Beating The Winter Blues As You Recover After Surgery

If you are prone to a case of the winter blues, this year will be even harder since you have to recover from your foot or ankle surgery and are stranded on one foot with only crutches to help you get around. It will take some focus and effort to ward off the winter blues, but if you follow these steps, you can do it!

Step 1: Plan Ahead

Whether you want to go to the store, need to visit your physical therapist, or plan a trip for the summer, making plans can help you look ahead. When you have something to look forward to, your current situation doesn’t seem as dire.

Step 2: Think About The Temporary

Remind yourself that your recovery is a temporary situation in your life. You WILL get back up on both feet. Your current condition will pass, and you will be back to your old self by summer. The surgery probably even helped a condition, and perhaps you will be even better off than before. Reminding yourself that your situation is temporary will help you trudge through it.

Step 3: Get Out

It’s harder to get out during the winter months, and there will be times when it is too dangerous for you to even attempt an outing. But on the days that aren’t so bad, it’s important for you to venture out in order to get fresh air (even if it is frigid air!), see a few people, and have a change of scenery. Your outings can be simple like a trip to the mailbox or more complicated like a shopping trip to the mall. Whatever it is, it’ll help your mind frame a great deal.

Step 4: Invite In

Since you will be spending more time at home, it is important that you bring people you care about into your home to brighten your spirits. Call family members and friends you don’t always get to see and invite them over to play cards, have coffee, or just watch a movie with you. You may be surprised at how many people are just as lonely as you are in the winter.

Step 5: Find Projects

You are usually so busy with your grandkid’s sports and activities and other daily life events that you might not get to a few projects that are in the back of your mind. Well, now’s the time! Always wanted to try your hand at building birdhouses. Do it! Want to learn sports stats? Read up on it! The more projects you have, the more occupied your mind will be and the less likely you will be to feel blue about anything at all! Here is a list of 20 fun things to do on crutches.

Step 6: Follow Doctor’s Orders

You will want to take great care to follow the advice your doctor gives you. If you take your medications on time, do your physical therapy exercises, rest, and follow the rest of the orders, you are less likely to see a backslide in your recovery. When you see progress in your healing, you will ward off the winter blues with ease.

Step 7: Laugh

The best thing for any blue-like feeling is a good laugh. Watch a comedy movie or read a funny book. Look at old pictures of yourself in high water pants or find a comic you enjoy on TV. Find ways to make yourself laugh, and the light-hearted feeling will return to your heart.

Letting the winter blues grip you can only harm your recovery and how you feel in general. Use these steps to keep those blues at bay all winter long until you get to the other side of your recovery!