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?

It was very nice today

16 and sunny

12 degrees and sunny here.

Where do you live @coxesorangepippin sounds great!

15° and sunny here in Essex today.

9 degrees and fog here today. Exactly the kind of weather that makes my spirits sink

9 degrees and rainy today (near Vancouver) but then we’re forecast 6 days of clear skies and between 9-11 degrees. Perfect.

Certainly beats recent summers here, with all the heatwave related deaths, smoke-filled skies from forest fires and it generally being unsafe to be outside and incredibly uncomfortable inside, even with air conditioning.

@RampantIvy just imagine you’re looking for Heathcliffe! 😂

I don't understand this pressure posters are talking about in summer; do you mean ppl are inviting you out places and you don't want to go? Do you not find also find that in the lead up to Christmas?

My DH is off out tonight for a pint with his friend. While he is out I plan to put my fireplace mood DVD on, light a few candles, put my electric over blanket on low, makes big mug of hot chocolate and listen to some spooky podcasts.

Yeah I don't really understand the "pressure" thing either. I love being out and about so it's not a problem for me but honestly I think December is WAY busier than any summer months for us.

No, I think they mean they see other people out socialising, having barbecues with friends, drinking in pub gardens etc, and they feel they’re missing out because they don’t have and/or don’t want, friends.

In winter, bar Christmas parties, other people’s’ social lives are less visible, and they can retreat indoors with the curtains closed in the name of huge and not feel as if they’re missing out as acutely.

@Comedycook and other people who have a violent emotional reaction to 'cosy snuggles' etc and orher prefer's preference for winter, do you think some of it might be a response to struggling with the pandemic and constantly being told by others how wonderful it was to spend time at home with 'our little family'? Or did you feel this way before that? I know a lot of people found the second lockdown particularly hard with the dark days and shit weather, and the Pollyanna types particularly grating.

I ask this as one of you, btw - I used to love autumn, but after covid I hated it so much I moved to a tropical country! Now that I don't have to deal with winter myself, other people's preferences don't bother me anymore.

Why should being cold 'be stressful and stop concentration'? Just put a jumper on! It is much easier to remedy being too cold than too hot.

I am a total lover of all things autumn/winter. Crisp, cold, mornings. Frost, light reflected on snow, leaves turning. Winter clothes are the best, as well. I love shorts and tights and afghan coats, and winter boots. Amazing food, all the puddings. Halloween and Christmas. I find it can start to drag a little around March, though, and I'm always happy for Spring, but summer I can do without. It tends to be either uncomfortably hot or, as this summer was, pouring with rain. September/October through December is the best time of the year IMO.

No not that I don't think. Although I detested lockdown! I actually remember feeling this way from childhood. Even then I used to get the sense of doom as the evenings drew in.

Halloween, fireworks are in Autumn. I love Christmas but find the rest of Winter (Jan & Feb) pretty depressing.

Why should being cold 'be stressful and stop concentration'? Just put a jumper on! It is much easier to remedy being too cold than too hot.

If only it was that simple. When you are chilled to the bone because the ambient temperature is too cold even though you are wearing several layers already the advice to "just put in another jumper" just doesn't work. It sounds like you have never really felt that bone chillingly cold so you wouldn't understand.

I am a total lover of all things autumn/winter. Crisp, cold, mornings. Frost, light reflected on snow, leaves turning

I'm pretty fond of all of those things as well, but that kind of autumn/winter weather is pretty rare in most of the UK. Yesterday we had thick fog, and today we have torrential rain and more flood warnings. Yellow weather warning for today where I live

No. It’s not. However many jumpers I put on I’m still cold. Im just cold and uncomfortably bundled up with more jumpers. They don’t cover hands or face anyway. The only thing that works is paying for heating, and even then it’s not as nice as actual warmth despite costing a fortune. In the heat, however, I can wear loose linen and if necessary put on a fan - less pricey than heating, but works. And yes, being cold stops me concentrating. All I can think about is how uncomfortable I am. It’s a fairly well recognised thing that you can’t work when cold - hence there’s a lower legal temp for schools but not a higher one.

How many ‘crisp, cold mornings’ do you actually get? This autumn is better than most and more than half have been grey and soggy. No leaf crunching happening - it’s soggy, slippy mulch. Winter clothes are scratchy, itchy and restrictive in the whole. I have large feet and last winter I ordered and returned 5 pairs of boots because none of them fit properly. At least I’ve got DMs. I don’t see why you are restricting yourself to food you don’t like in summer. Eat what you want, when you want.
I do like Christmas. Halloween is shit. Fireworks used to be lovely until they decided to make all of them sound like heavy ordinance.

I said, I’m not totally anti-winter. But still as far as I can see the people who love it actually love the things they do to avoid it - blankets, hiding indoors from rain, heavy clothes. Seems odd to me.

I love winter. I like the dark mornings and nights and I don't mind the rain either. I'm not a fan of strong winds though.
And I love all the nice things that go along with it as well.

I like summer as well but there's more things I dislike about it than winter.

@cardibach have you had your thyroid checked? Feeling constantly cold can be a symptom of underactive thyroid.

I have an under active thyroid, well treated and at a set thyroxine level for over 20 years. It’s probably not helping, I agree. I was the same as a child though (thyroid under active post pregnancy), and I don’t think everyone who feels like this has an under active thyroid. Again, schools have a lower permitted temperature but not higher. Being cold is well understood to be uncomfortable and to stop people concentrating.

I'm the same, love all the festivities. After New Year I look forward to Spring & Summer. We're booking festivals already for next year.

Light reflected on snow 😂. I mean how often does that happen in this country? (I’ll understand if you’re the poster from Canada). I actually like snow. If it snowed more maybe I’d enjoy winter more. It’s the never ending dreary cold with not much sun I don’t like. And often all my favourite dog walks by the river flood so I can’t even get joy there.

I’m not totally anti-winter. But still as far as I can see the people who love it actually love the things they do to avoid it - blankets, hiding indoors from rain, heavy clothes. Seems odd to me

I agree.
I also wonder how many lovers of our actual reality of winter drive to and from work in the dark on motorways in driving rain or sleet.

How did your parents feel about autumn and winter?

My mum used to make a big song and dance of how ‘the nights are drawing in’ from August onwards and how it’s ‘nothing but doom and gloom for the next four months’ as if it was the most depressing thing in the world. It definitely instilled in me this sense of panic and dread around the ‘dark nights’. I didn’t really overcome it until I was in my late 20s when I developed PTSD, when suddenly I equated the blanket of darkness and relative quiet with safety and self care.

This is definitely true in my case. I WFH atm but I will be commuting and working outdoors next year. I hate driving in the dark (thanks astigmatism) so I suspect my feelings will change somewhat!