The cherry glow of an open fire is not just about heat; the colours also serve to cheer and brighten our mood.
As winter days get shorter, some people start to suffer from SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, but all of us are affected to some extent by a milder form of this serious depressive disorder – the winter blues.
Unfortunately for us, the feeling of being less energetic, less enthusiastic and less effective in winter becomes more prevalent the further south, or north, you live; more people will suffer from it in Hobart than in Darwin.
Some animals slow down their metabolic rate and go into hibernation for winter. Left to their own devices, people will also go to bed earlier and wake up later in winter than in summer, but most of us cannot sleep and wake to the beat of these natural rhythms and must try to perform at the same level in winter as in summer.
Those seriously imobilised by winter blues should seek medical help and light therapy – the use of high-lux light boxes and globes, but all of us can lift our mood with some colour therapy.
Just creating more light – by clipping back the trees or hedges crowding our windows, keeping the curtains back, putting in more lamps, turning lights on before dusk falls, replacing dark background colours with light-reflecting colours – helps keep gloominess at bay.
You can also lift the mood by introducing “fire†colours of red, orange and yellow into your surroundings. Gerberas come in a range of intense flame colours. When flowers are in short supply, create splashes of colour with substitutes such as an arrangement of colourful gourds or small pumpkins, pomegranates, persimmons or citrus fruits to lift mood.
Heat, whether from the glow of a wood fire or even a visually impoverished electric blanket or heatpump, also helps to lift spirits. So hot food, especially if it incorporates the hot colours of red capsicums and chillies, tomatoes or pumpkin, will help lighten our darker months.
In this edition of Provisions we look at chillies as a way of keeping warm – internally and psychologically.
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