Solidarity for those of us who hate Spring

[crochetmonkey74]

I've had a thread on here before about this and found it really useful as there's no one in real life who doesn't look at me in horror if I even mention this.
You know how people have SAD when the nights draw in , I have it the other way round. This morning, the birdsong by me set me off. Its like a sense of dread. I think it's to do with change. I don't cope well with change generally, I have anxiety made worse by peri menopause so I think moving from something you know well and feel happy with (the dark nights) into something new makes me feel a bit unsettled . Are you the same? Want to chat about it?

"Do winter lovers not like being outside much?"

I love being outside but not when it's horizontal rain and blowing a gale. It's been a bit relentless this year the weather.

I love spring . Its like a new dawn. Daffodils are opening, birds are tweeting and the world is starting to warm up. Evenings are getting lighter, baby animals being born . I'm thankful ive survived another winter 😉 what's not to like?

I have this 'reverse' SAD too. I come alive in the winter. The light is different and somehow it lifts my mood. I sleep better. I love cold weather, the colder the better. And yes, I'm outside as much as possible, more so than any other time of year.

I don't mind Spring so much but really suffer in Summer and early Autumn. I dread Summer. The light depresses me and I struggle in the heat and humidity.

‘March madness’ is a thing. It’s the sudden influx of light after a few dark months. I actually feel the same as you, Op. I love when the world quietens down over the winter. The opening up of life again is unbearable for some of us.

Good grief, there's some real arseholes on this thread. I'm delighted for those who like this time of year, but it shouldn't be a shock to you that not everyone feels the same about everything as you do. The OP hasn't said anyone is wrong or weird to like spring; she just asked if other people who don't like spring want to talk about it.

OP, I completely understand where you're coming from. This time of year feels weirdly harsh to me and I really, really hate it when the clocks change in March. I know lots of people love lighter evenings and I completely understand why, but I just don't feel like that at all.

To me, when the clocks change, the evenings just feel bleak and exposing, as if someone had pulled the duvet off my bed.

It's not that I don't like the new life of spring - I do. I love nature, I love seeing the birds nesting, I love seeing blossom and daffodils and all that stuff. I can spend hours watching the birds in my garden; it's one of my favourite things to do. I did a bit of gardening yesterday and cleared all the dead stuff out of the flowerbeds and it was nice to see all the little green shoots at the bottom poking up out of the soil where the perennials are waking up again. I like being outdoors.

I think it's maybe that for me, the end of the year feels like something I've successfully completed... and then the signs of spring/pre-spring appear and I think 'Oh god, I've got to do this all over again? ALREADY?!'

I know that sounds weird, but for me, the end of the year is like a climb to the top of a massive hill. It's not a horrible climb, there are nice things on the way and some bits are easier than others. And the higher up the hill I get, when the landscape changes as you're closer to the top, the more I feel spurred on and the more I enjoy it. The end of the year is like reaching the top, looking at the incredible view and thinking 'Hooray! I've done it!'. Like I said - it's not been a horrible climb, but I'm knackered, and as I've climbed all that way, I want to enjoy the view from the top for a good bit longer, not start again immediately from the sodding bottom.

For me, spring absolutely does feel like starting again from the bottom.

I'm really glad lots of people do love it, and I certainly do sympathise with people who hate winter. My mum and my brother, for instance, both find winter a real struggle and I'm pleased to see them perk up when the days start lengthening. But I personally experience exactly the opposite feeling to them.

"Do winter lovers not like being outside much?"

I love winter and I love being outside. I would much sooner go for a walk or a run in cold weather than hot weather.

I like being outside in summer too but I'm a lot more lethargic when it's warm.

I adore the spring. Warmer sunnier weather and longer days. Absolutely love birdsong too. I have a feeling this dread of spring may be a minority thing.

which is why I started the thread- I literally said it in my first post

In my real life I have no one who understands it

I think a lot of it depends where you live. We don't get weeks and weeks of hot, humid, debilitating heat on the edge of the Pennines.

I imagine being in London with a daily tube commute during a heatwave is pretty uncomfortable though.

"Sept is my favourite time of the year and I love Christmas so the change into autumn winter is great for me.
Spring into summer seems to flow, so I only really get it at the start of spring.
What's weird is I don't hate summer, I enjoy holidays and sitting outside . I like the warm weather. Its just the transitions I can't cope with"

This is exactly me too. I absolutely hate January to about May. I hate the sound of wood pigeons, I hate the sight of daffodils, I hate all the talk of "new life, new growth" etc. I feel completely unsettled and anxious. Those very bright days we get in spring where the sky is blue with no clouds at all panic me hugely.

I don't know why I feel this way, I'm not generally anxious or depressed, and I don't remember anything traumatic happening to me on a spring day! I'm relieved to see others feeling a similar way on here - I don't know a single person who feels like this. When I tell someone I'm met with incredulous looks and "but what about the daffodils/the green shoots/the longer days " etc!

I was really starting to enjoy the proper winter weather we had a week or two back. Clear blue skies and crisp dry freezing cold felt so much better than this windy, mizzling, grey skyed weather.

From that perspective I'd agree - I prefer proper winter weather than UK rainy grey spring. I love that the light is coming back in the evening tho.

This is very comforting to read! I've had this for years and always felt really weird for feeling that way when, for my friends etc, it's the best time of year!

I love the winter and I love the cosy nights- love plenty of things about summer too but the start of Spring (March/April time) I always feel unsettled and my anxiety tends to flare up too (after being pretty much null) - I also think it isn't helped by the fact that everyone seems to love it so much and I feel like there is something wrong with me for not!

I love Christmas so I guess that is how non-Christmas lovers feel too?

Did something upsetting happen in spring in your past OP?

Just thinking that I sometimes get depressed around certain times of year because of things like anniversaries of deaths. I don't always consciously remember the event - I'll be really sad for a week without realising why and then suddenly be reminded that someone died and think, ah yes, this makes sense now.

@piscofrisco can I ask where your painting is from please? It sounds like the sort of painting I'd like!

no nothing at all

I feel really down in January and I’m always hugely relieved when it’s over tbh. It’s the worst month of the year for me, as I imagine it is for most. Still very cold and dark most of the time, often wet and windy too. Everyone’s skint, the joy of Christmas is over, reality hits home quickly… It isn’t fun.

February is ok because the evenings slowly turn lighter and it’s my birthday at the end of the month so I don’t mind that but yeah, it’s always January that hits me worst of all.

I get it op, I much prefer autumn and winter. I've never got the hype for summer or the attitude that we should all love it.

I understand you! I love autumn, winter and spring and detest summer. Because of climate change, summer is leaking into spring and autumn and I'm starting to hate May and September too, as well as June, July and August as they can be too bloody hot. I totally understand why people love the hot weather but it just doesn't suit me.

OP, if you have felt like this at the turn of Spring since you were a child, I wonder if something happened to you (that was unpleasant) during that time period when you were little?

@Projectme exactly. I remember an October when it was in the 30’s not so long ago (I was heavily pregnant so it rather stuck in my memory!).

We often go to Scotland on holiday in the summer… Can be warm and even hot, but nothing like the oppressive heat and humidity of the SE

Where does everyone live where May and October are hot?
Is everyone from London and the South East on this thread?

Definitely not connected to a horrible event.

I get you!
I actually quite like spring but I Hate the clocks going forward and it suddenly being light in the evening. I always get a bit sad after winter solstice because the days gradually get longer after that point.

Perhaps we were nocturnal in a previous life

I don't hate parts of the year- as I have stated many times

Maybe you don’t but loads of people on the thread say they do and I think it’s all a bit dramatic how stressful and unsettling the normal progress of the year seems to be for some.

That's the meanest reading of it
Just because you think it's dramatic doesn't mean people don't struggle with it

What's your AIBU OP?

Why do so many posters put chat topics in AIBU?

Also, bring on the Spring, looking forward to getting in the garden again!