Does the UK weather make you feel like shit...

[DilemmaADay]

This is a bit of a rant, but just wanted to sound out here and see if anyone else feels the same.
I'm just honestly fed up with the weather in the UK at the moment. In the North we haven't had one consecutive week where it's not rained and been grey. We have a bit of sun at the moment, but it's decieving as it's freezing once you step outside.
Me and DH only have one day a fortnight off together and it always seems to rain, so plans for nice long walks and brunches get replaced by staying in with Netflix. A lot of MNers would tell me to donn my waterproofs and embrace the weather, but I can't imagine anything worse than trudging through the pissing rain, wrapped up to the eyeballs in waterproofs
I have some nice summer clothes bought for holidays, find myself wearing the same five outfits in rotation which involves jumpers waterproof boots and tights. I feel frumpy and dowdy and I'm only 34.
Someone once mentioned the drinking culture in the UK, which I think has largely to do with the weather here as well. We're not like the Mediterranean's who can sit having 2 hour antipasti lunches outside with a glass of wine. It's a good life style, but I think the weather on top of everything that's gone on these past few years like Covid, cost of living increases, etc is making a lot of people miserable.
I don't think I have SAD, as I don't think sitting in front of the bright light would make me feel better. I want to feel the sun on my skin, be able to go for a walk where you're not packing for 15 weather changes and be able to eat outside just for once.

Hear hear. I arrived back in a rainy autumn London after a couple of years in a permanently hot and dry ME, where the weather was always the same, the vegetation unchanging, and seasons were only indicated by varying degrees of heat. I was delighted. Since then, I have never lost my appreciation for drizzle.

Yes

Yes I've felt the same since I came back from 2 years working in Saudi Arabia. I enjoy a heatwave (as long as I don't have to work) but after a week or so I'm desperate for clouds and rain and a slight chill in the air.

I agree what @GoldOrca said about the UK being blessed with generally mild weather year round, but I still don't think it makes up for the lack of sunshine and warmth which i desperately need -and others on here seem to need too. But I feel like everyone has a different threshold with what they can tolerate. My mood and energy levels noticeably improve when the sun is out, while I get depressed when it's gloomy and dark. My DH and DSS are not the same as me, they don't mind the cold and greyness in the least, but I also tolerate heatwaves much better than them. Especially when we go on holidays in hot countries. The UK seems to have a narrower range of 'pleasant' temperature than other countries. So anything over 28C is too hot and under 10C is too cold (at least for me!). I've lived in other countries and even the heat in drier climes is much more bearable than the heatwaves in the UK. So I feel like you just can't win in this situation unless it doesn't bother you at all. I always wonder if it affects me more than my family because I grew up abroad so I know what I'm missing out on while they do not?? I desperately wish every day we could move back abroad but it's a constant battle to convince DH

same here. some people are in terrible heat waves and droughts. I'm thankful we're not and for all of what you said.

It has rained all night here. It is really getting me down. I feel pasty and unhealthy being stuck indoors.

It's just so changeable! Thars why British people are famous for talking about the weather - you never know what you're going to get.
Yesterday here in Yorkshire it was a glorious 21 degrees (felt warmer) with unbroken sunshine. I did 2 loads of washing, had a lovely walk and pottered around in the garden all day. Today it's absolutely torrential! Not drizzle, it's chucking it down!
I have to say I wouldn't want to live somewhere that's always hot for months on end. It's fine for a 2 week holiday but not nice long term. My in-laws live in a hot place. In the past we'd stay with them for 6 weeks over summer and the heat really got me down. I love going out for long walks but it's impossible when it's 35 degrees. The heat made me feel lazy and lethargic. There's not much you can do except sit around and I can't do that for weeks on end.

Sorry, no. I can't stand heat and I'm loving it.

It has rained here in Scotland every day since the start of the school summer holidays and been very windy and around 11 degrees most days. It is awful. Not healthy at all. It's fine saying wrap up and go out in it but doing that every day isn't realistic or enjoyable. When it is sunny the kids are out on their bikes or playing all day and it's a much healthier lifestyle. I'm growing to really hate summer here and I'm a teacher lucky enough to get 6 weeks off. Staycations are extortionate and not worth the money if you end up stuck in a cottage watching the rain for a week and you can't plan for better weather even when it is in the forecast. I find myself getting quite flat and down and also spend an absolute fortune on indoor activities. If this is the future of Scottish summers I'd genuinely consider moving abroad once the kids are grown up.

It always seems to rain in Scotland when the school holidays start. The brilliant sunshine starts around August 15th when we go back.

We haven't been abroad in years and rely on decent weather for a few days to get a summer holiday. Its not looking likely this year. Its really depressing.

Apparently this could be the coldest summer in 24 years

European Monsoon is on its way to make our summer even more miserable
This summer is fast becoming the coldest in 24 years with Europe set to endure a 'wash out'.
Read in Metro: https://apple.news/AZEbrMSsJTyefE2mj873bTgg_

Anyway, people deserve to experience the 'real summer', eg sitting on the beach, eating ice cream, turning on the fan, having a barbecue...and not just for a few random days.

I find the weather absolutely fine, it doesn't have an effect on my mood at all. I don't like really hot weather, but it passes. Today is sunny and about 20°, so feels very pleasant to me. Earlier in the week it was rainy. I like it 🤷‍♀️

Nobody 'deserves' a certain kind of weather 😂

But there's nothing we can do about it, so why not use your energy making the most out of enjoying life instead of something you can't control?

Well I'm pissed off with out Great British Summer so far. Just been out for a walk and had a fleece and waterproof jacket on.

IT'S JULY FFS.

Also had the heating on earlier today and it clicked on at 17 degrees (I have a rule that if it doesn't click on at 20 degrees then it's a 'me' problem and put a sweater on and do some star jumps or something.

I love the changing seasons but we seem to have jumped from winter to autumn this year.

Yeh this is exactly the point though, my mood wouldn't be affected either if we were getting the odd sunny day at 20 degrees - I'm not exaggerating when I say rain and cold wind every day. Few hours of sun last Monday pm then back to the same on Tuesday. I'm not wanting heatwaves, just enough to be able to leave the house occasionally would be great! 👍

Yeah agree with this. Somebody said nobody 'deserves' a certain kind of weather, but I genuinely fucking hate this weather. Me and my husband have agreed to move back to the US when our youngest is either 2 or 3 years old.

I grew up where it's hot from April to October, and I've cried so many days over the past 2 years where it's been just non stop rain, wind or rain and windy and I'm stuck inside with a toddler. We go outside and we pick up sinus infections. The playgrounds are disgusting. I am miserable.

I'm expecting my 2nd baby and it's been so frustrating to not just let my little boy run around around outside because the weather has been so so shit. I wish we could have 1 month of pleasant sunshine but that's not likely to happen.

Also, the comments about 'well at least we don't have fires' etc, yeah, but the shitty weather is affecting wildlife and plantlife. The constant rain has affected the growth of crops. I've also read that the shitty weather has affected pollinators, like butterflies. So while it's great for slugs, the increase rainfall is shit for a lot of other things.

Why can't you let your child run outside when the weather is wet? They won't melt and neither will you and you don't catch sinus infections from wet weather.

You sound a bit like my American relative who always complained it was cold when he lived here but he walked around in a tee shirt in winter and I didn't think I ever saw him wear a proper coat😂

I CANNOT BEAR THIS ANY LONGER!! 14 degrees and raining for the past two days, today and tomorrow. A bit warmer (18 - wow) next week but still wet.

It's making me feel really down. I just want to feel warm and have some sun on my face. I have only sat in my garden a handful of times this summer. Thinking about putting the chairs back in the shed and giving up.

So possibly won't need to put heating on in fucking July next week 🥳🎉, but still walking dogs in rain and having to hose and dry them when we get home.

The reality is when it's torrential rain with cold wind kids don't want to be out in it for any length of time - would you? Low temps last week in Scotland were around 6 degrees and thats in the central belt. Running around in soggy clothes with cold rain being whipped into your face isn't as fun as you think even for kids. Parks are soaked, grass is muddy sludge, tents wont stay put, and most pals have quite rightly pissed off on holiday to get away from it. I'm not sure why you're trying to make out she is being precious, it really has been miserable, especially after 7 long months of winter. 😂

Sick and fed up of opening the curtains to .... more rain.

Is it unreasonable of me to wish that, if we're gonna have shit/rainy weather, can it do it overnight so I can wake up to freshly washed fluffy clouds and blue skies? Even if it rains a bit later on, just waking up to blue skies does something uplifting to the soul.

My great-grandad was killed in the war, his son went MIA. My great-gran had to carry on. Then her youngest daughter died in childbirth, middle daughter caught TB and died in a sanitorium leaving DGG with a grandchild to bring up and she had to work hard as no husband.

Someone mentioned they cry because it kept raining, another said they are so low and down. The reasons above are reasons to cry/feel low.

If she was alive now, my DGG would say for goodness sake Penny, live every moment and don't cry about the rain, do things to make you happy and feel alive.

If you feel so bad then do something about it. Concentrate on hobbies you enjoy, take time with friends to lift your mood. If you can't, put plans in place to move to an arid land as this should solve your problem. (or different parts of the UK as it can be nicer further south) or see the doctor to see if you need some help because it might be depression - don't discount this as the weather could be pushing you over the edge.

Good luck with it. I've been around many years and am pretty old so know that UK summers are nearly always like this. It rains loads, stops Wimbledon, stops the cricket. Then we get some sun. Then it rains again.

It is the UK!

@usagirl2020 yes it's because you grew up with a continuous stretch of sunshine from 'April to October' so you know what you are missing out on! This is exactly the same for me and why I find the weather extra depressing in the UK in the summer. I'm glad in a way that my kids are born here in the UK so they won't suffer from the weather the way I do -because they don't know any better! At least thank your lucky stars that you and your DH are in agreement about wanting to move abroad.

Also for the poster who said I should just make the most of it and enjoy, of course I do if I can get outside or I'm off work. But to answer the OP question; yes the UK weather does make me feel like shit . And that's fine. Everyone has a different threshold of what they can and can't tolerate. Imagine if everyone in the world favored cold rainy weather or everyone favored hot and sunny places? Humans need to be spread out around the world in different climates not just concentrated in specific places, hence why some ppl can live perfectly fine in a cold place and vice versa.

Because I'm not letting a 2 year old get soaked when it's windy and rain and cold. What kind of idiot parent does that?

Also, I had a 6 week sinus infection turned chest infection at 7 months pregnant. It was windy, cold and rainy and I picked this up. My sister in law also picked it up, and it turned into pneumonia.

I've lived here for 10 years. I know that the UK isn't exactly known to be on the same latitude as Jamaica. But I also know that this level of rainfall and lack of sunshine is unusual - and completely miserable.

I like that you assume I'm some dumb American wearing improper clothing. Unfortunately it's July and I'm wearing a fucking coat. Lovely.

Thanks for having common sense.