Melbourne weather

[Nissan9]

Hey all

Been struggling this year with this crap weather in Melbourne. I know Melbourne weather never been exactly great but over the last couple years and in particular this year its been terrible.

I'm a outdoors person luv to play golf and go fishing etc but this year havnt been able to anywhere as much with the weather. At moment all I can think about is moving away to somewhere more warmer and consistent weather.

Think I need to go speak to my counsellor because I'm finding my mental health is just going backwards over the last few months and big part of it been this weather. Feel like I'm letting it dictate my life right now.

Wondering if anyone else been experiencing same thing and how do you deal with it?

Thanks

[therising]

Hi Nissan9

A lot of folk just can't put their finger on why they're so depressed, when it's the impact of the weather that's actually depressing them. They simply continue to wonder 'What's wrong with me?'. I'm glad you're easily able to recognise it. A good start to managing.

I think while the influences of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can play a part in depression, there are also many other natural aspects that play a part, such as ones you've mentioned. If keys to managing mental health can involve the kind of satisfaction and inspiration that comes from an invigorating game of golf, where's the sense of satisfaction and inspiration when golf's not there to help manage? If fishing is the greatest form of relaxed activity, relied upon for a sense of balance (relaxation and activity), where's that sense of balance if the weather doesn't allow for fishing or re-turning to nature? What happens when all you've got to turn to is the material world?

One person I know manages the times of year strategically. She'll take a break from winter or grey skies and rain by going up north for a couple of weeks. So, it's kind of like re-turning to sun for a recharge before coming back. Winter is a time of year she saves for. She'll save for recreation (going off somewhere to recreate herself), a new pair of ugg boots she can look forward to wearing and feeling, more time indoors in bed with her partner along with good high quality linen (high thread count she can feel). The list goes on. While it can work out to be an expensive time of the year, it's a time of the year she doesn't entirely dread.

I think we Melbournians can easily forget at times the full impact of all the covid lockdowns we went through. Myself, I don't believe I've fully recovered. Can be hard to fully come back to life after that, reconnect with it. It was a horrible period of deprivation and suppression that went on for so long. Deprived of many of the 'go to' activities that normally help us manage our mental health, we also had to suppress the desire or longing to connect with them, so we wouldn't have to suffer so much without them. Do you think, along with the weather, there's still somewhat of a covid 'hangover'?

[james1]

Hey Nissan9,

It sounds like speaking with your counsellor could be helpful, even just to try and get some control back over your life. 

Unfortunately the weather's very much out of our hands, yet it also has such a massive impact on our mental health. I find bad weather over a period of time makes me particularly stressed because then I can't take my dog out, which makes me feel like a bad dog owner.

I think there are practical steps and it sounds like you're thinking about them like moving away, but then there are also the smaller things that can help us just accept the weather and try not to be impacted too much. 

What are you hoping your counsellor can help you with?

James

[Nissan9]

Thanks so much for your reply i really appreciate it. My mental health has been ongoing for last 10 years but always been able to manage it and think big part of been able to manage it been doing the things I love like the outdoors but once that disappeared COVID lockdowns then crap Melbourne weather came so its almost like the lockdown never disappeared. A lot of it didn't make sense to me before i read your reply and you have really helped me understand. 

I really like the the examples you gave of how the person you know manages it makes sense. I have often discussed with my wife about buying a house in the country somewhere where the weather is more warm or even more consistent and getting away when the weather is crap here. 

I think your right so many people I have met or spoken to like yourself have not fully recovered since COVID some people i knew where happy go lucky people not a care in the world for anything then COVID came they got locked down and since never been the same. I think definitely still a bit of a COVID hangover. 

Fingers crossed you come past it as well its not easy.



 

[Nissan9]

Thanks for your reply agreed i find just venting to the counsellor helps a lot.

Ye your rite weather is out of our hands which sucks. So true about taking your dog out I feel the same. 

Ye moving away sounds great but then i think is the better or easier ways to deal with it (Example like you said just accept it and try not to be impacted to much) and manage it the way "therising" said in their reply. 

Councellor i find helps venting to and giving me tips on how to manage it same way you and "therising" have.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.



 

[therising]

Hi Nissan9

Yes, while life is testing at times, I would have to say the Victorian government has been more testing that life itself, especially during those lockdowns. Can remember saying to my 20yo daughter and 17yo son (as we entered into the 2nd lockdown) 'I can't do this again. I can feel how depressing it is. I just can't do it without some plan for managing'. I actually had my daughter telling me to calm down, as I was entering into what was becoming some sort of meltdown. Finally, in recognition of me resembling losing my mind, I laughed at my own insanity. When the 3rd lockdown was announced, I can remember saying to folk 'I can feel where this is heading. This is seriously going to test the mental health of so many people'. One of the benefits to being sensitive is...you can easily sense where things are heading based on you feeling where they're headed.

Biggest test in the lockdowns I'd label as 'How to come to life (connect with it) through soul destroying deprivation?'. Definitely a learning experience. 'Replacement' became an outstanding factor. I learned if something is moved out of place, such as my 'go to' thing for joy, I can't leave that space empty. It has to be filled with something, otherwise I can feel the emptiness/lacking at depressing levels. Can try filling that space with a thousand different things and you can feel none of them working. The search for the Holy Grail of things that work can be a disheartening and depressing search but when you find what works, BAMM, you feel it bring you to life. Feeling our way through life is one heck of a challenge...

So much easier when you're doing life with fellow feelers, when you can all feel and work things out together. When living with less sensitive people, it can be triggering as they may insist on telling you you're overreacting, you're imagining things (you're imagining things to be depressing), you're too sensitive, you're too analytical (as you work to analyse the hell out of life)etc etc. Insensitive people can be strange folk 😊

[james1]

Hey Nissan9,

Thanks for replying. I'm glad to hear you've found the counsellor helpful for those things. Sometimes it really does help just to vent a bit and find that you're not alone in having the same struggles. Mostly, I find it nice to just have someone tell me that, yeah, the situation really does just suck.

It looks like the weather has improved a bit in Melbourne this weekend, so I hope you can find time to make the most of it in these coming weeks. Sydney's been really dreary these past few days so I've just tried to catch up on some reading and other life chores. One thing I've really tried to do more recently is to use the time when I'm stuck inside to do the boring stuff, so I have more free time when the days are better and I can go outside. It seems to help me feel more in control over my life, rather than being pushed around by the weather.

Take care for now

James