A winter mindset and coping in cold, dark and difficult times

Health psychologist Kari Leibowitz grew up on the Jersey Shore, a popular summertime playground, and did not look forward to the dark winter months. I’m sure many of you are counting the days until spring!

Fast forward to 2014 when she spent a year in Tromsø, Norway, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It’s not just cold and snowy. Between November and January the sun never rises above the horizon.

Leibowitz wanted to see what the residents did during that dark time of year and what that revealed about mindset: how our assumptions and expectations influence our moods and attitudes. She expected to see high rates of Seasonal Affective Disorder and found the opposite.

Kari Leibowitz joins us to discuss her new book, How to Winter, about how embracing a positive mindset can improve our health and wellbeing. We’ll also talk about her experiences swimming in the frigid waters of Tromsø. She liked it, once she was warm again. And we’ll ask to Joar Vittersø, professor at the Arctic University of Norway, how he survives the endless winter.