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I haven't read your article yet, but I've read about how states where it rains all the time can be depressing to some people. I think it much more mainly depends on one's state of mind.
I'm prone to depression, but was talked into moving to Portland many years ago. Initially, I loved it. By the third winter I had a complete mental breakdown after a full month had passed without the sun shining once, just constant cloud cover and drizzle. I had installed extra bright light bulbs at home, but they were not a good replacement for natural sunlight.
I moved back down south after that episode, about as far south as one can get without being in Mexico. I remember feeling like a different person once I was back in daily sunshine. So I do think it depends on one's state of mind...I couldn't do it, even though millions of people around Portland & Seattle do just fine.
I grew up in sunny Sacramento, CA, then moved to foggy San Francisco. I was kind of feeling down all the time my first summer there, didn't realize it was sun related until I headed inland one day.
As Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
Too much sun, especially coupled with heat, is a prescription for a low heavy mood for me.
I was born and raised in the PNW with the palest of pale white skin. Rain, fog, snow, all were ideal. Summer sun, not ideal. My dermatologist told me I needed to stay away from the sun as well as the shade.
I moved from N CA to the PNW and boy was it a struggle. I had no idea I needed to take a lot of Vit D and K. One of my cats gets depressed in the winter too. It's just more fun when the sun shines (the sun shines 23% of the time in December and 70% of the time in July). Then again, you can see every speck of dust and cat hair in the summer. In the winter there's not as much housework (though there really should be -- LOL).
I love the sun and heat. I have SAD and I feel claustrophobic and depressed on cloudy days. I think it might have something to do with our vision too. To me, things look so much better in bright sunshine. Next time you're watching a football game on tv as the sun is setting, look at the difference between the sunny side of the field and the dark side in the shade. I want to be on the bright sunny side.
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