Rainy Sundays

Some Sunday afternoons the rain sets in, the hours stretch out, and your mood sinks for no clear reason. Here are a few small things to try, and how to tell when it's time to call your doctor.

The long gray afternoon

The rain started after lunch and hasn't let up. The cars outside have their headlights on at three o'clock, and the kettle has boiled twice. You might have the house to yourself, which can feel restful one week and lonely the next. Today your mood is low, and you couldn't give a neighbor a reason that would sound like enough.

You don't have to turn the afternoon into a project. A low mood can feel ungrateful when the roof is sound and the tea is hot, but you can be thankful and heavy-hearted at the same time. Some afternoons are just long.

A low mood without a reason

People often expect a low mood to come with a cause, like bad news or an argument. Yours might have none. The shopping is done, the week was ordinary, and no bad letter came, yet the afternoon still feels heavy. You don't have to make it sound bigger to be believed, or smaller to look fine.

If the flat feeling shows up on more days than not, doesn't ease with sleep, or makes tomorrow feel like a chore, tell your doctor. Recognizing yourself in a page can't tell you what's going on, but your doctor can help you find out. If the afternoon tips into a crisis, go straight to the care section at the end.

Medicine and small comforts

If you take an antidepressant or any other prescribed medicine, keep taking it as prescribed. A gray Sunday isn't a reason to stop, skip, or change a dose. Write down what you notice and tell the doctor who prescribed it, in your own words.

On a day like this, small comforts help. Wash your cup and put it away. Switch the lamp on before the room gets dark, so the gray doesn't take over. Then call a friend and tell them the afternoon is heavy, even if that's all you say.

When your mind gets critical

Your mind may say you're wasting the day, or that other people are out having a nice time, or that a grown adult should be able to shake this off. You don't have to argue with it. Let the thought pass and put the kettle on again. If the people around you want a brighter report than you can give, their disappointment is theirs to manage.

If the heaviness is tied to a date, like the day someone died, read anniversary of a loss. If being alone bothers you more than the mood does, the loneliness room is there, including a holiday spent alone.

If you need care

If you're in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 (https://988lifeline.org/) now, before you read any further. You don't need a good reason or the right words, and you don't have to decide whether a gray Sunday counts. If you're outside the United States, call your local emergency number or a local crisis line. A real person can stay on the line with you.

If you're not in crisis but the heaviness keeps coming back, tell your doctor what your afternoons are like. Keep any prescribed medicine as it is until you've talked it over together. There's more in the depression room, short definitions in the glossary (including depression and adjunct to care), and short answers in the FAQ. Nothing on this page is for sale. This page is not yet medically reviewed.