Dealing with the Cold in Bluefield
After a sweltering summer, the cold that has recently taken over the campus may feel unbearable to some of our students, including California resident Moriah Mingo, who finds herself frustrated with the frigid temperatures.
“I’m cold. I’m sick. I’ve never worn so many layers in my life,” Mingo said. “I miss San Diego. I miss 70 degrees. I miss when I thought 60 degrees was cold. Someone help me.”
Regardless of whether you have lived in the area your entire life or if you hail from warmer climates, you may find yourself agreeing with Mingo’s sentiment. So, how do we deal with this bleak and snowy world we find ourselves in? Let’s look at a few methods of dealing with the cold in Bluefield.
We all know that dressing in layers helps, but there is a specific way to layer your clothing that will drastically increase your body heat. The National Weather Service recommends wearing layers of loose-fitting and lightweight clothing. This method of layering traps air in between the layers of clothing and insulates your body. This advice is helpful for dealing with hypothermia, an abnormal drop in body temperature that happens when our bodies cannot physically handle the cold. Luckily for us, there is also a way to train your body to adapt to the cold: mindset.
According to psychologist Dr. Kari Leibowitz, the attitude in which we approach winter has a lot to do with how we handle winter as a whole. Leibowitz says that acknowledging the impulse to think of winter as an unpleasant time and then intentionally shifting our mindset to see the positive in the snowy season can help us better handle the frigid temperatures.
“There are parts of winter that are dreadful and annoying and uncomfortable,” Dr. Leibowitz said, “and there are parts that are special and beautiful and wonderful.”
In this difference of viewpoints we’ve looked at, that of Mingo and Dr. Leibowitz, we can see a very different interpretation of the same season. We as humans experience the same situations very differently and can either love or hate them. Regardless of your feelings on winter, hopefully you have been able to pick up some helpful tips on dealing with colder temperatures.