[sunnydisposition]

My moods are tied up to the weather very strongly. if its sunny out, my anxiety dwindles down immensely, to a point where it loses control over me. I get filled with hope, feels like everything's going to be okay. But in an instant if clouds appear and block the sun, my anxiety shoots up. i feel hopeless. Like nothing i can do can prevent the impending doom. This second its sunny, im okay, the next sec its cloudy, i'm depressed and anxious as hell. It changes in a blink of an eye.

Its really hard when sun doesn't show up for a couple of days in a row. Mostly in the winters. Honestly its the only thing i am afraid of. Its not a subtle difference. In fact, on sunny days i don't even need meds to function. whereas on dark days, even the meds don't help. I feel powerless, coz i cant control the weather. I wonder if any one out there has experienced something similar. My doctors dont even know for sure if its bipolar, or just depression or some anxiety disorder. Any insight you could share that could help would be much appreciated.

[Crazy Hitch]

I'm the same. My mood is always down in Winter. Bring on the sunshine any day!

[Unrigged64072835]

My husband is like that, and he has a lamp to simulate sunshine. It helps him out.

[hopeless2015]

Can't remember last time we had sunshine here, it's been very dark and gloomy. I can't wait to see the sun again

I am actually very restless during these few days of unseasonably milder weather (-1C as opposed to -38C). The days are lengthening too and I am sure this is contributing to my sense of unease.

[seoultous]

In the winter I get depressed like clockwork. I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I use a light box to simulate the sun I am not getting. I also take Vitamin D. Those interventions work along with some tweaking of my meds.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I always have more issues November-April. I'm very sensitive to weather. I think most people are.

[BipolaRNurse]

I can so relate. I have SAD too and have to use a light box to keep away the worst of the depression. I hate dank, drippy, cold weather, and here in the Pacific NW it's gloomy a good portion of the time. I can feel the difference when I don't use the light for a couple of days.

I also have a tendency to become hypo/manic in the spring and summer, so I'm supposed to stop using the light then and wear amber glasses in the evening. We'll see how that turns out. At least I have a fairly predictable pattern, so it's easier to catch episodes before they get out of control.

[fishin fool]

The winter is very tough on me I always seem to be depressed at this time of year.
I really need the sunshine, it helps my mood so much.

[Have Faith]

I used to use sunlight similating lights years ago. I had forgotten about them until I read this post. Thanks for bringing it up.

[usehername]

We have sun bulbs in every single room in our house (my mom put them in). I wish we had dimmers for when night rolls around, but they seem to help. Not so helpful when you aren't at home, though.

[wildflowerchild25]

My mood definitely elevates in nice weather, specifically the spring time when it's been dark and dreary all winter. We've had unseasonably warm temperatures all weekend with plenty of sunshine and I am very happy and energetic. I wouldn't call it hypomanic but I am sure that without medication I would be hypo. It doesn't really carry over to the summer though. I tend to get depressed in the summer for some reason, despite the weather. Doubly so if we have several days of cloudiness or rain in a row.