaced by a lightness.

Perhaps it almost feels like you're flying or drifting away.

Allow yourself to surrender and just drift into a state of complete blissfulness and relaxation as you continue to listen to my guidance.

And as you are drifting,

Drifting,

See yourself slowly descend into a soft,

Comfortable state that envelops you.

You are safe,

You are taken care of.

Allow yourself to descend deeper and deeper and deeper into the soft and comfortable debate.

And as you are sitting or lying here,

Feel how it is almost as if the heavy weight of the body is replaced by a lightness.

And while you are lying here,

All safe,

Cozy and comfortable,

I will ask you to find your mental training space.

A place where it is nice to be.

A positive space.

A cozy space.

Perhaps your favorite place.

Perhaps a place in your imagination.

Perhaps a non-place.

Let it bubble up from your subconscious mind.

Let it come to you.

Just let it come to you.

A positive and cozy space.

Wherever you are,

This is the right place for you to be today.

And now that you are present in your mental training space,

I'm going to provide you with a guided visualization and some positive suggestions that will help you shift your mindset and beliefs about winter time and for you to start looking forward to the coldness and darkness,

Making winter your special time.

Every season has its charm and so does winter time.

Winter time is a season that calls for coziness,

Warmth and calmness.

For close relationships,

Connectedness and deep conversations.

For reflection and new beginnings.

Now that we have entered the winter season,

I want you to start noticing all the good things that winter has to offer.

With winter comes a time in which you can do the things you did not have time for during summer.

Now is the time for you to immerse yourself in activities that you really enjoy doing while being indoors.

Winter time is an opportunity to stay inside and cozy up in your favorite comfy outfit.

Read an interesting book,

Watch your favorite movie or TV show or play a board game with the people that make you happy.

With winter time comes the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends.

People whom you care about and who care about you.

People who make you happy.

Winter time is a chance for you to have deeper conversations with the ones you care for as the darkness and coziness calls for a more intimate conversation.

See yourself surrounded by people you care about,

Feeling connected.

Winter time gives you the opportunity to spend some time with yourself,

To really ground yourself and find your inner balance,

To nourish and connect with yourself and figure out what's really important to you.

If you have lost your sense of direction,

Now is the time to get back on track and live a life in alignment with your values and what really makes you happy.

Winter time is also a time for reflection and new beginnings.

A chance for you to look back on the year that soon will be over and reflect upon the areas of your life that you find important.

Winter time is a chance for you to set goals for the new year and to start the first months of the new year with newfound energy,

Motivation and momentum.

And now with the power of your imagination,

I would like you to imagine that you are going for a walk outside during winter time.

It is late afternoon and the darkness is slowly starting to approach.

If you have a dog,

Feel free to let it come along and keep you company.

See yourself walking down the street or wherever it is that you are going for a walk today.

See how you are completely wrapped up in your winter outfit,

Feeling warm and cozy and notice how the coldness feels refreshing on your face.

Listen to the sound of your footsteps and if it is snowing,

Enjoy the crackling sound beneath you with every step you take.

There is something special about going for a walk this time of the year,

There is a different kind of silence and calmness which brings you a sense of deep inner peace.

Feel how you are connecting more closely with yourself,

That your heart is beating safely and calmly,

That you are breathing calmly all the way to your belly,

That you are feeling more grounded.

Notice how you are filled with renewed energy and optimistic thoughts.

And I will give you some time to continue your walk and just be here in this present moment where you are right now,

Embracing the winter and the opportunities that it brings you.

Join me for one more KH you oh See yourself starting to head home And notice how the evening has begun to approach It is getting darker Notice the cozy lights from the houses or apartments that you're passing by on your way home Making You feel warm and connected And notice how you look forward to getting home and feeling the heat again As you enter the door to your home and take off your jacket and shoes Notice how your red cheeks start to burn a little bit as the cold meets the heat How great it feels to come home after a refreshing walk outside Notice how good you're feeling about yourself Now it is time for some well-deserved relaxation and decompression See yourself heading straight to your couch or chair that you like to chill in And make yourself cozy and comfortable As you sit here chilling on the couch or your favorite chair Perhaps all covered up with a warm blanket Enjoying a warm cup of tea coffee or hot chocolate It has started to rain or perhaps even snow outside Notice the raindrops or snowflakes on your window Listen to the sound of the rain pouring or the snow falling And just notice how there is something so calm and beautiful about sitting inside and looking outside Watching the rain or snow and just letting the darkness envelop you Notice how nice and cozy it feels to be wrapped in darkness It is almost as if the darkness makes you feel safe and cared for as you are sitting here being yourself in this present moment It is almost as if the darkness creates a space that is only yours and it is a good and safe place to be As you are sitting here in this safe space surrounded by darkness that is taking care of you I want you to spend a little bit of time thinking about what it is that you like about the winter season and what brings you joy around this time of the year and I will give you a bit of time to reflect on that and shortly I will return to you and continue the guiding Good,

Perhaps you found it easy to come up with something Perhaps you were just being here in this present moment enjoying the calmness and coziness surrounding you and that is perfectly fine too But from now on you will notice that it will become easier and easier for you to notice the good things that winter has to offer You will value the charm of the winter and the opportunities and magical moments that it brings And for each day that passes you will find yourself looking forward to the winter season and everything that is related to the season And it will just happen completely automatically without you having to do anything for it to happen You will find yourself embracing the cold and darkness with a newfound happiness and anticipation as it calls for safety,

Warmth and coziness and an opportunity for you to connect with yourself as well as the people who make you happy You will find joy in the light as well as the darkness And you will notice that you will begin to look forward to that time in the afternoon or evening when the darkness slowly approaches because you will know that it calls for you to slow down and cozy up And when you wake up in the morning and it is dark outside you will notice that you will be able to find peace and joy in the silence and darkness and give yourself an opportunity to spend a mindful morning drinking your coffee or tea while watching the sun rising And when the sun is up you will find that you will prioritize time during the day to go outside and get your daily dose of sunlight boosting your energy level and motivation And you will notice that it will happen completely automatically and without any effort Going outside to get your daily dose of sunlight will just happen effortlessly and automatically Whereas you previously might have dreaded the winter season with its cold and darkness you will now find that you can embrace the winter with joy and the anticipation of all the good things that are going to happen And each time you think of winter and the cold and darkness that follows you will discover that a deep sense of inner peace and calmness will flow through you as you know that the winter time is a great opportunity for you to nourish yourself cultivate your introverted side and connect more deeply with yourself and the ones that you care about Now that you are much more aware of all the good things that winter has to offer you will notice that you will start appreciating the dark and see it as a safe space And when you spend time with the people whom you care about and who care about you,

You will find yourself feeling connected and full of joy and happiness and it will just happen completely automatically and all by itself without you having to do anything for it to happen And just notice right now that you are looking forward to the darkness and the coldness and the opportunities that the winter season brings It is almost as if your perspective has shifted and you are finally seeing the value of the winter time And I will give you a moment to just be where you are right now,

Basking in a deep sense of inner peace as well as joy and excitement for the winter to come and shortly I will return to you and we will travel back to a conscious state together In a moment I am going to count from 1 to 3 in the middle and when I say 3 and not before,

You can open your eyes and you are back in the room full of joy and energy looking forward to the winter season If you are listening to this session to drift off into a deep sleep,

You can also choose to do that as I say 3 and wake up tomorrow after a good night's sleep Feeling joyful and full of energy looking forward to the winter season 1.

Notice how you are getting heavier in your body and how you are gradually coming back to the room again 2.

You can start to move your fingers,

Your shoulders,

Your legs,

Your feet and 3.

You can open your eyes,

You are back in the room full of joy and energy looking forward to the winter season 4.

Or you can fall back into a deep,

Deep sleep,

Waking up tomorrow feeling rejuvenated,

Joyful and full of energy looking forward to the winter season 5.

Notice how you are getting heavier in your body and how you are gradually coming back to the room