Does summer make you SAD?
By Rebecca Coxon
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a recognised condition with symptoms similar to those of depression. But while it mostly affects sufferers during the long dark cold winter months, evidence shows that it can affect individuals during summertime too.
Psychologist and family therapist Alyson Jones says: ‘Too much light and too much heat. Some people just do not handle excessive heat well, and it can actually contribute to feelings of depression and restlessness.’
Experts estimate that about 600,000 people in the UK could be suffering from summer SAD or reverse seasonal affective disorder, although opinion is still divided on what causes it.
Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School claims that ‘suicide is more of a concern when people are depressed and agitated rather than depressed and lethargic.’
While Winter SAD or ‘Winter blues’ as it is sometimes known is a well recognised and widely studied mental health problem, it’s counter ‘cure’ season, is not getting as much awareness. ‘Summer SAD is poorly understood,’ says Roger Henderson, a GP, author and Sunday Times columnist.
‘One theory is that rising temperatures can affect the hypothalamus in the brain — the hormone control centre — which alters our ability to cope with mental stress’ says Henderson.
American researchers, led by Professor Thomas Wehr, from the National Institute of Mental Health, believe that heat sensitivity and hormonal imbalances play a crucial role in summer SAD. Thyroid hormone production, for example, is suppressed by heat, and low levels of thyroxine can lead to a lack of energy. However, growth hormones and prolactin are stimulated by heat and too much of these can lead to lethargy and low sex drive.
According to MSNBC’s The Body Odd, ‘Those with summer SAD sleep less, eat less, and lose weight. They're extremely irritable and agitated. It's the reverse for people with winter SAD, who sleep more, gain weight and crave high-carb foods, and tend to slow down and socially hibernate from late fall to early spring.’
But rather than a condition caused by weather physically affecting individuals, could summer SAD be induced by more psychological, even guilt-induced factors instead?
Dr David Lewis, a chartered psychologist, believes so. ‘The number of people in the UK who suffer from a summer depression which is related to a change in brain chemistry is very small,’ he says. ‘I believe summer depression is more likely to be psychologically based.’
‘When the sun shines we are expected to feel happy, and if we don’t we feel we’re missing out on something that everyone else is enjoying.’
But whatever the cause of summer SAD, GPs should be made more aware of it, Dr Henderson says. ‘Most GPs are now very knowledgeable about winter SAD. In August, however, SAD is probably the last thing they think of, so it’s likely that there are people out there suffering in silence.’
