Does feeling cold make you feel uncomfortable or depressed?

[Maggie900]

This is probably going to sound silly but the cold is making me feel miserable.

Whenever I google it, it comes up with SAD or less day light hours as the cause but that’s not what causes it for me.

I was just sitting on the sofa and thought why do I feel so miserable, walked to the kitchen and my skin felt sore, like chap and I just felt very uncomfortable. I then noticed somebody had completely turned the heating off. It honestly causes me to be so depressed when I’m cold, is this normal, do others feel this severely about the actually feeling of being ‘cold’?

I hadn’t had the heating on at all during the day to save money, was only putting it on in the evening when DP got back from work. I was getting out of bed so cold and miserable that I spent most of the day in my pyjamas on the brink of tears, feeling too cold to move out of the same position on the sofa! DP said enough was enough and I needed to put the heating back on for my sanity!

The cold made me miserable as it hurt me. It was then discovered that I had hypothyroidism which, not only makes you feel cold, but also makes you depressed (& tired, & gain weight, & lose hair.......) low iron has a similar effect though.

God yes, when im cold my body tenses up against it, a natural reaction.. and i think if you cant relax physically how can you relax mentally? its miserable being tense!
Plus its the opposite of 'cosiness' isn't it..

That’s exactly it!

I feel tense and just sore. I have had blood tests done recently which showed a was a little anaemic but I’ve felt like this for years.

I need to move somewhere bloody warm!

Same here.

I hate being cold, it makes me so tense and once I get cold I really struggle to warm up.

Yes, it makes me both uncomfortable and depressed.

Yes the cold makes me miserable

Only when going out in the winter when I am not walking briskly and it is freezing, like wandering around Christmas markets at night or similar. I can't wander or stand around or sit in zero to 5 degrees, even with a hot alcoholic drink, I'm miserable and I just want to go home. I go for walks in freezing weather and my thermostat at home is set to 16 though.

It makes me utterly miserable, I could cry when I'm cold. I have reynauds and essential tremor, so my body physically hates the cold as it is.

Me too, I just lose all my energy, concentration and feel hopeless! My boiler broke and the immersion heater wasn’t very good during the really cold frozen snap a few weeks ago, I had a few portable heaters which helped but it was horrid. I have horses so was out early every morning in the cold to see to them (who were miserable too as their routine changed) then back home to work in a cold house then back out in the cold to do evening stables, for a good 6 days. It didn’t help that the immersion only heated up enough water for either a shower or a hair wash so I couldn’t do both at the same time, I wash my hair daily and I’m a bit of a clean freak (shower at least 2x a day but having horses doesn’t help) so that didn’t help my mood either. I’m usually rather laid back but I was short tempered, tired, uncomfortable and miserable!

I feel a lot better now spring seems to be on it’s way and the rain is stopping. I hope you feel better soon

I have hypothyroidism and Reynauds which means I am physically in pain when I'm cold. I'm the first to be in winter clothes & the last yo be in summer ones, I routinely wear 3 layers of clothing and have a selection of hot water bottles in year round use.
Basically I'm not designed for the UK climate.

The irony is that my partner is northern European so accustomed to snow every winter.

Yes. Both. I have a plug-in heated throw that is a life saver. Love it

@StripeyDeckchair

I have hypothyroidism and Reynauds which means I am physically in pain when I'm cold. I'm the first to be in winter clothes & the last yo be in summer ones, I routinely wear 3 layers of clothing and have a selection of hot water bottles in year round use. Basically I'm not designed for the UK climate.

The irony is that my partner is northern European so accustomed to snow every winter.

I think we are related ! I have the worlds largest collection of vests, thermals( several weights)wristwarmers and have some battery operated heated gloves. Im agog at people who walk around half undressed and say they feel hot. How?

No I hate being too hot. I feel like I can't breathe and get all panicked and grumpy. I am rarely too cold.

Me too. It’s awful and sometimes makes me cry (I’m not prone to tears normally). I have hypothyroidism and being cold is miserable.

My plug in heated throw is amazing.

When I lived in Gibraltar my mood was the best it had been in years. Since returning back to UK, being cold etc just plummets my mood.

@combatbarbie

When I lived in Gibraltar my mood was the best it had been in years. Since returning back to UK, being cold etc just plummets my mood.

Same

Not that I've been to Gibraltar but I've lived in warmer climates when they are warm!

Cold is horrible, the damp and rain and wind and the dark It used to depress me so much that I left the UK. I actually couldn't stay any longer.

Yes. Luckily it's warm where I am now though it will be colder tomorrow. When I was a child my DF sometimes turned the heating off when I wanted it on, but as an adult it's not something I'd put up with.
People often ask if I have an underactive thyroid because I feel the cold more than others, but I think it's more likely to be bad circulation - my feet in particular are cold almost all the time.

I feel the same in the cold OP, I can't bear it, it affects my mood, and I feel quite unwell when I'm cold. I've been much better this week because it's been milder, but a couple of weeks ago, despite the heating on and well wrapped up, I was never quite warm enough.
I have Fibromyalgia, and get a lot more symptoms during the colder months.
I rely on wheat bags and hot baths to get me through.
Even last summer, when we had some really warm days, I often felt chilly.

Yes...I have decided now I am just retired that I will go away for 2 weeks each december and then again in early Feb....I have been very depressed with the cold and the dark days...I have been feeling so much better last few days as its brighter and warmer.

Anything to do with growing up in a cold house? My constantly angry father never wanted the heating on. Subsequently I associate cold house with impending doom. Reality is different my calm kind DH loves a warm house and is more than happy to have heating on.

Does the feeling happen on a cold walk, or just in a cold house? I love a cold walk, but can't bear a cold house with harsh bright lighting.

I WFH in the back room of the house. It’s dark and cold, and my mood has completely plummeted. DH works in the front room which isn’t much better in terms of heat (old house) however he can move to work on his laptop in front of a radiator which is by a bay window. My IT is so crap that I can’t move it without disrupting the house to accommodate my desk etc. Yep, cold makes you ill.

@Comfortzone
Ah, yes I think I can relate to that - growing up in a cold house could well be part of my problem. Thank you.