I find being outside in the garden intense

[vamper]

My husband says I'm a vampire... I prefer to be indoors with the curtains closed. I do enjoy the garden a little bit, but if it's too hot, I can't be out there for long.

Even under the parasol. If there's a breeze it's OK. But I do find it quite bright and exhausting to be out there for too long.

I'm happy to be in the sun when I'm on holiday by the pool or at the beach, as you can go and cool off properly. I prefer the pool as it's not as exhausting as the beach. But I mix it up and go to the beach for a bit sometimes. The whole day at the beach is a lot, but a couple of hours is fine.

I could never just go to a park and sit in the blazing sun for example. I used to be able to when I was younger. Am I just getting old ?

I prefer spring and summer. It's definitely my season of choice. But I do struggle with the brightness and heat if I'm sitting out for too long and prefer to be inside for most of the time. Right now the curtains are drawn because I'm keeping the heat out, but I quite like that it's a bit darker in here than usual. Bright light is just too much for my eyes sometimes

Am I a vampire ? Or just heading towards middle age. I'm not 40 yet.

It's not too hot ATM. I'm in the garden ATM with my head in rhe shade and my legs in the sun and a very lightweight throw over me as the breeze is crisp. Its lovely.

Bring a washing up bowl full of water for your feet and the occasional dip for your hands.

My dp is the same as you and to he honest it really gets me down not being able to enjoy our garden together.

I've always been uncomfortable in the heat since a child, but now can't tolerate heat or bright sunlight at all
Sitting in the sun makes me feel nauseous and drained
I also have astigmatism, high eye pressure and now cataracts!
I have changed all lightbulbs inside to daylight otherwise I can't see a thing!

I used to feel headachey and ill as a child when we would go outside for classes but even at the age of 6 I knew better than to say anything. People think you’re a talisman for rain if you say you don’t adore sunshine. You can sense them reaching for the pitchforks.

I never like sitting in the sun, even in the beach I need shade.
But I love the sunlight and am sitting here now with back doors wide open enjoying the view of the garden bathed in sunshine. North facing garden means sun outside but doesn't shine in on me!

Don't you have a lot of cloudy days in the UK? I live in the southern hemisphere, we have relatively cleaner air here and apparently are closer to the sun in summer months than you are. I've never met anyone who is photosensitive, why do so many on MN suffer? Ditto all the people who can't cope with heat over 20o. All the threads on MN about lacking in vitamin D, and yet when the sun shines there you all are, hiding inside with the curtains closed.

I could never sunbathe in the garden or just sit there.
I can read outside but only for a short while. I definitely prefer autumn and winter.

I went outside earlier today. I was hot. I felt like I was melting. I love sunbathing and swimming on holiday though

That’s 4 months out of 12. And not every one of those is sunny.

We have a lot of cloudy days, but the light from the sun is just as bright when it’s not cloudy. It’s also light from really early in the morning here - especially in the north.

Being closer to the sun doesn’t mean the sun is brighter. It means the rays lose heat, but not light.

Presumably you live in a place where people have darker skin/eyes? Photosensitivity is due to a lack of pigmentation in the eye.

Heat is all relative to what you are used to, although I am comfortable in any heat personally. It’s the cold I dislike. Those living in warmer places can’t cope with the cold like us Brits can. For example, I went to uni with a girl from southern USA and she dressed like she was going on a ski holiday. In summer. Complained the entire time about how cold it was. It was high teens/low 20s.

I live in the south east of England where I believe it is often much sunnier and brighter than most of the U.K.
it’s inland and flat inland so no sea or hills with the weather systems they create. Even on cloudy days it’s often very bright and I would say it would need to be a rainy day to be dull and not bright. Our sunlight hours are longer this time of year. It’s still bright now outside where I live although the sun is setting.
personally I am ok in heat up to about 25 degrees then past than I am itchy sweaty and annoyed. I have an eyesight issue which means it is physically difficult to tolerate brightness

YANBU

I’m from a climate where it gets really hot (35+) and really cold (-17+) and I struggle with the heat, always have to the point of fainting as a child. Even here, having the sun on my skin for over 15 minutes makes me uncomfortable and even worse when my in-laws must do family trips in the middle of summer to beach destinations in the Mediterranean where my skin feels like it’s burning after 5 minutes. Being in a pool does nothing because the sun still feels like it’s burning my skin. I already run naturally warm and having to deal with heat on top of it is very uncomfortable. I don’t go out in the middle of the day unless I absolutely have to (stick to and memorise the places with shade) and have a fan on me when I’m inside (we can’t open windows due to our oldest). Summer is my least favourite holiday only a little bit worse than winter with me preferring Spring and Autumn.

It surprises people that I struggle in the sun and slather on the spf because I have brown skin, but it seems to be hereditary and my mum and sister who are only a few shades darker than me have different sun issues. My mum has to apply a prescription cream if she wants to wear short sleeves otherwise parts of her skin breaks out in hives (even if she is driving with the windows up and ac is on, all it takes is for the sunshine to be on her skin) while my sister’s is more sporadic depending on the location she’s in where her whole face and other parts of her body exposed to the sun breaks out in hives whereas I don’t break out in hives at all only get the burning sensation, overhearing, and fainting.

What's your garden like OP? You mention it's a new build- is the garden still quite bare and unshaded? Maybe consider planting some trees, then you can look forward to green shade and dappled sunlight in a few years.

You presume wrongly - most people here don't have darker skin/eyes, although some do of course. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have to wear sunglasses all year, there aren't many days I can go outside without them.

The sun is particularly strong in this part of the world. People come here from hotter countries and are surprised at how easy it is to burn. We also get quite cold in parts of the country in summer, colder than some parts of the UK.

I just find it odd that there are so many posts here about "heat", and now brightness from a country which is not known for great weather! I find it hard to believe that the light is brighter in the UK than here, and we do have a lot more sunny days.

I don't like super bright sunlight and I also get kind of cranky if it's sunny for too many days in a row.

Kindly, I’d be more concerned that you’re nearly 40 and can’t communicate a simple need to a colleague. Nobody is going to think you’re bad at your job for asking to sit in the shade!

You keep your curtains closed in the daytime all year round??? Have you not had police banging on your door, assuming you're cannabis farmers?! Do you have kids???

@SmileyClare So you're saying that because OP doesn't "absolutely love" what YOU absolutely love, that she must have a medical problem?

@Aslanplustwo How bright does it get in the UK? Are you seriously asking that??? Very bloody bright, like any other country ffs! It may not get red hot as often as Dubai or Egypt for example but the brightness is exactly the same! The sun is the sun, love!

@LabelleLabelle How can it be brighter down south?! The sun is the sun! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Don't be so ridiculous. It may sometimes get warmer down there (though often I see that's poor weather in the south when we're 20°+ here in North Yorkshire) but it most definitely isn't brighter! If the sun is out then it's out! 🙄

"I just find it odd that there are so many posts here about "heat", and now brightness from a country which is not known for great weather! I find it hard to believe that the light is brighter in the UK than here, and we do have a lot more sunny days."

Brightness could be because we're not used to it.
For me, as I've mentioned, I think it's my sinuses, caused by hay fever in the current pollen season.
For heat, again it's not being used to it and also to be honest for some people it's being overweight making them not able to tolerate the heat.

I think it’s really sad that at not quite 40, your life is so limited. 23 degrees is warm but not hot by any means.

I'm not sure where to start with this.

I totally get what you are saying. I have never liked the sun and particularly the heat. My ideal is maybe 19/20 , any hotter and I start to feel almost panicky. When we have a heat wave I close all the curtains and try to stay as still as possible. I cant stand the sensation of the sun on my skin.
But I can spend a few hours outside on a beach or in the garden, provided I have some decent shade and sunglasses on. We took a pop up UV tent to the beach last year and it was great, so cool inside.
Yes my vit D is low but I would rather take a tablet than subject myself to the feelings I get in the sun.

Feeling sick and dizzy, lying down on the toilet floor at work after ten minutes in some May sunlight Is more than not “absolutely loving the sun”

Sounds like photophobia/light sensitivity - a recognised medical condition.