Desperate to move overseas -SAD

[Autumnsunnydays]

l live in South East England. I suffer from SAD from November until May. I think this has gone worse as I got older.

I honestly feel like crying when I wake up to a grey sky nearly every morning. I have a SAD lamp, take supplements and really have to push myself to get going and get on with the day.

I am counting the days/years until youngest finish school so we can move overseas,

Not sure why I am posting, just want to feel happy living here no matter what the weather. We already go away every school holiday apart from the Christmas one.

How old are your DC? And why do you need to wait for the youngest to finish school? Then they’ll be out doing all the fun stuff of young adulthood and in time maybe settling down and having children. I think you’re better off moving as a family (if they’re young enough) - life is too short to be miserable for half the year.

Youngest one is 14, oldest one will be off to university next year. I am 50

Thanks. Agree that life is short to be miserable half of the year; but I don’t want to disrupt everyone as I am the only one that feel this way.

I currently feel like you, also 50 years old, except I am already overseas, outskirts of Milan to be precise and I haven't seen the sky in nearly a week, just endless fog (actually it's very heavily polluted smog) and grey, every year it's like this for the entire winter. In the summer it's so unbearably hot we have to stay indoors and keep all the shutters closed and stay in the dark. Telling you so you don't move here!

Sorry to hear. I was in Milan once and it was as you describe it; very grey and foggy.

My husband was exactly the same. We tried lamps, supplements, alt therapies
We were brexit beaters and enjoy 320 days sunshine avg
Just do it.
One Life- One chance

Where will you move? Most places that don't have a winter have quite extreme weather.

Thank you, Where did you move? Do you have children?

I am wondering if I need to increase my vitamin D in the meantime?

We can’t move because of DH job. He is planning to retire when DC2 finishes school.

I have to cope for the next few years. Apart from the SAD I have nothing else to complain. Just this strong feeling of moving South of Europe that grows every winter.

We live in SE Spain, no kids,
Early 50s
Husband was really struggling with SAD
We literally sold everything, packed the car up with the dogs and left 😬
Researched massively what we needed to do so it wasn’t a complete plunge into the unknown. We’d got familiar with the area we chose and the community- made friends and contacts all before we left.
It was a massive risk and very scary but has been life changing - It’s a bit challenging recently - only child with elderly mum in and out of hospital but I knew that would happen and I manage it.
Every week I hear about someone else that’s dropped dead/ got cancer of no age.
Life is definitely too short
I have no regrets whatsoever.

I think most people in UK are supposed to have Vit D supplements. Have you had your 50+ healthcheck? You should get a full bloodscreen which will pick up deficiencies.

I feel your pain, I'm stuck in the UK looking after aged parent whilst my family home in the Med beckons. Whilst I have EU citizenship, aged parent doesn't, so their time is up for the timebeing and we're here for 180 days. Grim.

I have my blood checks every year. I am probably due another one.

I take 2000 UI vitamin D, but was reading that I may need 5000.

Well done. I think it is easier without children.

Some countries actually have winters without endless grey skies.

It must be hard with parents overseas.

DH and I don’t have parents in the UK, both set in different continents as we are not from the UK.

Yes but they tend to be very extreme

I live in a such a country, and the climate isn't extreme.