Opinion: Bring on summer and take away this SAD-ness

Bring on summer! Photo/file

Another day, another gloomy weather forecast.

We had a brief respite from the rain on Saturday and the Mount was full of people making the most of the sunshine before the rain returned, which it soon did.

It has been a very wet year. In the first eight months of the year, 1344mm of rain had been recorded in Tauranga, 155mm more than the average annual rainfall of 1189mm.

It's amazing how much bad weather affects the mood. Seasonal affective disorder, which is appropriately shortened to the acronym SAD, is a type of depression that hits people in the colder and darker months.

SAD symptoms include feeling depressed most days, having low energy, trouble sleeping, feeling sluggish and agitated, weight gain and having trouble getting along with other people.

Even if you don't get SAD, it's hard to get the motivation to do much when you know you're going to get cold and wet as soon as you walk out the door. Walking to the shop to pick up some milk when it's dry feels like an excursion rather than a chore.

My favourite rainy day activity is snuggling up on the couch with a blanket and a cuppa to read a good book and this year has certainly given me ample opportunity to tackle the unread novels on my shelf. I try to avoid getting SAD by losing myself in another world.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the forecast for this week isn't looking too flash either. MetService has predicted sunshine for Wednesday - yay! - but other than that, is expecting more of the same for the next 10 days.

I'm hoping spring will rain itself out and leave us with a beautiful, sunny summer.

We could all use a bit of sunshine to brighten our moods.