Ice Cold in Derbyshire.

I’ve never been so adversely affected by the cold as I have this winter. This is interesting because winter has been relatively mild so far. The point about cold, of course, is that it’s a two edged sword. There’s the physical reaction to the temperature, and then there’s the psychological reaction to feeling it.

I’ve never been particularly good with cold because I don’t seem to produce body heat quite as readily as most people unless I’m doing manual work. I suppose it’s something to do with metabolic rate. But I’ve always been resilient to feeling cold. I’ve always been able to grit my teeth and convince myself that I don’t mind.

This winter has been different on both counts. I’ve felt the cold much more keenly this year. I’ve woken up on several nights feeling chilled, despite wearing two layers, being under a 17 tog duvet and wrapped in good quality flannel sheets, and having a 2kw convector heater running in the room. In such circumstances I have no right to feel cold, but I do. I wonder whether it has something to do with the fact that the medics now have me taking an aspirin a day to thin my blood to ameliorate the arterial problem. Could that be it? I don’t know.

As for the psychological reaction, that’s easily explained. My emotional baseline is the lowest it’s ever been in my life. I suffer an awful lot of anxiety and depression now, so the discomfort of feeling cold just adds more weight to an already heavy bag of woes. And what makes it worse is the fact that my immediate future is shrouded in thick fog at the moment, so I can’t even permit myself the luxury of looking forward to the summer.

So there you have it: JJ’s latest whinge. Thank you for reading. Come back soon. I might still be here.