That the weather is dramatically affecting my mood

[spanieleyes22]

It's been raining solidly for what seems like a couple of weeks except for last Saturday. If it's not raining it's grey. I feel so down so despondent like my mood is matching the grey sky and I can feel it pressing into my head. My dds birthday is around now and it's always been a lovely few weeks - she's often had a bouncy castle! And I'd still be wearing summery clothes and we would be in the garden . I'm just so depressed about the weather which is pointless I know. I'm remembering last winter and the never ending rain and greyness. I'm thinking of being in France in the summer and beautiful summer light. Anyone else struggling. What do you do to counteract it. And don't say hot chocolate cos I hate it lol!!

I think it's a mindset thing.
I personally love this time of year. I have no pressure to go out. I can think of nothing better than baking something tasty, shutting the curtains, lighting candles and enjoying some good TV.
I've just ordered a couple of new books, I've got the throws out. The leaves are changing colour and Christmas will be here soon.

The thing to remember though is that it's supposed to be like this. It's October, it's not summer. The nights are drawing in, it's not supposed to be light.

Winter is less nice than summer every year. There is no way to counteract that

Totally agree with this. I love spring/summer because I love being out & about, picnics, beach trips, sitting in the garden, bbq’s etc. BUT I also love autumn/winter because it’s so cosy, life can just slow down a bit, there’s no pressure to be out and about “to enjoy the weather” like there is in the sumner and it’s so lovely to have evenings in, a nice hot heart meal and watch films, bake, candles on!

SAD syndrome is a real thing, but you just have to keep positive , find different things to do, keep energy levels up😁 I think Autumn has arrived very early this year in a lot of areas in UK. We have often been sea swimming when on late Sept early Oct holidays, but not this year. I actually got a pair of fingerless gloves out Sunday. And a light scarf

Fuck hot chocolate, I moved abroad.

Throws and candles are no compensation for month after month of bleak.

Yes! I get you. I feel similarly. I also think a lot of the cosying up and reading books etc is harder to do much of when you have kids. Being in a lot makes my family stir crazy. No solutions yet here just empathy!

It's utterly miserable.

candles/hot chocolate/snuggling/throws don't make it drier or less miserable and grey.

Yeh I don't mind being cosy in the evenings I just feel autumn didn't used to be this grey. I don't remember these long stretches of rain and grey. Except last year!!

Maybe you have SAD op? I do...my mood is very dependent on the weather, particularly how bright it is and if there is blue sky....the damp, drizzle and grey skies make me feel miserable and exhausted.

Yes, it's been a very wet year and summer got started later than usual with all the rain. On the other hand I liked that summer was cooler than some years. I hate hot and humid weather.

I manage the grey darkness with lights. Three Himalayan salt lamps around the lounge/dining room cast a lovely warming pink glow. A lamp with an amber globe casts a warm yellowy light and as the darkness takes further hold I string warm white micro fairy lights into a couple plants. Sounds terribly tacky but actually looks very pretty and warms and lights my soul in the miserable weather. Works for my husband too, often I walk in and the lamps are on in miserable dark weather. In my bedroom I have warm white fairy lights scrunched into a vase (not my image but gives you an idea of the feel). Also a super warm and cosy throw in a warming colour on the sofa.

I am generally a grumpy old fucker but with this I’ve decided to take the approach that you can’t change the weather, only your attitude to it and with only about 1500 weeks left on the planet I’m not going to spend 50% of it being depressed. I’ve found it rarely rains all day and here it tends to be ok first thing and then roll in, so if I get out for a run before it starts raining, that improves my acceptance of the rest of the day. If there’s a good day I max it out. Also i’m a proud dry robe wanker. The haterz don’t know what they’re missing. Transforms the experience of a rugby pitch sideline from “fucking shit- why did I have kids?” to “bearable”. Finally, I found some indoor but “leave the house” hobbies - bouldering and indoor tennis.

No blankets or hot chocolate.

I feel the same op. I loathe it.

Where I live now it seems to rain solidly . For instance it started on Sunday afternoon so I did get out on sun morn - but then it rained all nite sun nite and then all day mon and all nite and all day Tues and Tues nite and has been raining all day today. I used to live on the coast and it wasn't as constant as I think the wind blew the clouds away so it would often clear up .

I kind of agree with you OP - I think because we've had such a horrible summer this year with so much rain in the first 6 months that July and August didn't give enough respite. September is often gorgeous, with the hot heat of summer over, the earth is all warmed up and the light is beautiful. But not this year. If we'd had a bit less rain this summer I'd feel less cheated with it being rubbish throughout most of September as well.

Not sure what to do about it. October is meant to be colder, darker, a bit stormier etc. I'm going to try and embrace it as much as I can. Write it off for this year and hope for better next year.

Making the most to get out in nature when it's dry but also finding hobbies you enjoy that are indoors! Eg Swimming, gym, exercise classes, book clubs, baking, reading.

I always think of autumn/winter as a time to slow down and enjoy being at home, cooking, doing jobs around that house that have been put off during the summer, getting into bed earlier etc.

Christmas will be here soon

Oh dear kind God. It's only just October!

Funny enough December is never as bad for me. I think im going to go shopping for some lights . Some rooms o only have the "big light" which is depressing in itself !

@spanieleyes22 yeah I live on the south coast so our weather is drier than the north in general although I recently discovered that Leeds is a very dry city which surprised me. East Anglia is also pretty dry.

YANBU. The weather this year has been relentlessly shit - endless, endless rain, overcast and grey, virtually no summer whatsoever apart from the odd few days here and there, and now we’re plunging back into dark, short days, and it’s cold, wet and windy again with no prospect of any improvement for at least 5 months.

I never mind battening down the hatches in the autumn if we’ve had a good few months of lovely, sunny weather, and I usually look forward to cosy nights, lighting the fire and getting ready for Christmas, but right now my heart just isn’t in it. I feel bloody robbed and I’m not ready for this non-event of a year to be over already when it feels like it never even got started! It’s depressing, and quite a few people I know are feeling the same - we just don’t seem to have proper seasons anymore and it makes the whole year feel flat.

DH and I are now dead set on moving overseas in the near future. I wasn’t 100% convinced before, but this summer has tipped me over the edge. I’m not prepared to sit freezing my arse off and looking at grey drizzle 10 months of the year until I die. Although I realise ‘leave the country’ is not quite as practical a suggestion as ‘treat yourself to a hot chocolate’ 😂.

Where I live it's been the wettest Sept in at least 188 years (Beds, Bucks, Glos Oxon, Wilts) which means its been seriously cloudy which many people find depressing so YANBU. Looking better here for next few days - if you can get outside more when it's sunny, or even a bit brighter, do. Also Vit D3 might be worth a try.

Not usually bothered by the weather but it's really getting to me this year. Relentlessly wet, grim and dark. And my poor bedraggled window boxes agree.

I’ll let people into a secret…

They have Christmas in countries with nice weather too.

Well I'm sure trudging round the shops spending money you don't have on gifts for people who will most likely not appreciate them is more fun in the sunshine

Summer clothes outdoors in October? Are you in the UK?
It's always gone cold by October in my part of the UK.
Also rain is pretty normal.
I don't think there's much you can do apart from move to another country- otherwise look at the positives and buy some good waterproofs