Perfect time for a dose of DOSE

Are you noticing any changes in your mood with the change in season and light?

The other weekend, I read an article about ’40 fun ways to improve your life this autumn’.

One of the 40 was something called the DOSE approach (author: neuroscientist TJ Power).  I found myself thinking it had the feel of a vitamin boost for HSPs.

And it made me chuckle the acronym is a variation of DOES – the key characteristics of HSPs (see earlier blog).

DOSE stands for a group of ‘happy hormones’:

Dopamine which helps create a sense of pleasure and motivation. What you get when you splash your face with cold water or take a brisk walk.

Oxytocin which boosts attachment and trust, and we get through things like cozy  gatherings with people we love.

Serotonin which helps regulate mood and boosts cognition, learning and memory.  Getting out in the fresh air and soaking in daylight lift its levels.

Endorphins which help ease pain, lower stress and enhance our sense of wellbeing.  We can get more of them by having fun and enjoying seasonal activities.

HSPs are often more sensitive than most to changes in these hormones.

If levels are low, we can feel flat and irritable.   With the right amounts of happy hormones, life is a whole different ballgame – we thrive instead of just survive.

I boost my levels by spending time with people I love.  Drinking in sunlight, colours and blue sky.  Being anywhere near water.  Or around wood or dogs.

And playing early morning golf – alone, in the quiet, me and the day awakening together.

In fact, I wrote this blog when I would usually be on the golf course.  The light outside was just so grey and dull, it had no appeal.

And the darker mornings mean I’m going to run into others’ playing times.  So I need to find other sources of energy for the coming season.

To start, I’m going to embrace ‘momijigari’ – the Japanese tradition of visiting places where the leaves have turned red in autumn.  It’s another suggestion from the ‘40 ways’ article.

Autumn colours have always made my soul sing.  Gold, orange or red, I don’t mind, they’re all equally lovely.

This year, though, I’m going to make a point of searching them out in more and new places.  In fact, I started yesterday …

How are you going to get a dose of DOSE this autumn?  What will boost your happy hormones?  Feed your beautifully sensitive soul?

Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy every nourishing moment.