SAD/ feeling low in winter support thread

[LadyCatStark]

Hi all, after reading some unhelpful comments on another thread where someone is struggling, I wondered if anyone would like to join me in a SAD support thread for anyone who is feeling low now that winter is coming, whether you have a SAD diagnosis or not.

Disclaimer: I know anyone can post anything they like on a public forum but please, out of respect for those of us who are really struggling, don’t come on this thread to tell us how much you love winter, hygge, snuggling, hot chocolate or twinkly lights or tell us that we’ll feel better if only we change our mindset.

Please feel free to share your feelings, good or bad, tell us about your day or share tips for things that help (or don’t). Hopefully we can all help each other get through this winter!

YY to this. I got absolutely addicted to buying wool and cashmere jumpers on eBay last year - I was totally obsessed with finding a bargain!
I keep desperately trying to find the winter love that other posters have for the season so spend loads on hygge type crap in an attempt to make me feel better - it doesn’t.

Eugh I want to love hygge but I just can't. I watched a documentary about scandi countries with dp and it talked a lot about hygge but equally talked about the high suicide rate so I honestly think it's bullshit that is plugged in the UK as being the answer to winter blues.

I love eBay. I bought 2 pairs of walking boots recently and neither fit me so I need to relist them and get a pair that fit. Ditto jumpers, I'm currently working in a shop that has to have its doors wide open and we aren't allowed the heating too high.

I guess the change in weather taps into our animal instinct to gather/ hoard things for winter. Maybe. My puppy has grown himself the thickest of coats literally over the last week or so. I’m so jealous!

@ShaneTheThird

Does anyone else have a weird desire to spend money when it gets dark and cold?

Normally I'm a skin flint and never buy myself anything and right now I just want to buy buy buy.

My new winter bad habit has started. I've found myself on twinnings tea website adding loads of herbal teas to my basket.

Yes, I was like this last year. I bought loads of stuff. I became obsessed with coats and snow boots. I am also a skinflint but bought so many jumpers, boots and coats it was ridiculous.

Eugh I want to love hygge but I just can't. I watched a documentary about scandi countries with dp and it talked a lot about hygge but equally talked about the high suicide rate so I honestly think it's bullshit that is plugged in the UK as being the answer to winter blues

Oh it’s a total load of rubbish. Up here, Visit Scotland have come up with their own version called ‘coorie’ - which is basically a lifestyle label that raises the price of tartan tat by approximately 800%. Coorie in is a Scottish phrase which means to nestle or cuddle in, but coorie as a brand means nothing - and certainly isn’t a substitute for the sleet, soaring heating bills, ice and 1.5 hours of daylight we get in winter.

Talking of ice - if anyone hates walking on the stuff (who doesn’t) then Yaktrax are your friends. Absolutely brilliant things - www.amazon.co.uk/YakTrax-Walker-Traction-Device/dp/B001CZJBKM?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Oh no! I want to love it. I get sucked into threads that talk of warm cosy jumpers and shit and I think yes I will start taking a hot shower every morning and using a new body wash etc and I will start a routine. Never in my life have I ever done that and never have I been motivated to do so.

I am glad I'm not the only one though! I'm already telling myself I don't need new stuff! But them shoe track things look good I might get some for walking to the train station.

Yes this time of year I start online shopping for knitwear - mainly jumpers and woolly socks but then I start thinking about hats and gloves. Also blankets and heaters.

Basically I start to prepare for living in a tent.

@TaraR2020

Yes this time of year I start online shopping for knitwear - mainly jumpers and woolly socks but then I start thinking about hats and gloves. Also blankets and heaters.

Basically I start to prepare for living in a tent.

you sound like me!

Because of my OCD I often create scenarios in my head about what if there's a big freeze and there's no heating for days how will I survive it? As a kid I used to make lists of what I would need to survive the wilderness. I lived in a small town .

@LadyCatStark omg how did I miss the update on your cutie dog and his winter coat!

I had to remind myself the other day that I do actually have central heating!!

Like you, though, I have this idea in my head that I need to be able to survive if I suddenly have no heating or hot water

It's mad isn't it! The worst part is my work have started selling weird camping survival stuff like torches, and Swiss army type gadgets with lots of multi tools and I'm convinced I'm going Bear Grylls soon 🤣. Do loves it and wants to go camping in winter the utter freak.

I did cave I just went to Tesco to get dp snacks as he has to go to Yorkshire at 5am! And I got a mixed variety of pukka teas so will have one tonight.

@ShaneTheThird he’s the only (whispers) snuggly thing I like 🥰.

Your scenario did actually happen to us in 2015. It wasn’t a big freeze it was a flood but we were without electricity for 3 days in December. Our hob was an induction one too so I had to make pasta in the dark on a camping stove by the back door. DH was working out of the area one day and had to bring milk back for us, my sister, her PILs and her BIL as all the shops had to shut. We had to go for a drive just to warm up and charge our phones and just went to bed at about 8pm. In the end they brought in massive generators. It’s still talked about round here and it was 6 years ago 😂.

I stocked up on vitamins in Aldi today. They’ve got various types on special in the middle aisles so I got zinc and magnesium and a D3 spray and one for hair, nails and skin.

I think paying more for good winter clothes is justifiable as they are more durable and more about substance than style. I’m knitting a jumper but don’t expect to see it finished this year but hopefully I’ll get some wear this winter. It’s a nice way to pass the time in the evening.

@ShaneTheThird oh don't talk to me about survival kit, I've already had to talk myself out of windup radios and solar + usb rechargeable lanterns with the energy crisis headlines! 🤦‍♀️😆

Thanks for the warm welcome.

And YES to spending. I've starting trawling Vinted looking for bargains... And the whole Internet for just the right pair of doggie pj's and coat. Which I haven't found yet.

I do that thing this time of year where it looks cold, put on all the layers, walk half way to school and feel like I'm going to melt into a pool of sweat because whilst it is cold, it isn't actually cold cold yet.

my people.

Oh yes I do the too many layers thing and then I walk really fast home from work at night and walk in to the heating on and start sweating for an hour.

We had three days without water at one pint due to a burst main. It was absolutely hellish.Couldn't flush the toilets or have a shower. Or fill the kettle from the tap or cook. It made me realise how much we take these things for granted. Also lost power for a day on a freezing cold day. After an hour or two it was unbearably cold. Even with blankets and gloves. Really shocking . I will never take these things for granted again.

My house was also flooded and that was a scenario I will never forget. It was like the Apocalypse.

Hello I don't have an SAD diagnosis and I wonder if anyone gets very low around March time? Is that part of SAD as I am almost certain it's seasonal.

I have good intentions of supplements and getting outside daily but as others have said, my working hours are squeezed between school runs and then cooking dinner, and anything I might do for myself goes out the window

I mean I think that if I could get more light and supplements during the winter months, then come March I might not be hit so hard.

I actually thought the clocks had already gone back. Gutted!

Finding my way back to this thread after coming across a thread where people are raving on about it being wet because it means they can snuggle. Fuckers.

Hope everyone's doing OK. I've definitely noticed it getting earlier dark over the last couple of weeks, and the Scottish weather is firmly autumnal. I am starting the second year of my master's today, so that will keep me very busy and hopefully stave off the worst of the dark grimness.

What doesn't help is that the CHristmas tat explosion appears to be in full flow already, I volunteer in a charity shop each week and we already have shelves full of cards, decorations and gifts. Shops are full of mince pies and selection boxes - we don't really need this for a quarter of the year, do we?

@ShaneTheThird

More like 4pm here in Edinburgh ☹️ It’s like living underground, with only a glimpse of daylight at the end of the tunnel.

Hope everyone is keeping well? It’s bucketing down here in Edinburgh again - everything is a soggy wet mess, the tumble dryer is on constantly it seems, and what can’t go in the dryer is hanging up and making the place look a mess. I suppose I could always snuggle under a blanket

YY to Christmas stuff in the shops! We definitely don’t need it for a quarter of the year.

We’ll it’s day 5 of torrential rain here 😭. I haven’t been able to go on any runs at all and I need to establish an evening exercise routine again but I don’t know if it’s the weather, going back out to work for the first time in 18 months or my medication but I’m exhausted by 7pm! At least I have no choice but to walk the dog so I’m getting something!

@stilldumdedumming I do feel crap all winter but it is worst around March. I think it’s the cumulative effect of winter. Do try to sort some supplements as they do really help.

I wonder if we can get knitwear shopping declared an official symptom of SAD and qualify for some type of discount...? Cardigans for me this year!

It's the greyest if grey wet mornings here and I'm craving my SAD lamp. Starting to get the brain blankness this week for the first time, does anyone else gets that when it feels like there's a massive time lag between someone saying something and your brain processing it? It's one of the most frustrating bits of SAD for me.