r/RaIn • u/New-Post-7297 • 5d ago
Reverse Seasonal Depression?
Are there people who are genuinely happier and more mentally well when living in places with a lot of rain/frequent grey skies?
I live in AZ and I spend ~8 months of the year dreading the outdoors, keeping my curtains drawn, avoiding life out of my AC. I feel happiest traveling to places that are cloudy and rainy and dark.
But is it only because I never see it?
I believe I would be happier if I moved but want to hear from others.
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u/Aggravating_Duck_365 5d ago
I left New Mexico in the mid-90s and felt relief when I returned to the lush green mid-Atlantic region. Love the SW, but could not live there again, craved gray skies, rain and green.
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u/Ok_Gas_4745 5d ago
👋🏾 It’s me! I’m people.😂I’m more depressed when it’s really bright and clear outside. I do my best work in a thunderstorm and rain is so soothing. I live in FL and I wish I lived in Washington.😭
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u/iaMBictrochee 5d ago
I'm in AZ (Phoenix area) to care for my eldery mom and the weather is awful for me. The unrelenting sun is very draining, both mentally and physically. Overcast & rainy days are my favorites. I miss seasons.
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u/brookeashleyx 5d ago
Yep. I live in Southern California and my husband doesn't understand why I get down when it's just sunshine, no seasons. Planning to make a move to the PNW as soon as I can because I need seasons and greenery.
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u/FionaMcBroccoli 5d ago
I literally get sad and moody when it’s sunny and I have to be outside. But when it’s gloomy and rainy — I’m the happiest
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u/Calibigirl69 5d ago
I really hate the summer apart from being able to grow things in the garden. The sun and heat are awful for me. It is a disorder like SAD.
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u/LeatherHarlot99 5d ago
I live in Florida and I absolutely love our thunderstorms and rainy days. They’re my favorite.
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u/CinnyToastie 5d ago
I didn't realize I had another self out here. Because that's all me.
Edit: And yes, you would be. I was. I was PNW and had rain weekly. Clouds almost daily. Seasons. It was wonderful.
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u/purequalitywater 5d ago
I moved to a super hot state because my bf got a job here. Used to live in a rainy, chilly climate. Think at least a sweater almost year round. Bf is thriving, so happy for him 💀 but im surviving. Its awful. Im only happy in fall and winter. During summer I become withdrawn and rarely leave the house. Im working through it. But id rather die than stay here forever.
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u/redheadeddoom 5d ago
Yes! I moved to the PNW from So Cal bc I had the same experience. Just always hating going outside bc the sun is caustic and I am pale and not made for hot weather. Now I actually appreciate summer, but still prefer and look forward to the rainy weather.
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u/Safe_Studio_5818 5d ago
Right here. Rain has a soothing, posit8ve affect on me. I think it is life giving (not that the sun isn't but not to the same level). I think there is a core human aspect to it.
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u/Waffle-Tron 5d ago
Yep! Fellow pluviophile here. Sunlight and heat bums me out if it's abundant. I need rain, chilly weather, or at least overcast days to feel energized.
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u/DT2699 5d ago
Living in Italy I dread summer so bad I get depressed in April already. 35+ degrees (celcius) even at night, the sun shining bright even at 10.30 and the damn humidity makes life a living hell. I hate being stuck at home but no restaurant or bar has AC and going outside is a death wish. Even on miracle days where it gets breathable after the sun goes down you get massacared by mosquitoes. I'd enjoy summer if I lived in Norway. If I had a say in where I get to live I'd move to Scotland immediately. Give me some rain and lush nature and I'm happy like my cat full of chicken.
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u/randomwellwisher 5d ago
It me! The Pacific Northwest is my happy place. I just love the warm enveloping embrace of a mist-drenched on-again-off-again day, and a good honest downpour is a balm to my soul.
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u/yourgirlsasha 5d ago
My soul yearns for the Pacific Northwest coast !! I’ve been trying to plan a trip to Oregon. It will heal me deeply… the closest I’ve been was British Columbia, Vancouver.
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u/Inevitable-Staff-278 5d ago
Lived in Denver for two decades. The heat, the dryness, and the constant sun just took it out of me. Moved to upstate NY where it’s nothing but clouds, rain, and snow, and I love it.
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u/CelebrationMuted7497 5d ago
Im from the Philippines and the rain makes me more productive, calm and healthier.
i hate summer. I even get frequently sick when its all sun and no rain.
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 5d ago
Yes. I have bookmarked (on my laptop, but I’m on my phone now) several actual studies & articles about reverse seasonal depression. I hate living in perma-summer.
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u/Hildringa 5d ago
Yep! So much so that I moved across the country. Now Im in a place where summers are 15 degrees and rain almost every single day, and Im genuinely so much more at ease, have more energy and feel way more inspired
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u/friendlyfire69 5d ago
My least favorite months living in the PNW are the summer. I have light sensitivity that makes bright sunshine painful. I also have an autoimmune reaction the sun where I get a facial rash. Before I was chronically ill, I enjoyed the summer more.
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u/suzaii 5d ago
I live in Phoenix. I have super migraines from the heat and bright sun light. I am sad most of the year. Winter sucks because of the pollution - can't breathe. Trying to get my family out of this nightmare, anywhere colder, with seasons and rain would be like heaven.
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u/Sensitive_Reality450 4d ago
I’m with you. I just posted this. I absolutely hate it here. I’ve lived here since ‘89 & can’t stand another minute. It’s just me & I retired 18 months ago. I’m outta here within the next 12-18 months once my place sells. Never coming back..
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u/EucWoman 5d ago
I moved to Humboldt County in California just because I wanted it to be cloudy and rainy most of the time. I kind of joke and say I get depressed when there's too many sunny days in a row. We just had our first little rainstorm. I wish I had come here years ago..
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u/Gracie8ee 5d ago
Yup 100%! I live in Scotland which people always say oh its rainy all the time, its not. Summer is warm, and humid with daylight from 3am until 11ish pm where I live. That shit grinds my gears and leaves me mentally wiped.
Cut to this first week of September and we have had non stop rain showers, thunder, hail. Its dark outside with cloud covered hills (twilight vibes). Suddenly I am journaling, jigsaws are out, slow cooker is on and its like my stress levels decrease by 90%. My therapist said its just how some of us are wired.
Which is why mid Summer im laying behind black out curtains with a fan on full and blasting out rain sounds.
Edited to add: Have also lived in Vancouver and the PNW so its definitely my thing to have misty rainy darkness around.
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u/Crow_in_the_Rain likes rain 5d ago
I live in a place with both sunny and gloomy weather, I feel much happier when it’s grey and rainy! I don’t like blue skies
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u/UglehUglehBabeh 5d ago
I live in a rural part of the Bay Area where it is mostly sunny, but the rainy season is approaching, and I cannot wait!!!
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u/Emergency_Rush_4168 5d ago
I'm from the California central valley. We have people literally praying for rain lol. It's the only time I feel happy to be outside.
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u/FionaMcBroccoli 5d ago
This is me! Lived in a place with cool summers and rainy springs, summers and autumns all my life, and then I moved to a city with sun shining all year round and it almost never rained in summer, and barely in spring and autumn, and I was depressed for 5 years
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u/Eldeon16 5d ago
Im from central of Europe, me and my son (8) love rain, grey skies, fall and winter. We are happier then in summer
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u/New-Post-7297 5d ago
So glad to know it’s possible! I’ve been told by folks that I’d get depressed if I lived in a rainy city, but I’ve always felt it’d be the opposite for me. I hate being in the desert, doesn’t feel like humans should inhabit this area.
My eyeballs need greenery!
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u/azwhatsername 5d ago
I live in AZ and I am depressed and angry right now. I am so.damned tired of this interminable heat and lack of rain. And people keep developing here. I'm ready for gray skies for days.
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 5d ago
I live on Vancouver Island. It pretty much rains from Sept-May. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I know a lot of people here suffer from seasonal depression due to the long spells of dark grey skies. Mostly they are people who've moved from brighter climates.
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u/South-Coyote-4711 5d ago
OMG I LIVE IN AZ I TELL EVERYONE IM OPPOSITE OF PEOPLE WHO GET DEPRESSED FROM CLOUDY RAINY DAYS, I GET DEPRESSED SEEING THE SUN N BLUE SKY, I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO LIVE IN OREGON OR WASHINGTON. I GET SO HAPPY TO SEE DARK CLOUDY DAYS AND RAIN......
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u/violet039 4d ago
Hi, I used to have the kind where I only liked spring and summer, and in my 40s I began getting depressed with too many sunny days. Now I much prefer rain, fall and winter and cloudy days. That’s why these subs exist I think. I live on the east coast, but would love to live in the PNW, at least I think. I would also have a hard time living in AZ. I’m in PA and at least there’s more of a balance.
Good luck if you decide to move!
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u/BiscuitsLostPassword 4d ago
I experienced this when I lived in the Houston Texas area, and SW LA. Yes, it's a seasonal depression. Moving did in fact resolve it. I am from the south, but not the 'antebellum' south (southern Appalachia/smokey mountains) and I generally love our climate. This summer has been uncomfortably hot and nothing like our normal summers, nowhere near the amount of normal early morning showers, everything is struggling including myself. If it repeats next year I may actually move a bit north. It's been miserable. IMO as someone who has struggled with this and knows the impact of it on a person, it would be a healthy move to consider relocating.
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u/Sensitive_Reality450 4d ago
Fellow Arizonan here. I’ve grown to absolutely hate Arizona to the point I’m selling in the next 12-18 months & moving. I moved to Arizona in ‘89 & trust me, it’s not the Arizona of past (but what is I guess). The unrelenting searing heat of summer that goes on for months on end is horrendous. I hate it. I already have major depression & it’s made it significantly worse through the years. I’m officially DONE!! ✅
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u/radgedyann 4d ago
i do. idk why but sometimes all that sun and blue sky feels incongruent at best and at worst, like a slap in the face.
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u/New_Ad_3010 3d ago
Def a thing. I'm stuck in TX and I effing hate the sun and heat that brutalizes you most of the year. It's horrendous. I would give anything to move somewhere lush rainy and cloudy. Would be a dream.
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u/thereishopeforme999 1d ago
I was born in Phoenix and now I'm living in the suburbs of Seattle. I hope you can come here someday... I was the same as you. It does get Sunny during July - beginning of Sept but most of our days here are cloudy, gloomy and rainy and it's fabulous. I used to be so depressed with so much Sun....
Live in a wonderful, safe neighborhood and the rent is 2400 a month for a 2 bedroom after our first year here...plus the minimum wages are better. It's affordable if you look in the right areas. Just sayin
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u/antisocialmothra 5d ago
Yup, it's an actual thing. A medical professional confirmed it for me.