Singing in the Rain?

If you’re feeling depressed about this dismal summer weather then you’re in good company.

There’s no doubt that the relentless rain and persistent grey skies get to us all - especially when we would normally expect to be spending long hot days and soothing summer evenings out on the patio.

Among our clients it is particularly the elderly who can be adversely affected by the persistent rain, which makes it difficult for them to get out of the house and can leave them feeling isolated.

And of course there are those in some parts of the country whose homes have been flooded during this prolonged bout of wet weather.

We have written previously about the impact on individuals of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, a condition that emphasises the connection between our inner mood and the changing weather.

As someone pointed out to me recently, however, the link between feelings of depression and rainy weather is one that is constantly reinforced by weather forecasters on some of our television channels. It struck me that the continual reinforcement of this message works on our minds like a hypnotic suggestion.

This may sound a bit far-fetched, but hypnosis works on the basis of suggestion and there is no doubt that the message is being continually planted in our minds that rainy weather is ‘bad’ weather and ‘bad’ weather makes us feel ‘down’.

We are in other word conditioned into a certain way of seeing the world. Some weather is ‘good’ and some is ‘bad’. It’s not just ‘weather’. We’re told what we should feel about it. Rain, equals ‘bad’, equals ‘makes us feel bad’.

Childhood

You may well think this is a natural connection. But cast your mind back for a moment to your childhood, to those evenings when playing out in the rain you were called in by a parent because you were getting soaking wet and might ‘catch a cold’.

Or remember when you were out with an adult and they complained about getting wet in a sudden downpour? What were your feelings? Were they ones of puzzlement? Did you wonder what all the fuss was about? Were you bothered about getting wet? Did you need an umbrella then?

Maybe you were bothered. We’re all different after all. But maybe you weren’t. Remember the joy of splashing through those puddles or the excitement of sheltering under a tree when the lighting lashed down. Remember the smell of the wet grass, the foliage, the swish of passing cars.

And then of course there’s Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain. But that’s another story…

The Media Line

Okay, so the rain gets all of us down at times and we’d like to see a bit of sun this summer. But it’s always worth reminding ourselves of the possibility of alternative perspectives…and we should certainly be wary of following the media line.

After all, wasn’t it just a few months ago we were worrying about the lack of rain and its long-term effect on water supplies?

JG