Struggling so much with the endless grey dark weather

[Tipsandtricks22]

Its making me miserable. Its not uncommon for me to feel like this in the winter and at the beginning I really tried to be more positive about it and prevent it getting to me but today, the house is literally dark because its just completely grey and horrible and overcast outside. In a way I'd prefer if it was pelting down with rain, at least I like the sound of rain. I get that I live in England but as I'm unable to move to the Canary islands, how to I stop it making me feel so depressed?

I will add to the people suggesting a couple of days away abroad somewhere if you can afford it. Not an extreme day trip - that’s a bit daft, but certainly a long weekend away. I favour the south of Spain because of the shorter flight time. It’s something to look forward to and does give a nice boost. Then I keep one of my holiday photos as the screensaver on my phone.

Its been fairly pleasant as November goes here, sure gets dark early but means nights are cosy.

Appreciate i might be a dinosaur but think people with SAD need to grow up a bit.

Lumie have been the market leader for a long time, although other brands have jumped on the bandwagon since. I’ve had SAD for 20+ years and my Lumie lamp really helps.

There was a good episode of Sliced Bread on SAD lamps (BBC Sounds).

Where are you in England? Getting outside in daylight (especially for exercise) even on a grey day is the best thing you can do.

Do you have any green/open space near you?

I've got a Lumie lamp and find it really helps if I use it each morning

Well in Derbyshire it has been cold wet miserable grey and just horrible all day
A proper foul Monday

It is today but on Saturday I was still in a tshirt walking the dog in the sun. Where in England are you?

I’m the same OP.

I really do find that vitamin D stops my mood dipping and making sure I am wearing really warm clothes.

I also go for ‘angry walks’ where you start out scowling and cursing the gloom and damp, but after about half an hour the world seems a better place (a good podcast helps) and at the end you get to go inside where it is bright and warm.

Talk of fairy lights, and snuggling under a blankie in your pjs with a hot choccie gives me the ick.

I am not English. I would have to fly to England first. There are no flights from here between oct and April.

You can’t make it better. It’s seasonal. But it’s pretty mild at the moment so no huge fuel bills,

I do a wee intermittent run round my neighbourhood each day trying to improve my Personal Best. Really lifts my mood particularly in winter.

And to think just a few weeks ago we had all the MN trilling about crisp,cold days,tripping gaily through crunchy leaves and long walks in the autumn sunshine to look forward to.🙄

Different thread. Different perspective.

Yes but it is only just November!

The trees are only just dropping their leaves, they have been beautiful in gold and red for weeks, it's not like it's February and we've had months of dreary grey already. It's been a couple of weeks!

I get it, I do. But if you feel like this this early in the season, you need to get outside more now, before it really does get cold and dark.

And then make your indoors cosy and warm and snuggly with lamps and blankets..

Lumie Vitamin L. It’s about the size of an iPad. Amazon were running deals on them
last week, not sure if it’s still going but might be worth a look.

Am in SE and luckily it's the first fully grey day with rain we have really had.
I think we will see that moving North over the next few years, so given climate change you won't have to worry about it soon.

That is really minimising how badly some people are affected by SAD. I expect you think those with mental health issues need to get a grip! If only life was so easy for those affected.

Totally hear you OP.

I like the idea of leaning into it with candles and throws, but the reality is I can’t function without decent levels of sunlight. My family have always joked that I’m solar powered, even on a sunny day my mood can sink like a stone if a cloud comes over. SAD lights don’t do it I’m afraid, has to be the real thing.

I’ve learned over the years that winter sun is more important to me than a summer break.

Im taking vitamin D all year round now as I can't deal with the transition into winter. Just the Vitamin D and K2 spray. And crack the SAD lamp out quite early. Only 6 weeks until the shortest day.

Yeah I feel like thats an unhelpful take from @noidea69
Its like telling people with depression to grow up. I'm sorry to say that I'm not surprised you think you may be a dinosaur as thats a common boomer mentality unfortunately.
Also its much easier to have lovely cosy evenings when youre in a relationship and/or have a family than when you're on your own most evenings.

I used to love the winter months especially the darkness, but as I have got older they are not as appealing at all and at times I have struggled with the lack of light. I do tend to think that there was a link for me with perimenopause.

What has helped me is embracing the season, making the most of coziness, making sure I eat well, take vit D, get enough exercise, getting out in morning light (even if it is grey). I plan for Christmas or anything else which is something to look forward to (could even be watching something on TV every Tuesday night etc). At my worst, I used a SAD lamp every morning which seemed to help. I would get out for a walk at lunchtime. I have also reframed how I think about the darkness, although I still count down until the shortest day and can feel lighter knowing that is behind and come February we will hopefully have a lot more light.

These threads always go the same way. People suggest either holidays or coping strategies, with the latter being either ignored or shot down with a "tried that it doesn't work."

What do you want us to do? Change the weather for you?

My suggestion is similar: get outside and move in daylight as much as you can. Take vitamin D and use lights as you are able. Also, get some houseplants and keep them under grow lights. Visit a botanical garden that has greenhouses. I firmly believe that an underacknowledged part of SAD is missing seeing (and smelling) vegetation in active growth. .

Also keep a diary. If you are in the North West you might possibly have had an endless succession of grey days (I don't follow the forecast so I don't know) but if you are in the south east you definitely haven't. Keep a weather journal and try to appreciate when there are differences in the weather/sky colour

Why don't you go on holiday? It is extrmely cheap to go to Spain or Portugal at this time of year

The UK really isn't that bad.

I have a dog, but I'm a fair weather dogwalker and she doesn't like getting wet, so we don't go out when it's really horrible weather. We still go pretty much everyday, and probably miss less than 5 days a year in total.

I also like gardening and I'm in the garden at least a couple of times a week from Feb to Nov. I'm only just thinking of giving it up for the winter now, but I still have loads to do so have my fingers crossed for a few more dry days before the end of the month..

It is definitely dry and/or sunny a lot, maybe not all day, but for at least a part of it.

Sorry replied to the wrong comment!