To wonder if those who love winter have very robust mental health or very happy lives?

[Comedycook]

So I was thinking about this after reading a thread about weather. Lots of posters saying how they loved winter...some even said they love the dark evenings and what really surprised me was the poster who said they loved dark, cold mornings. I assumed everyone hated these!

Now I'm not in a terrible place mentally and I'm not depressed but I do find the dark, rainy, cold days do affect my mood. When the evenings are warm and light I feel so much happier.

I'm really interested in how others don't feel that the winter brings them down and actually enjoy it. Are they naturally happier, more positive type people?

Yeah too much light and the long days get to me. Not depressed but I feel happier when the nights start getting dark. Maybe I'm a vampire

When I lived in London I loved winter. It never got super cold, lots of cool Christmas-y stuff, all the lights. Now I live in the sticks in West Yorkshire and I don’t love it. It’s extraordinarily wet, very dark, very cold, and my stone house with high ceilings is everything I dreamt of 10 years ago when I was in London but bugger me, it gets cold and stays cold

Yes this

Darker evenings mean no kids whacking balls outside and running around doing high-pitched screams both of which irritate the life out of me. Bring on the darker evenings. Candles lit. Peace and quiet

@HoldOnMiGenna don't agree at all. London is beautiful in autumn. Do you live somewhere very built up without any trees or parks? As can imagine that would make a difference.

Agreed! I bloody hate stew! A well cooked Sunday roast in winter is a different matter

I really struggle with the expectation that we should love summer and that you should be happy when it's a warm sunny day. When I've been feeling down that just makes it worse. It makes me feel really out of step with the rest of the world and is quite isolating.

I'm also quite sensitive to bright light but unfortunately live in a south-facing house - I had no idea when we bought it that it would bother me so much but I can't stand the bright sunlight coming into my house - I find it really oppressive and if I'm working from home I end up drawing all the blinds and sitting in the darkness.

I struggle with clothes as well - I feel much smarter and more put-together in winter. In hot weather I just feel a mess. I know that seems shallow but it has an effect on my self-confidence.

I actually enjoy the outdoors but much prefer to out in cooler weather as opposed to summer days - I like the freshness and as long as I'm warmly wrapped up I'm fine.

Just joined the thread so - sorry if this has been said many times!

I too used to love winter, but now I'm retired, not so much. Obviously it's the shortening days which can be depressing (esp when I was in work and didn't see my garden from weekend to weekend - due to darkness.

I think I'm OK as long is the sun is shining, so I don't mind cold, bright winters - just the sort where it rains for weeks on end and the sun never breaks through.

Now I prepare for this by getting together a 'winter box' with really tempting books, DVDs, possibly some needlework/art projects to keep me going until things start to get better - usually about late Feb.

My late mum used to say that it's light at 5 pm at the end of January, and boy, does that keep me going! The winter solstice (21st Dec) is a MASSIVE date for me - the day then the year turns and the days start to get longer. Conversely I get miserable at midsummer, when the days start to shorten after June 22nd. I can really identify with prehistoric people and their stone circles, designed to celebrate the winter solstice probably above all other astronomical events!!

I feel a lot of similarities to you, especially with regards to the feeling out of step with everyone else's expectations of loving summer. I also much prefer being outdoors in the crisper weather, as the bright light makes my migraines worse.

Regarding the OPs question about the dark nights and mornings they improve my mental health hugely because I feel somehow more relaxed and secure, I don't mind the dark or doesn't bother me I associate it with happy times and more time together (farm so DH in more and Dds around more) and Dd1 is the same. DH and Dd2 though are the opposite and hate it much prefer the lighter nights and mornings.

My late mum used to say that it's light at 5 pm at the end of January, and boy, does that keep me going! The winter solstice (21st Dec) is a MASSIVE date for me - the day then the year turns and the days start to get longer

Yep me too. I hate November and December...once we have the winter solstice though I start to feel hope as every day we get a little more daylight. I really don't mind January as Christmas is out of the way and I feel like spring is on the way.

"I hate November and December...once we have the winter solstice though I start to feel hope as every day we get a little more daylight. I really don't mind January as Christmas is out of the way and I feel like spring is on the way."

I'm literally the opposite to this. I hate winter but November and December arent really winter. They're autumn. Autumn I love. There is so much going on it's almost as nice as summer. Halloween, bonfire night, Christmas stuff. People have lights up and it makes the darkness bareable. Then we have NYE and honestly I hate the NY celebrations. It's like the END of the good times and there is absolutely nothing to look forward to for the next 3 months or so. Cold, dark, drab, damp, muddy, depressing. Ugh.

I’m very much a depressive, have PTSD and live alone but prefer Autumn and Winter. I don’t enjoy the heat combined with humidity of British summers. I can’t go for my usual walks because I get lightheaded and sweat. I feel dehydrated constantly. I feel pressure to be out doing stuff. There’s constant noise from neighbours and people outside. My city fills with tourists. It’s too bright, too loud. It’s basically a sensory nightmare.

In Autumn and Winter I like how the dark nights feel like a cocoon. I can shut my blinds and feel safe. No constant noise outside. I can go for walks without needing a shower as soon as I get home. I don’t feel guilty about not going out in the evenings. I can just be me.

I don't like REALLY hot weather, and my skin doesn't like blaring sunshine, so the sort of summer they've had in much of Europe this year would have been a nightmare for me. But we don't get too much of it here. In fact, except for all the rain, I really like most aspects of British weather and feel lucky to have it- not a popular view, I know!

I don't really mind being cold as such, but I hate snow. I would like to sue snow under the Disability Discrimination Act! There is a myth (incorrect, in fact) that the languages of the native peoples of the Arctic have over 100 words for snow. I certainly have over 100 words for snow- but none of them are printable! Again. however, we don't get a lot of it in Britain, especially in the south.

The time of year that really depresses me is my birthday (not in the winter) and the day or two around it. But if no one reminds me of it, I can often forget its existence until it is over. I know people who are similarly depressed by New Year's Day, and that is harder to forget.

I agree about snow. Some people get childishly excited about it but for people who have to try to get to work or school in it or who have disabilities or unsteady on their feet for any reason, or people who run businesses dependent on people getting to them, it’s a nightmare. And the shops sell out of essentials like milk and you can’t get any for love nor money.

Forgot about NYE....I absolutely hate it. Enforced fun. Can't think of anything worse than going out on NYE in the cold and dark and unable to get a cab...whilst feeling pressured to celebrate. Hideous.

I love NYE but that's because we have a house party with close friends and then walk home!

I think people would be much happier if they just did what they enjoyed rather than what was expected of them.

I'm a winter person (sorry!) but totally agree on this. We stay in. Film on, takeaway or something we really enjoy cooked, naughty snacks. Pre-DC we might have had a late walk to see the fireworks. Sometimes we invite family over, if we're feeling strangely sociable, but usually we just hunker down at home all cosy, in our little unit. Love it.

I wouldn't say I have robust mental health suffer quite badly with anxiety but I do like Autumn/Winter.

Of course there are certain things I dislike, dark nights, trying to dry laundry, mud everywhere, but there are things I dislike about Summer too.

I just don't find Autumn and Winter too depressing, I also love that slightly strange in limbo period between Christmas and New Year. I have routines and traditions and things I look forward too.

I'd keep Autumn/Winter but I'd delete January completely and bring on Spring straight after New Year.

We don't celebrate NYE, it's not compulsory. I just watch a film and get a takeaway.

Get rid of that feeling that you must be celebrating and do whatever you actually want to do.

See I love Nye. Last year we spent evening with friends with food, fire pit and muelled wine. Then watched fireworks from balcony. Low cost, no crowds, no taxi angst.
kids could be put to bed , film or play as needed

I feel it more in the winter at Christmas and new year. We are a very small very scattered family, so Christmas is always very quiet with just the three of us. New Year is also a big non event, and I get FOMO over the festive period.

I don't feel the pressure to go out and do things in summer either.
I go out and do things in summer because I want to, not because I feel pressured.

Snuggling under the quilt at bed time.
Being warm & cosy inside whilst a storm rages outside.
The change of clothing from summer dresses & flip flops to winter coats & boots.
Going from salads to stews.
Shutting the world out by closing the curtains.

Those ^^ are all things I dislike about winter.

Why do people keep saying "stew" as if it's a good thing?

I'm not a fan. A tasty curry however, is delicious.

I have weather appropriate clothing but being out in today's weather is just not an enjoyable experience at all, and being a glasses wearer makes it more of a PITA. I then get cabin fever because I love being outdoors. Flood barriers have gone up in parts of Sheffield, several railway lines have been blocked by floodwater and the trams have been diverted. Rotherham station is closed and the river Don looks like it is about to burst its banks at Meadowhall

It strikes me that this is very much an introvert/extrovert thing, and introverts like winter because they can hide away from people. And the heat thing - where do people live where they have hot weather all summer, because that doesn't happen where I live?

I wonder how many times the words "cosy" and "snuggle* have been used on this thread

It strikes me that this is very much an introvert/extrovert thing, and introverts like winter because they can hide away from people.

I'm an extrovert but love winter! I think it possible helps that where I live there are lots of events happening all year round so there are still opportunities to socialise. I also happen to really like the winter themed events.
Living on the edge of the Pennines on top of a very big hill the extreme weather can be spectacular to watch but it also looks very pretty in summer too.

Hot sunny days make me miserable. I'm always too hot, I burn, I don't feel comfortable.

And then it lasts well in to the night and as I have my bedroom window open the beasties munch on me.

Winter is better. I know it will be cold and dark. I can put on enough clothes to feel comfortable, I can light candles, it actually feels like it is the evening.

When I go to bed I can snuggle under the duvet.

I can eat hearty meals, stews and suet dumplings that don't go down well when it is hot.

I also hate football and theme parks, lots of people enjoy those things.

WOuldn't the world be boring if we were all the same?

I do like a stormy evening / morning. I like getting up and putting the lamps on and getting the heating going, and having a nice coffee. Warm shower. Bundle up in a nice coat and boots.

I went to the gym today and walked there and back in the rain and got soaked and blown about, but I felt so good from the endorphins at the gym that I didn't even care and I came home and got in lovely warm sweat pants and under a blanket to work from home.

I think you just have to have a number of strategies in your toolkit of how to boost your happy hormones, and then the weather just becomes an incidental backdrop to your life, rather than being the deciding force in how you feel that day.

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