While some people have been eagerly awaiting winter to cool off after a long sultry summer, others find this a period of bleak cold, darkness and loneliness.

Radio personality and former PN candidate Angela Coleiro has opened up about her antipathy for this season in a Facebook post that has evidently struck a chord with readers.

“How easy it is to say ‘let’s stay inside cosy at home’… but when you are a person who lives alone, like me, the weekend means sadness, darkness and solitude,” Coleiro said following this weekend’s stormy weather which led to many people staying inside.

“How long can I sit there watching TV or play with my mobile? Whoever lives alone like I do will understand this.”

Coleiro draws a picture of melancholy, darkness and solitude that single people may experience over the winter period.

A large number of people are affected worldwide by a condition known as SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as winter depression. This is a real disorder that may be the result of changes to the biological clock, lack of serotonin or melatonin caused by a deficiency of sunlight.

Coleiro points out in a later post that she is not saying that she is in a bad place or depressed but that she just does not like winter or the short days that accompany it. This is a reaction to a wave of concern that replied to her post from various readers.

It is a fact though that winter is a time when people that live alone, especially elderly and socially vulnerable people, tend to suffer more from the lack of social interaction that this season brings about by forcing people indoors.

No strolls to the pjazza, no expeditions to the market, the only company is the dreary TV showing teleshopping on all channels.