Much more anxious when cloudy

[Carla]

Hi,

I haven't posted here in a long time. Haven't been doing very well with anxiety for the last few months and so I started seeing a CBT at the end of january. Its been going okay and about 2 weeks ago I started doing a lot better, feeling more positive, finally believing that one day I'll get past this and live a normal life (for the first time since all this started about 13 years ago!). I was doing really well for about 10 days and then started feeling very anxious again when going out and not being able to go very far. I've been aware for a few years that when its cloudy outside I feel more anxious but lately its become even more noticeable and its driving me crazy! The 10 days when I was doing well the sun was shining pretty much all day and as soon as it started to get cloudy again my anxiety shot up. At the moment I can go about 4 times further when its sunny than when its cloudy and my anxiety will be minimal when its sunny and very high when its cloudy even though I'm not going very far.

It's really getting me down because I don't understand why the weather is affecting me so badly. I can't think of any explanation for it and trying to rationalise it like I do other anxious thoughts isn't helping. Does anyone else feel this way or have any ideas what I can do to get past this?

Thanks,
Carla

[suzy-sue]

Maybe your subconcious mind remembers something that was distressing on a cloudy day ? Do you remeber feeling anxious for the first time ? if so what sort of day was it ? Some people feel really down generally in the winter months ..More people suffer with depression in the winter .Maybe it would be a good idea to do something really different next time the weathers like this ..that way your thoughts will accociate something nice and the thoughts will be replaced by positive ones instead of negative ..Personally I always feel more upbeat and happier when the sun is shining ..but the weather didnt affect my anxiety just my mood ..Sue x

[eeyorelover]

Check out this article...
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/how-weather-affects-mood-502714.html

It's short but it does explain a little about the fact that sunlight boosts serotonin levels through vitamin D.
Since anxiety's cause is through chemical reactions in the brain, it would make sense that anxiety can be lessened by increasing time in the sun.
xxx
Sandy

[Going home]

Also, another reason for it might be that when the sky is just a blanket of cloud you might feel like you can't breathe properly, a sort of claustrophobic kind of feeling. When my panics and anxieties were at their worst some years ago this was a common thing for me. Clouds made me feel claustrophobic just as fog did (well fog still does actually) :)

[Kelley]

Hey there.
I get this! It was much worse last winter than ever before. I have even considered leaving my home state and going to Queensland where it is sunny more often, which would be a massive move for us as i have lived where i am now my whole life! The sadness and anxiety gets so bad for me in the winter though that i thought this could be my only solution. However,i have decided to try vitamin D supplements and have just started taking them as the darker months are now approaching! There is a name for this condition so rest assured you are certainly not alone!

Kel :)