"Wintering"
- rebecca4127
- Oct 14, 2025
- 3 min read
Hello,
Thank you for being here, I hope you’re having a great day.
I’m re-reading a favourite book of mine because it has come knocking on my door.
The power of rest and retreat in difficult times
It’s a beautiful book which I highly recommend.
It happens to all of us at one time or another. Burnout. A need to “winter”.
Maybe we don’t even realise… or maybe we don’t want to realise.
“Everybody winters at one time or another, some winter over and over again.”
It’s different for everyone. For some it’s those headaches which won’t go away. For some it’s weight which won’t shift. For some it’s insomnia or anxiety.
Our bodies will keep giving us signs until we listen.
“It’s inevitable. We like to imagine that it’s possible for life to be one eternal summer, and that we have uniquely failed to achieve that for ourselves.”
“We are not raised to recognise wintering, or to acknowledge its inevitability. Instead, we tend to see it as a humiliation, something that should be hidden from view lest we shock the world too greatly. We put on a brave public face and grieve privately, we pretend not to see other peoples pain. We treat each wintering as an embarrassing anomaly that should be hidden or ignored.”
I’m usually the person to inform my clients they are in burnout and could do with “wintering”.
Do you know where women learn their beliefs on rest and slowing down? Usually from our mothers or other women. It’s “lazy”, “unproductive”, “can’t be done”. Is it?
I’ll be honest. I’m “wintering”.
Life has been a lot over the last few years.
I’m reading, deep cleaning the house, saying no to most things, going to 1 pilates class per week, cooking food in the slow cooker, walking my dogs and not a whole lot else outside of work.
This is not the time for a new project. Nor a house move. Nor a new committee (even though I’m sure those things would be great!)
It’s a time to slow. To rest. To winter.
What if as woman to woman we encouraged each other to rest, to slow down, to say no.
If your periods are all over the place.
If your bloated and don’t know why.
If your wired but tired.
Exhausted but cannot slow down.
Anxious and low mood.
Skin breakouts.
This is probably for you.
Acknowledge the situation.
Stop comparing yourself to others, if you’re exhausted and your body is screaming at you… listen.
This is the type of situation I help my clients with all the time.
Ask yourself some questions - note them down or chat with a trusted friend:
What do I need?
What do I need to let go of?
Is my life serving me and my health?
Some things which help me are…
Meal planning
Booking a food delivery slot - I don’t need to be walking around a busy supermarket with no idea what to buy (I like a Friday AM slot)
Go to bed at 9pm and read
Eat protein through the day - it will help regulate your blood sugar and energy
Drink more water to help your brain function
You don’t need a basket of supplements.
You don’t need to go to the gym more.
You don’t need to buy an expensive juice cleanse.
You need to slow down.
Taken from October 2025 journal
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