From Linda Priestley, Editor-in-Chief
One warm and beautiful October morning, David looks out his bedroom window and sees the first car shelter going up in his Montreal neighbourhood. A panic as vast as the Canadian Arctic makes his blood run cold: winter is coming. David has experienced seasonal affective disorder for years and dreads the endless torment of waiting for spring. He worries that his light-therapy lamp won’t be enough to lift his spirits. His only comfort is the perspective provided by his grandson Joaquin: “But Grandpa, a car shelter protects our cars from snow, just like the quinzhees we make to shelter us overnight when we’re at our winter Scout camps.”
But if car shelters and quinzhees (hollowed-out snow piles) are our allies in the face of bad weather, what tools do we have for dealing with depression or hopelessness? For some people, guarding against dark thoughts is much more of a challenge as they get older. This question has been studied for a long time. There are solutions, but they don’t all work for everyone. And professional support isn’t always available.
However, there is a human quality that is more and more often cited as a formidable weapon for improving mood and promoting longevity: mental resilience. Is it effective? For American researchers who, as part of a broad study, followed 10,569 adults aged 50 and up for around 12 years or until their death, the answer is yes. The study’s results showed that participants who bounced back best following tough times were more likely to add years to their lives—they had a 53 per cent lower chance of dying during the next 10 years.
Besides the ability to stay calm and manage stress, other factors can enhance the protective effects of resilience, such as finding meaning in life, experiencing positive emotions, and having adequate social support.
Keeping your spirits up in your homemade igloo also means taking delight in any steps forward—in all areas. For Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist and author revered for his defence of human progress (or criticized for his rose-coloured glasses), it depends on your point of view. He emphasized in an interview he gave us that even though gradual improvements, such as an increase in life expectancy or a drop in world poverty, don’t make newspaper headlines, “these small changes, when they build up over time, have profound impacts.”
David knows all too well that his anxiety won’t simply melt away like snow in the sun. But he has Joaquin, a small ray of sunshine and resilience personified, to provide him with perspective, a little optimism, and the energy to carry on.
For this holiday-themed issue, the Good Times team wishes you resilience and rose-coloured glasses in Winterland. And you can count on us to share with you all the good news that 2025 will bring!
