Do you feel that the weather affects your mood?

Where I live there is snow on the ground from about November to April.
From about November to Jan or Feb it gets light about 8am and dark around 430pm
Giving us a whopping 8— 9 hours of daylight.

So yes, I would argue that weather greatly affects my mood. I think of nothing but evil for 6 months or so.
Just kidding.
Maybe just 5 months.

But then the spring comes!

1 more day!!

And all the snow will melt directly into my basement. It’s going to be great.

ooo i has a MAJOR effect. i have Seasonal affective disorder and come february, if i dont get into a tanning bed or take a vacation, you dont want to deal with me.

Definitely. I jsut got back from Florida where it was lovely and sunny and I felt great. Today is gray and rainy here in New Jersey and it’s a downer.

Sure.

I’m totally satisfied and happy on overcast, gray, and rainy days. Sunny days just make me indifferent to so many things.

absolutely!

However, I’m kinda the other way around. Three years in the Vegas desert and I am soooooo tired of yet another sunny day.

I’d love a downpour, or some ice!!!!!

This gleaming burning sun sometimes makes me feel a bit depressed, kinda like rain does for other people.

@TaoSan what an interesting thought, being from ohio i cant imagine being sick of a sunny day!

@A_Beaverhausen

Seriously!!!

May through August people really get the summer crazies here! Everybody gets aggressive and irritable. Dunno, the light is so bright it distorts your view, the heat is horrible. Murder/suicide rates go up in summer.

It’s ridiculous.

But hey, no income tax ;)

intriguing.

Absolutely.

A big YES to this one.
I live in Toronto, and I find that in the summer I’m generally a happier person.
The cold makes me sad :(

This is an interesting topic to me, but not because I think shitty weather makes one feel shitty. I have a theory that says spring makes people who are inclined to mood disruptions act impulsively, makng rash decisions that have a huge impact on other areas of their lives. I have no scientific research to back me up (maybe there’s some out there) but I swear that in a climate where there are distinctive seasonal characteristics, some people act abnormally.

Big yes. It’s not the shitty weather so much as too much of the same weather, I think. The nice stuff never stays. At first the hot stuff is nice, but then there’s too much and it goes on and on and on… then the cool stuff is nice, and so is the first snowfall, but then it goes on and on and on…

Well.

Lately the weather has been so bipolar, and consequently so have I. But now I’m sunny with a high of 75.

(couldn’t resist :D)

Definitely. I have SAD.

Absolutely. I don’t really notice, though until I get a great sunny warm day after several dreary cold ones. And vice versa- sometimes it’s nice to have a rainy day after a whole bunch of bright sunny ones. I love different weather conditions from day to day.

Absolutely. I find it not only affects my mood but my relationships and performance. A gray streak in a midwestern winter, for me, means poor grades, tough relationships, and a mild depression. I should move.

Yep. I have Reverse SAD. Warmth and sun make me lethargic and miserable, and cloudless skies give me anxiety.

That’s interesting @MacBean. Are you for real? Or are you just from London or something? Haha.

Totally for real. I need clouds or trees or mountains or something. When I drove across the country last summer, I was so thankful for the constant rain while I was crossing the midwest, otherwise I’m not sure how I would’ve been able to cope with all the flat nothingness.

@MacBean Is that an agoraphobia thing?

@augustlan Yep! Clouds, rain, darkness, etc., all make me feel less exposed, therefore safer, therefore happier.

I can totally understand that. I need clouds, too… I just prefer white fluffy ones scattered about in a blue, sunny sky

Im right with you MacBean… I am a lover of rain. I just love a rainy day where I can stay in my house all day and pamper me. Sunny days only make me hot and sweaty and make my head hurt. I hate them.

i feel like the weather definitely correlates with my mood, but i don’t know if there’s a causal relationship.
when it’s raining, i tend to be more introverted. but i don’t know if it’s because of how it looks outside, or what. i partially think it’s because i usually don’t go anywhere when it’s raining, so i stay in, and usually do more introverted things. also, when it’s rainy it’s more nighttime like, which is when i usually feel most creative, so i guess it does sort of cause me to be more quiet and whatnot.

but when it’s sunny, most of the people i hang out with are more willing to drive, and therefor more willing to hang out. and it’s obviously a lot better weather to go to the beach in. so i end up being more extroverted.

chilly weather usually makes me more thoughtful for some reason, but also in a better outward mood, because i don’t want to waste the weather sitting in my house being sad (though i’m happy to stay home from school under the covers with hot coffee or tea).

Yeah. Rainy days make me sad and dull. Maybe living by the Mediterranean sea, a place usually sunny and bright, have something to do with it.