Anyone else feel low and overwhelmed during summer but better in autumn?

[CateyeKate]

I despise January and February and spend those drawn out dreary months longing for spring and summer.

I adore springtime (not that we get much of it these days) and I look forward to Easter more than Christmas but over the last few years I am finding myself dipping into a kind of depression every summer. Obviously the horrendous heatwaves don't help. very few people enjoy roasting from the inside out but it's more than that for me. I'm finding the brightness of the day, let alone the heat just too overwhelming, I now need to wear sunglasses all the time and find sitting out in it unbearable and going anywhere during the summer day time just not enjoying at all. But as soon as evening falls I feel something lift/shift. I feel happier, more comfortable physically and just more at ease, I can't quite describe it but since I have entered my late 40's and now early 50's I crave something more settled and mellow seasonally, I look forward to September, October and November most of all and find this summer melancholic feeling goes by then and I start to feel human again.

Am I weird? Is this a normal feeling amongst some humans? Aren't we naturally supposed though to crave daylight, sunshine and vitamin d? All I long for are cosy rainy Autumnal evenings with fairy lights/candles, binge series, books and my hot water bottle.

Not weird at all IMO.
Spring and Autumn are my favourite times of year too.

I love Autumn and winter and all the weather MN hates, storms rain thunder fog frost the lot.
Im not a fan of summer at all.

I have Seasonal affective disorder so I really really struggle in Winter and on dark cold days. If the sun is out I am better but I cannot stand overcast grey days at all.

I really struggle with bright light. My living room gets full sun from around 5pm onwards and it was making me feel really stressed. I now have a combination of blinds/curtains so I can fully control how much light is coming in. I make things fully dark from around 7pm and sit with lamps on! I know people would find it ridiculous but it's the only way I can relax.

There is such a thing as "summer sad", but it doesn't get talked about much. There's an expectation you should enjoy it and not complain. Whereas it's far more acceptable to find winter depressing.

Me too. My therapy lamp helps at little. But winter is really hard for me.

Me! I like spring and autumn. I dread the baking sun, the hayfever, the mosquito bites, the endless requests from my son to have a water fight, the fact I’m shattered because I can’t sleep and exercise makes me feel so sweaty.

There was a thread on this recently- it’s like reverse SAD! And the conclusion was that this is much more common than you’d realise. I have always found summer depressing and look forward to autumn.

I struggle with the sunshine. I don’t know how people sit out in it, I’m completely blinded and it’s too hot.
I spend more time inside than I do in the autumn I think hiding from it.

I'm looking forward to the BER months.

Up until now, I've always loved the hot weather, but this summer has just been too much for me too! However, I despise autumn, not for the weather as I don't mind a bit of frost and rain, but for me it is the ever-increasing darkness which I hate. I love these summer mornings when it begins to get light around 4, and the birds are singing and flowers and shrubs are a mass of colour. I always long for the shortest day to come and go and then every single day gets lighter.

The bright sunshine really stresses me too and I can’t fully understand why. I get why dark and dank days can feel gloomy and depressing but not sure why bright sunshine would. A lovely cool autumnal day with a cooling wind, light fluffy clouds, watery sunshine and a temperature of around 12-15 is perfect for me and rainy days are my favourite, the rain calms me but heat and sunshine leave me really on edge for some weird reason.

I am constantly knackered in the high summer from disturbed sleep, I sleep like a log in autumn, winter and spring.

I have several friends who love this heat and will bake themselves out in it for hours, just 5 minutes and I’m sweating, grumpy and come out in a rash. Spring, autumn and winter I will walk miles with my dog over countryside and by the sea. The lack of exercise in the summer makes me so lethargic.

Does show how different we must be biologically or something because I love the darker nights, I’m quite an anxious person anyhow but I have always felt very relaxed and at ease come the darker evenings, I just love being cosy and I fill my house with fairy lights and candles. I am also not a morning person so hate being woken early by the break of day at silly o’clock lol.

It is strange, isn't it, because I am an anxious person too, and find the darkness unsettling and claustrophobic, whereas the light is open and nothing can hide in it!!

I always found the long summer holidays with kids at home, needing to be entertained, really demanding. By the end of it I was on my knees. It really put me off summer.

Now, as an empty-nester, I love blue skies and warm weather. It’s lovely to wear summer clothes, sandals and no coat. Love just marinating something to give to my husband to bbq and just knocking up a salad rather than cooking a meal.

But I find ‘heatwave’ levels of heat prohibitive when it comes to getting stuff done and getting outside. It’s as unhelpful as cold and rain.

My absolute favourite time of year is autumn: summer is over, fed up of bbq now so that can be put away. There’s a crisp chill in the air and the nights start drawing in. Great stuff starting on telly. I can start planning Christmas, knowing there’s bags of time and it’s all a joy, not a chore.

Same! I really struggle at this time of year - it’s too hot and sweaty and sticky, I can’t sleep properly because it’s too light and I have to constantly rearrange and cancel work as the weather isn’t suitable.

Yes! I don't love January but honestly, I get my SAD in summertime. I didn't feel this way as a child in California, probably because I was living by the ocean in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to stressful, humid, packed, loud London. And also, it's always sunny in Southern California so there isn't this mad rush of the 'enjoy the sun now while we have it' mentality, which I find exhausting as a Londoner.
I think, at the heart of it, lack of sleep in summer gets to me. I go to sleep much later because the nights are longer. And if it's hot, I don't get as much done until evening so I tend to be more productive at night. I'm up early all year long but in summer, my late nights mean I'm not getting enough good sleep. And allergies... they just pummel me. Most meds just don't work on my allergies (I've tried them all, down the throat, in the eyes, up the nose, you name it, I've tried it... might try immunotherapy next year if I can because my allergies kill me from May onwards).

Oh my absolutely favourite weather!

I totally get this! I adore the cosiness of autumn and winter. I feel safer when I'm all hunkered down. And I love cooking and dislike how limited and tired I become in summer. My appetite goes. I am more anxious in summer... I think we just rub up against life a bit more, with all of its noise and heat, and it's overwhelming.
I have to admit though that I absolutely LOVE the lushness of the UK in spring and summer... the blooms! My neighbour has the most extraordinary garden with new things popping up all the time. Seriously, it's a proper show that unfolds from March onwards. It's heavenly! It's like a flower aquarium that I just stare at as often as possible. I bake things for my neighbour to say thank you for giving me the joy of his garden! His soil does things mine refuses to.😆

I really struggle with bright light

I'm the opposite. I really struggle in dim light. Having poor eyesight doesn't help. I need bright light to see well. I love warm weather and being able to just wear summer clothes and no socks, but the debilitating heat we had recently floored me. We aren't getting the heat that a lot of you are having though.

I’m in the NE and hasn’t been as hot as elsewhere.
I do hate going to bed in the light and up in the light, we have the bedroom door open for the air so can’t block all the light at night.
Im desperate for a cold dark night to sleep properly.

Yes. I am the same. My favourite seasons are Spring and Autumn for some reason.

For me it's the reluctance to go anywhere in the heat. The effort is just too much, so I don't bother most of the time, just sit in the shade in the garden mostly. When I do go somewhere I'm cranky, hot and bothered, hate crowds, traffic jams and so on, and grumble until I get home! OMG what am I like...

So the very early mornings and late evenings are fab, anything other than that and I'm flaked out. So yes, I dislike very hot Summers like ours at the moment.
It is so much easier to get around and walk and explore when it's cooler. We all know that, so yes, I like Spring and Autumn, and strangely I love Winter too once I have the right gear.

I am retired so I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to now, which is a blessing, and I feel for those who must journey out every day for this and that. I empathise.

I used to hate the darkness as a child but I’ve somehow psychologically conditioned myself to think of the darkness as a warm blanket that comes with peace and contentment.