January really is crap

[Nomoreburritosforgodsake]

I’m a positive person and try to make the best out of things, count my blessings etc, but it really is the most depressing month…cold, wet, quiet, no money..just so blah.
I don’t mind staying in, have put fairy lights, candles, pjs and throws..still crap
Think it’s more the money and weather, just getting by, the most excitement being taking the dog for a walk and making lasagna. Dd asking for zoo, cinema, soft play and takeaways..just not happening this month

How to make Jan-well-Jan-March better?!

Does anyone actually prefer these months? I remember a brilliant year pre Dd where we went ski ing and then to Thailand just to escape it, no option for that these days 😅

It’s not faux at all, I had a glorious walk this morning. It was absolutely freezing, the sky was blue, the sun was shining so I was warm, everything was sparkling and it was frozen so there was no mud. I loved it.

Ugh there's also so much illness this time of year. Flu, COVID, noro - yuck. Surely even the winter lovers must hate that bit?
I appreciate lots of people get hayfever in spring. I do too. But for me that's solvable with antihistamines so I'd take that over the hideous winter illnesses any day.

I know you didn't ask me but I feel exactly the same as those two posters and ours is never above 17 in the living space, but colder at the back of the house for the dogs. And obviously we're outside a lot even when it's below freezing because the puppy likes to lie out in the snow and I need to check on her.

Yes this is me - I'm fine until the start of December, then the dread sets in. But my mood starts to lift significantly in March because you really start to notice the days are getting longer, and at the end of March the clocks go forward and you know you have the whole of spring and summer (and autumn) ahead to look forward to. Let's hope we actually get a proper summer this year though!

I definitely noticed today how it stayed lighter for longer

How did the sun sh8ning make you warm at -4. You understand that -4 is the temperature and it’s not warm? This is the sort of bollocks that winds me up. I get ypu might like it. But it’s not warm. At all.

Do you always try and force your opinion on others? It’s pretty tiresome.
I was dressed warmly, I was walking, the sun was shining. I was warm. Please stop telling me what I was or wasn’t, it’s really not on.

But you know 20 is the recommended lower end (mine is at 18 incidentally)? And that lots of summer days don’t get over 17, despite people wanging on about sweating and fainting? Here are the averages.

You may have been. It wasn’t because the sun was out. It was -4. That’s objective fact. The sun wasn’t warming anything.

My goodness, you are so determined!
The sun was warm, I was there, standing in the sunlight. That was a fact. Stop dismissing what I say, it’s an incredibly unhealthy habit, to dismiss others.

Why does it bother you so much, that other people enjoy it, it’s not affecting you in the slightest. Such a waste of time and energy.

It doesn’t bother me. What does is a lack of logic. It was -4. If the sun had been warm it would have warmed it up.
Edit: why am I more determined than you? You are trying to tell me -4 is warm! Repeatedly.

"I think if you are seeing "signs of spring" in January, it is going to be a very long Feb/March. Probably April too."

Agree. There are no signs of spring. It is not spring, it is winter. There is simply the lengthening days and the knowledge that spring will come. Right now, everything still sleeps.

@cardibach I went for a run at 5.30am yesterday morning. It was -8. I had my headtorch on and everything was glittering, even the ice particles in the air. The sky was crystal clear and studded with stars. I really enjoyed it.

I like winter to be cold. These grey, mild, wet winters are so depressing.
-4 is grand.

@pictoosh do you think telling me how much you live it will fix me?

@cardibach whilst I agree -4C is blimmin' cold, if you do a walk at the pace I go, for about an hour and 15mins, in the crisp, clear weather, with the sun shining, it does make the extremities tingle and you get the circulation going,

I was wearing several thin layers eg a base layer, a long sleeve t shirt, plus a fleecy 'buff' to keep my neck warm and neoprene gloves.

I did get very warm after about 20 mins walking. Had I been doing that walk in grey damp drizzle at -4C I would have come back much colder and wouldn't have felt so uplifted as I did today, seeing the blue sky and the sun on my face.

ETA do you get SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) by any chance? My DH was prone to it, from about Oct to end Feb, but I drag him out in the sunlight (doesn't have to actually be sunny). He begrudgingly tells me he does feel a bit less miserable lot better for the daylight.

I’m not suggesting you weren’t warm. I walk rescue dogs 3 times a week. I understand walking makes you warmer. It want because the sun was shin8ng though. At this time of year a clear sky means it’s colder.

I'm not trying to fix you. I couldn't give a toss.
I was responding to you saying, "I really can’t believe people actually enjoy -4."
I'm telling you that people do.

@cardibach oh give it a fucking rest
You’ve made the decision to be miserable and hate it, good for you.
Allow those of us who enjoy it, to enjoy it.

And that’s not what I said. The sun was shining on me, and it was warm. That is a fact. I could feel the warmth.

It’s not a decision. Would you tell anyone with depression for any other reason that they’d made a decision to be depressed? What a vile thing to say.

That isn’t what I said. Stop putting words in my mouth.
I am out of this convo, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

Perhaps disregard the time of year and focus on your objectives.

These are your words “You’ve made the decision to be miserable and hate it”.
I’vesaid several times it causes me to be depressed. I guess you are out because you are embarrassed at the inappropriateness of your comment 🤷‍♀️

No. I’m out because it’s pointless.
We are talking about January, not your depression.
You’re choosing to take it as you have.

You need to get help of some sort, not be aggressive with other people on here. I mean that in the kindest possible way.

And I apologise that you thought I was referring to your depression. I was not, and I would never do that.