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Scorching temperatures can challenge even the sunniest of dispositions -- but it makes some genuinely SAD.
Many of us can hardly wait for summer to arrive, but a small number of people are much happier when it's over. You've no doubt heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, the wintertime mood disorder -- but some get SAD in the summer.
As hot weather approaches, those with summer SAD sleep less, eat less, and lose weight. They're extremely irritable and agitated. (It's the reverse for people with winter SAD, who sleep more, gain weight and crave high-carb foods, and tend to slow down and socially hibernate from late fall to early spring.)
Summer-onset depression is thought to affect less than 1 percent of the population, making it much rarer than the winter variety experienced by an estimated 5 percent of people.
In its most severe form, people with summer seasonal depression may be more at risk for suicide than cold-weather SAD, says Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School, who has studied both types and first helped discover their existence. "Suicide is more of a concern when people are depressed and agitated rather than depressed and lethargic," he explains.
When summer depression was first recognized in 1986, Rosenthal said that mental health professionals suspected the cause was the heat and humidity. That, he said, lent itself to the idea that a cold shower, air conditioning, swimming in cold lakes or heading North would relieve symptoms. Although these treatments for hot-weather depression are useful for some, they lack the staying power that light-box therapy has on winter SAD.
'The light is cutting though me like a knife'
A person with summer SAD can stay inside, crank up the AC, and darken the room but then go outside into the heat and it's as if they've never been treated, explains Rosenthal, the author of "Winter Blues."
Another idea is that it might be the light itself that's aggravating sufferers, whether it's the intensity of sunlight or the angle it's coming at people. One of Rosenthal's summer depression patients describes it as "feeling like the light is cutting though me like a knife."
Still another possibility is that there may be two kinds of warm-weather depression, says Dr. Alfred Lewy, a professor of psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He suggests there might be one group of people who have an unpleasant reaction to the heat and humidity -- a discomfort with the climate. But even in Portland where summers aren't that hot or humid, he's seen patients struggle with summer depression.
Lewy suspects the cause in a second group might be that the body's natural clock, it's circadian rhythms, are misaligning in summer. Instead of cueing to dawn, the longer daylight is causing some vulnerable people to cue to dusk. Cueing to dusk shortens the typical body clock and delays a person's sleep-wake cycle. This mismatch, theorizes Lewy, may be triggering depression.
He successfully treated a person with summer depression with a combination of getting early morning sunlight (30 to 60 minutes daily), which shifts the body clock forward, and low-dose melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. Severe symptoms may also benefit from antidepressants.
Do you secretly -- or perhaps not-so-secretly -- loathe the summer months? What helps you get through them?
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I get terribly depressed in the Spring. I hate winter, and you would think that Spring would bring me happiness that the cold months are over, but for all of my adult life I have suffered during these March and April. It all disapates as soon as consistant summer weather arrives. Does anybody else experience this?
If you have SAD, spring can be difficult as the days lengthen and the light starts abruptly changing your body's rhythms. For me, it's like being awakened from a long sleep by someone poking me with thumbtacks. I'm glad to be awake, but it's not pleasant.
Yes! Me too! I feel lousy and my body hurts like hell. And, also, I hate being sticky and sweaty. Other people don't understand why I'm not HAPPY that the sun is shining. It is not until the weather "stabilizes" as you said that I feel "less bad." My body hurts 48 out of 52 weeks a year. And, to Karen, I am sad to have woken up. A sneeze or a cough sprawls me on the floor.
After a brain injury, I immediately developed extreme light sensitivity - even wearing sunglasses in the rain. With time, visual therapy, and a neuroepinephrine booster (Strattera, get it from a Canadian online pharmacy for 1/6th the price) I'm doing okay. I don't love summer, it's uncomfortable, but I'm not sleeping through the day, or wanting to kill myself every five minutes.
Here's one way things got better: I figured out that a big part of the depression was that when I'm in the sunlight, my breathing slows until I just about stop breathing. So it's a Central Nervous System slowdown. If you find yourself occasionally "drowning breathing," taking one big gasp of air, you might be doing the same. I put an alarm on my watch, every ten minutes it beeped and I'd check to see that I'm breathing regularly. If I'm having a rough day, I do sit ups or jumping jacks every 20 minutes to keep my breathing and heart rate up. It's helped a lot. Hang in there, my darlings, we can get through this, we can get to a liveable place and be glad to find ourselves still here.
I personally just hate summer in general. I hate the heat, I hate the humidity.... well check that, humidity wouldn't bother me so much if the temps didn't rise above the mid to upper 60's. The sun, well it doesn't bother me so much, my eyes are just really light sensitive. But I do get abnormally irritable when it is hot out. More so that most people, I don't even need to be hot to be super grouchy either. But stick me outside on at night when its 10 above, I do great.
Eric - you sound like me. And to make it worse is to hear everyone including the weather people saying what a wonderful 90 degree day it's going to be. Come winter - I'm in heaven and, if it snows, so much the better.
OMFG i can't believe there's actually people out there who feel like me! i don't feel so alone anymore -no, really. i looooove snow -not when it rains and snows at the same time though, too messy- heat and humidity kill me, slowly but surly, my curtains are dark, and stay down all summer (and the100-or-so year-old house, we can't have AC,power goes down...) so i spend all my free time playing videogames all summer, while vehemently awating for fall, and later on winter <3
No, I don't detest all of the good things that go with summer.But when you are subjected to life-threatening heat day after day, the sun is blazing down so hard that the asphalt is soft, equipment malfunctions because it is so hot,if you go anywhere you risk your car breaking down because of the heat, you watch your lawn slowly turn brown, then crunchy and dusty unless you spend a fortune to water it, you worry about all of the homeless people and the animals who have to stay outside in the heat day after day, your trees are so stressed from the heat and lack of moisture that they start to shed their leaves in June...Honestly!!!!!!!
Who would not get depressed? And who would not start looking for a different place to live?
Who would not get depressed? Those of us who abhore the constant dark and arctic like conditions a.k.a. Iowa winters. Who would not start looking for a different place to live? Those of us who are trapped here by financial (or other) circumstances who are barely getting the rent paid and having to pick between food or medication. Maybe if our government wasn't over-run with,liars,cheats,and icky creeps who photograph their alleged "bulge" and was populated by people who cared about doing the job they were sent there to do,there would be far fewer depressed,suicidal, people in this used to be great nation.
I think you're being unfair @sprintcarpilot69. The topic is about seasonal related depression. I'm sorry you have other factors in your life that are bringing you down, but that is not what this is about. In relation to the seasons, I used to live in Iowa. Yes, the cold does get a little old near the end of winter. I'm saying that, I'm a winter person. I hate summer. I hate it here in Texas and I hated it in Iowa. Everything is too bright, too hot, and too demanding in the summer. I wouldn't say that I get depressed, but I get crabby and iratable during the summer months. I'm stuck in Texas right now. Do you know how long summers are here? Do you know how hot it gets? Do you know how much snow we might see? To you, these things might sound like a blessing, but they aren't for me. I miss Iowa winters. I miss Iowa autumn. It's unfortunate that we're both stuck in places that we don't want to be, but that's no reason to take it out on kcstrawberryblonde.
Be a little more respectful of the people around you and try to see at least one beautiful thing everyday. That helps me. It gets to be 105 degrees here, I'll feel like I'm melting and that my brain is burning inside my skull while I'm still indoors, and I can still find something and say "That's pretty". Enjoy the little things, and you'll get by, just like everyone else. I do hope this helps, that it finds you well, and that you'll take it into consideration.
For 20 years I told my Drs that I got depressed in the summer as opposed to the winter which I love. In the winter I bundle up and go outside as much as possible. That is why my least depressed years were lived in Maine. My husband is visiting there now and when I talked to him yesterday it was 75 degrees; 110 here in TX where I am stuck for the time being.
As soon as Easter passes I start getting depressed because I know that in very short order I will not be able to go outside. I don't do heat. My body swells, I sweat like a pig and I feel as though I am struggling for every breath of blast furnace air. Hence the depression. I know that I will miserable for at least 3 or 4 months; here in TX, more like six. Hate summer, hate it, hate it.
BTW, n3cvaot one single Dr that I talked to took me seriously. So I find this article validating and a little sad, in as much as I knew what was wrong with me, apparently a long time before those oh so educated Drs could figure it out.
Kathy, as someone who grew up in Wisconsin I can relate. I also love winter! But from what you say, it sounds like I should start apartment hunting in Maine. 8-)
I've always preferred fall and winter to summer. From my experience it is the longer daylight hours that I loathe. I love the relaxation I feel at night. I tend to get anxious and confused when I'm surrounded by constant activity....like I don't have any time to collect my thoughts. Summer time brings out people running here or there, lawn mowers going, construction sounds, kids playing. At night, when you can hear the birds chirping and things have settled down, I feel more relaxed and calm. During the summer there is less of that.
I feel almost exactly the same way!! I though I was just a weirdo because summer often brought me anxiety/depression and it is because of all that comes with it. The yard work,trying to get it just right,mowing,cleaning,neighbors outside all of the time when I am not a huge people person,ect.. I feel like a gloom doom but it happens.
I agree, that's part of the reason I like the Fall/Winter seasons, because everything seems to slow down and get quiet. I like cold weather and darkness, it's peaceful and I have more energy. In the summer (which I loathe) I get extremely depressed and I feel as if someone drained all the energy out of my body. I don't sweat enough so my body heats up and I will sometimes blackout.....doctors say to stay in the shade and drink lots of water. As soon as the weather gets cooler and it rains I get giddy like a kid!!!
And cloudy! Cloudy is good!!!
Give me rain, clouds and darkness, and I'm happy. I cannot stand the sunshine. Taking the dog out for her morning walk on a sunny day feels like getting slapped across the face with blinding, intrusive light.
In the summertime, I have no energy whatsoever. The constant heat, humidity and sunshine literally suck the life out of me.
It's nice to know I'm not alone in this. I hate the summer, The unrelenting, oppressive sun bearing down on me. I find a clear, blue sky to be bleak & exposed to the elements. I'm fine if it's warm & cloudy. It's the direct sunlight that gets me. I start to feel sick in direct sunlight.
Night time is so calm & peaceful. That's why I like winter here in Portland, In December we get 15 hours of darkness, of course in June there is 15 hours of sunlight, which sucks. I was disappointed when I moved to oregon and discovered that it wasn't as cloudy and rainy as it was made out to be, especially in the summer. July & August here are sunny almost every day, yuk!
On th eup side though, the rest of the year is nice and cloudy, the way I like it :)
Oh gosh, lawn mowers are crazy. I'd rather have a bunch of messy, smelly cows cutting my grass than one of those things.
Even as a kid, I hated the summertime. Any time I walk out into the heat and bright light it's like flipping a light switch: I'm irritable and easily tired. I'm also a very light-sensitive sleeper (and a true Night Owl) so from May to September I get pretty sleep-deprived. My appetite drops off. I've long suspected that I have a mild case of summer SAD; according to this article I'm a pretty clear-cut case.
My favorite place to live is the Pacific Northwest coast where the weather is mild and often overcast. Too bad I can't find a job there. Guess I'll have to keep threatening to move to Norway.
Wow me too. I have said over the years that even as a little kid with the summer off from school, I didn't like it much. People look at me like 'What is wrong with you?' . I lived near the Atlantic Ocean for years and when storms were coming, I actually felt better.
I thought I was the only person in the world who hated summer. I'm Orlando-born, so I was raised in miserably hot weather. Once I moved out of that climate, I was much happier. I was happiest in New Hampshire, which has very mild summers, long fall and winter seasons. We're an Air Force family, and right now, we're stationed in Las Vegas. We've been assigned to Phoenix as well, and when I was active duty AF myself, I was stationed in the California high desert. (shaddup with the "But it's a dry heat" - that doesn't help) I can't wait until we move back to New England! I'm convinced I have the disorder described in this article.
The summertime is miserable for me. Right now it's 84° outside and I feel bad because I can't tolerate being out in the sun and heat for more than 10 minutes. I love the cool air in Fall and Winter. Maybe we should move our family to South America south of the equator where the seasons are the complete opposite. I just can't take the heat!
I dislike summer-I feel lonlier than in winter. I have had "depression" or mood disorders all my life but I feel more at ease, and more alive in the fall. Bugs, heat, humidity and way too much (in my humble opinion) of others wearing provocative clothing in the workplace. It's hard enough to concentrate on getting the tasks done! Also, said above, too much noise. Thank goodness for earbuds and soulful music to help get me through.
I am so relieved to see I'm not the only one!! This is real and I'm not just making it up! :) I dread summer - If there are 2 different kinds of SAD then I fall under the one suffering from the heat and humidity more than the sun - but I the massive sunlight does bother me too. I wish I could move to the Pacific Northwest - I think I would really do well there :) Thanks for the article and for all those who have shared. It's nice to not feel so alone on this.
I truly can't believe there are others out there...I live in Texas but am originally from Seattle. I long to get back to the NW. The sun just makes me so crabby and miserable. I find the rain and gloom have a very positive effect on my mood. I guess I thought I was the weird one...not realizing many people suffer from this. Makes me feel better just knowing I'm not alone.
Finally! This is like AA for summer-haters. :) It makes me feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one who hates sweltering heat and long days. I get so moody during the summer! I also live in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) but even during the summer months, as we get few consecutive days of pure sun, I can't stand it. Then people call me crazy, while they're complaining about the lack of sun I just tell them, "Good!". Being a redhead makes summer especially terrible because I sunburn so easily, but the heat just maximizes the hate.
I despise hot and humid weather and become lethargic and cranky in the Summer.
Can't wait for the Fall when comfort and joy ensue!!!
I hate it too key2joy. The heat and humidity literally makes me sick to my stomach. I've noticed that since I've lived further south (for the last 10 years or so) I have developed all kinds of stomach issues - high acid content. I think my body is stressed all the time.
That's really interesting! I have too!
When I moved to Florida from a northern state, I became severely depressed. Because I have suffered from depression most of my adult life, I immediately sought medical help. But while I was waiting for the drugs to kick in, I spoke with a therapist. I told her that I felt like I had SAD, except that it was triggered by the constant sunshine and hot weather. She dismissed my suggestion as ridiculous because there is no such thing. I described it the same way to my prescribing psychiatrist, who also said that SAD is only a winter issue. Reading this validated my experience that summery weather induced my depression. For me, the treatment remained the same, but now I can anticipate the trigger and head it off before it gets to the point of requiring medication.
I had the same conversation with my therapist, psychiatrist, and friends. No one believed me when I said the sun, longer days, heat, and humidity make me soooo depressed. I've told my husband it's like a wet dark blanket comes over my head as soon as the heat starts up. I feel miserable. But, as soon as the weather gets cooler (crisper air), I am alive again!! My energy increases dramatically from Nov. to March. Oh how I wish I had more months like that.
Soooo very glad to know this is something real and I am not just some crazy person walking the streets! I live here in South Alabama, and always have, as well as Florida. I have spent my whole life as long as I can remember just waiting for the day that I can go out and get over this "issue" I have and enjoy the summer months, pools, beaches, friends, like everyone else does. Well, I am now 35, and IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED!! It took many years for me to realize who I am and what I like, but thanks to the help of my loving husband of 16 years, we both now know it is Washington State. Yes, we have made this final decision after 2 years of research and travel, and know this is where I need to be. Yes, I love the rain, the colder climate, and longer days of darkness. I am happy then! Warm stews and soups, hot coffee, LOTS of coffee ( by the way, I work in the Barista industry, works out well, huh?), pumpkins and apples and REAL seasons to look forward to. Not 9 months of summer and then a sudden cold spell. These small things may seem corny and unimportant to some people, but when you can not even wake up and have the little things in your life be happy, then what hope do you have? We had made this decision now a while ago, and have our oldest to get through her last year of school, and then we are going. But this article has been a blessing!! I now can just simply stop trying to explain myself to everyone and KNOW this is normal (somewhat), and it is really Ok to be this way! Sincerely, Thank you and Relieved!!
I thought that the reason that I slept in the day most of the time was because I was a teenager but this seems more the case than the effects of being a teenager as I too love the rain and find the sun unbearable. I tried to take down the curtains in my dorm room one day and it did not go over so well I slept that whole day because I did not have the darkness to keep me awake but if its daytime and its raining those curtains will be open in a heartbeat.
For all the work psychiatrists and doctors go through to get their degrees, they really don't seem to know much, do they?
I dread every summer. I love rainy, chilly, dreary days. Truly, I do. I live in the south, so six months of the year are torture to me. I dream of living in the Pacific Northwest. If it weren't for family ties, I'd be gone in a heartbeat.
I too live in the South (Alabama) and loathe this summer weather. I always wanted to move to Seattle. I go on komonews.com just to check out their weather and read an article that it's been 296 days since they've hit 80 degrees. I can't even imagine, I don't think we had a day in June below 90.
Be thankful you don't live in Arizona.We get probably about 8 months of above 90 degree temps (90 or more usually till beginning of Nov!) and (4+ months of triple digits).By the time Sept rolls around if you live in Phoenix most here are sick of it.Hoping I can get out within a year or two and move to the Denver Colorado area.
Today marks my 5 year anniversary that I moved to Seattle, Washington from Central Florida. I was born in Orlando and had lived my entire life in the heat and humidity. Now that I live here, I could never be happier. It was a good move for me. I only miss my family and friends. When I do visit them I usually go back between November and March!
Grammarrocks - even in the PNW, summer SAD can hit. I get cranky during summer and dislike being in the sun. I won't go so far as to say that I experience the symptoms listed in the article, but I do LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the grey, cloudy days of fall and winter here in Seattle.
If this is your issue, move to Pittsburgh. Lots of clouds.
I am not a summer fan. I don't like the heat and humidity (or mosquitos). I am also more agitated and I think my circadian rhythm is off. I am exhausted in the late afternoon and then wide, wide awake at midnight. Hmmm.
This completely describes me. I spent the longest five years of my life (and first five years of my marriage) in Southern CA. Now we live in the Pacific Northwest, and I am in heaven! It is perfect! Unfortunately my husband gets SAD from lack of sun here. He can't stand the weather, and I love it. Where is a good compromise?
You are not alone! I've been in LA for over 5 years now, and I am one of the very few people here who lives for 'winter' (basically, 'not summer' in So Cal). My partner is originally from NJ, and vows never to live where it is 'cold' again (including San Francisco). I try to spend as much time as possible traveling in other parts of the country. This difference in where we'd prefer to live is probably the biggest reason we are not married. Best wishes!
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. On bright summer days I feel like I'm drowning in sunlight. I live in northern Utah so some years we get a lot of heat and sun and some years we don't; it's always pretty random. Lately we've had long winters and late, cold springs, so it gets a little old after awhile but I only need a couple of moderately warm, sunny days to refresh and then I'm ready for clouds again.
However, my wife is from Mexico, so she loves sun and heat and tropical weather and keeps wanting to live in that environment. Cold weather really gets her down. I don't know how we're going to work that out because I know I'd go crazy in the tropics.
I feel as though I'm in a similar situation as you, and a few other people here. My boyfriend of over four years LOVES the sun and heat, and gets irritable and moody when it isn't sunny. I LOATHE sun and heat, and spend my summers hiding indoors waiting for the clouds to come in.
He is content (mostly) with the climate here. I can't stand it, and want to move to Seattle as soon as I have enough money saved up. Thing is, I don't know if there really is any way to best compromise on that.
I had a college friend who loved cloudy weather and wasn't a fan of the Sun. If I avoided the Sun, it would be such a downer. I'm spending most of today's afternoon moving the lawn and doing some weeding on a nice sunny day. Tomorrow, I'm going to circle an airport on an 11-mile bicycle ride around the BWI Trail, trying to stay out of the granny-gear and keep up with a 10-yr old nephew and avoid 3-ft black snakes, around 10 am when the sunny temperature's still down in the mid-80's. Sunday, I'm going to a pool party and hope the occasional clouds called for, as well as the pool, bring some relief to the 90's Sun. I do like clouds when they bring relief to a heat wave, but what a ruined weekend if I hated the Sun!
I hate summer, especially August. I live for that first crisp fall day. I'd much rather have it be zero degrees than any temperature over 85 degrees. Cooler temps invigorate me; hotter temps make me irritable and craving naps. Has anyone ever had their dosha (their 'make up' or 'constitution') evaluated by a person trained in Ayurveda? All of you who feel like I do most likely are dominant Pitta. Check it out sometime; you'll be amazed how you will be able to relate.
Amen. I despise summer. My hair and my underwear is damp and funky for 3 months out of the year. Ugh. Interestingly enough, I have had my dosha evaluated (sort of....mainly by doing questionnaires and quizzes) and I'm a strong Pitta. It's a nasty 91 here in central Ohio today. When I went out to get the mail, it felt like knives were stabbing my eyes. Come on September!
It is funny because I have always said that dreary, rainy days cause my spirits to rise. My mother is the same way. Now I know that it is not in my mind. Or maybe it is, but not my imagination. And, I am not alone. Unfortunately, I live in CO, which is very sunny, so I just live for the dreary days... and wait it out in between. My situation is not very bad. But thanks for the article because people look at me like I am crazy when we have a gray day and I am in 7th heaven! Now I can say why!
I've officially decided to move to Seattle where it rains often and there's not so much blistering heat. I hate summer, always have, hate waking up to the sun screaming in my face at 530 am. It's just not right. I could very easily live in Alaska and go for months at a time with no sunlight, wouldn't bother me a bit. I live in Ca's Central Valley and on top of the horrid summers, there's nothing to do, crappy air quality and it's flat, everywhere you look. I grew up near the ocean and I miss it. Summer time sucks...
Don't move to seattle just yet. It's still hot here! Can't wait for fall to come soon and get rid of retarded hot summer
I despise summer! I hate the oppressive humidity, and the suck-the-life-right-out-of-you heat. This double cocktail is an absolute killer for my asthma. I couldn't survive the miserable summer months without AC-- more to remove the humidity than to cool the air! I love fall and spring, and most of the time, I love winter. No so big on the icy roads, though. I dream of immigrating to Scotland where the median summer temp is 65! Perfect.
65 sounds heavenly. Anytime the temp is in the 50's or so, I find myself imagining that kind of weather in the middle of July and wishing it was so.
I agree!! 65 is the perfect temperature for daytime and a nice, brisk, cuddle under the covers 50 degrees at night (with a breeze so you can open the windows!).
I absolutely DESPISE the summer. The heat and humidity make me physically ill, the bright sunlight hurts my eyes and gives me headaches, and the longer days are anathema. I count the days until fall, and consider May thru mid-September wasted months. I would liie nothing better than to stay in the house with the blackout shades and the a/c
I have Multiple Sclerosis and summer heat and humidity is a known aggrevant to MS. It makes most of us depressed, sleep more, highly fatigued, our thinking slows and we have trouble moving and feeling things. The higher the temp is to your body temp, the worse it is for me and when the outside temp gets above 98.6, I pretty much can't eat anything but cold bland food without becoming sick. It's very depressing literally and it causes depression in us chemically too. I bet many people with chronic neurological diseases have summer SAD. I personally need a cold, dark apt. as much as possible all summer long to keep me going.
The heat makes me uncomfortable, but being in the sun makes me ill.
Hubby counts down the days until to the winter solstice, so he can look forward to each day getting longer.
So, when he's miserable in winter, he takes some consolation in the fact that I'm enjoying the dark, and I in turn delight (from inside my dark house) in the fact that he enjoys the sun.
(Solumbra clothing and umbrella also help.)
I hate the summer, too, because of the heat and humidity. It got worse as I got older. My sleep cycle is off and I hardly ever go outside in the summer. Cooler weather makes me feel happy and energetic. I'm always glad when it's the summer solstice (June 21) because I know then the days will get shorter.
I despise Summer so much, that I moved to Alaska to have milder summers. I don't mind Winter getting down to 60 degrees BELOW zero and about 22 hours of darkness during the Winter. I like right in the middle of the State in Fairbanks where the Winters are the coldest and the Summers can get up to 90 degrees, which I completely dread. Its also light out for 23-24 hours in June. Summer makes me feel very sad. Its a combination of the heat, too many people out and about, chores that have to be done before Winter arrives etc. I am much much happier frozen and locked into Winter for 9 months.
Interesting. I've always been one of those people who get depressed during winter--I wasn't aware it could happen in the summer as well. We moved to Texas from Missouri and I'm at least ten times happier here--although sometimes it would be nice if it was a little less hot! Sunshine triggers happiness in me, and cloudy days usually make me grumpy & cranky.
Isn't it crazy how the sun (and lack thereof) can affect our moods in such a dramatic way?
I live in Phoenix. Of course i hate the summer. Who would enjoy 115 degrees? The rest of the year more than makes up for it.
I've lived in Tucson most of my life, moved to Wisconsin for one year and was back here in Az after that first winter. I know I would have eventually gotten used to that horrible, bitter, cold winter weather, but i'll take the hot summer over that cold winter any time. It was a beautiful state but.... Sadly there is no perfect place to live so we all just got to DEAL WITH IT!!!! Either you have the $$ to have summer and winter homes or you grow a pair and deal with what life hands you. As someone who has dealt with depression most of my life I can say this because untill i started dealing with the crap inside my head , what was going on outside was only an excuse. I am getting closer to 50 and I can tell that the heat is affecting me differently, but i can be just as depressed on a beautiful, temperate day, or happy and active on a day thats 110, it just depends on whats going on inside that ol brain of mine.
Summer is a double-edged sword with me. I love the additional sunlight and the fact that the sun sets at 9pm, but the boiling hot and oppressive heat (and I live in Pennsylvania!) keeps me from being outside and enjoying it because I get sick in the heat. It should not be in the 80s at 3am. I'd move to Libya if I wanted weather like that! It's hard to be stuck indoors on a bright, sunny day because you get sick from the heat so easily.
But man, if I could have the long hours of sunlight and the fall temperatures, I'd be in heaven!
I love all you people on this blog. Especially surprising hearing this response from so many women too (which is awesome). My luck, most women I have been around seem to hate the cold and love the heat. I am a guy.I thought I was the only person in the world who dreaded summer. Everyone I know or work with can't wait until summer hits so they can spend more time outside. When its 90plus outside most of these people are hiding in air conditioned homes, movie theaters or malls so what's the point?
I am a woman who grew up on the Jersey Shore and used to love the summer, but now the fall is my favorite time of year. I still welcome the first few summer days, then I'm ready for it to be over. I love the sunlight in the fall, winter and spring. I guess its the heat rather than the sunlight itself that I hate.
Because they enjoy the more commercial things in life, whereas we appreciate our natural surroundings--just not when it's too sunny or hot! :3
I solved my issue by moving from "The Sunshine State" to Seattle, Washington!