I've been through those downpours! They're not pleasant, and I'm usually a fan of rain. They can be quite refreshing, too, though. Weather, fine or horrid, can really liberate you if you actively become aware of it (it isn't just something to start a conversation with!). Like I said, walking over long distances on your own (with an MP3 player or without one) is very effective. Depends what time, too, what effect you get: through a city during rush-hour, during lunch-hour, at dawn or late at night.

Also: art is the ultimate refuge. Read a lot, watch a lot of films, and I know you write lyrics, too; delve and delve deep. There's an ocean of stuff to drown in. Start with something to which you'll relate (a story or film or song about tainted love, for instance), then move back into that gangsa shit you like.