Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
One of the things I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember is the clocks going forward (not back!). The change to the evening hours staying lighter for longer leaves me feeling that everything around me is unfamiliar and wrong when I’m in the house trying to have a normal evening - it’s like a voice inside my head is shouting ‘it’s past 7pm, it should not be light!!!’ on repeat. It leaves me feeling so agitated, disconnected and on edge, I can then only settle when darkness sets in.
Does anybody else get this, or is it just me? I’ve not been diagnosed with ASD - several therapists have recommended I get assessed but I’m on a two year waiting list. I just feel lost and depleted at the moment - I’ve been trying to work, but have felt frozen and overwhelmed by the idea of interacting with anyone today and instead have had to sit with my head under the duvet. I can’t communicate why I feel like this, and I have no idea if I have ASD or not. I just know that I feel burned out at the moment and any task just feels like too much, and I feel like the trigger always seems to be the lighter evenings but I have no idea why
Anyway, that turned into a bit of a ramble - basically, can anyone relate in any way to my reaction to the lighter nights? It would be comforting to know I’m not on my own with it and would love to hear anybody else’s advice or thoughts.
I never adjust to the clocks going back in autumn. As soon as it gets dark my brain wants to fall asleep for the night, even if that's at 5pm or earlier. After falling asleep in public many times, I now know not to bother trying to plan to do anything in the evenings until spring comes.
I love the light evenings. I do get a bit discombobulated by the dark mornings though when the clocks first go forward.