Doctor reveals best way to actually complete the viral ‘winter arc’ challenge

A doctor has shared her advice on the best way to complete the new 'winter arc' trend.

In case you hadn't already noticed, the final months of the year are now upon us. Long gone are those warm summer evenings we all enjoy, as we can instead look forward to the days getting shorter, greyer and colder. When it comes to the darker months, it can often be harder to keep yourself motivated, with previous trends such as 'cosy season' and the Danish concept of 'hygge' being popular ways to make it through to spring.

However, if you're not someone who enjoys curling up under a blanket and watching festive movies, don't worry, the TikTok grindset has just created a new term, the winter arc.

What is a 'winter arc'?

Now if you've opened this article thinking what on earth is a 'winter arc', don't worry. The term essentially means that you spend the colder months looking inward and refocusing on your personal goals for the future.

The trend has since been taken in two directions by users, with the motivational, fitness contingent of the app creating videos of themselves heading to the gym at the crack of dawn and soundtracking it with various kinds of dramatic music.

Which is completely fine if this motivates you, however, it's understandable why anyone feeling the winter blues wouldn't find this kind of video helpful.

Meanwhile, more spiritual-themed accounts are advising you to spend the darker nights looking internally and taking time away from doomscrolling in favour of hobbies such as keeping a journal, aligning with your goals and what not.

But what if you're not into putting in long shifts at the gym or lighting candles and manifesting?

Is a 'winter arc' actually achievable?

Similar to setting New Year's resolutions, a winter arc is only as successful as the individual, which means suddenly deciding that you're going to run 10k, quit social media or get a set of washboard abs may not be the most realistic of goals.

This is something that US physician Dr. Nicole Van Groningen told her followers in her own video weighing in on the winter arc debate.

"I think that the pitfall … is trying to do way too much," she explained in her video, before referencing a video from another user saying she was planning to overhaul every aspect of her life.

"I get there’s this huge dopamine hit that we get when we set a ton of goals for ourselves and we’re imagining this new and improved version of ourselves that’s just gonna wake up overnight and do, like, all the right things," she continued.

"It takes a lot of self-control to say, ‘I’m actually not going to do that. Let me just focus on this one thing, or two things, or maybe three small things."