While seasonal depression is usually associated with the winter, some people find their symptoms peak in spring. This year, the arrival of sunnier days may pose more challenges than normal.
Most of us are familiar with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that usually worsens over the winter months. Faced with short days, long nights, and grey skies, SAD sufferers find themselves struggling with low mood and other depressive symptoms. Although the causes aren’t fully understood, this condition has been linked to lack of sunlight and its impact on your circadian rhythms.
Unfortunately, the onset of warmer days doesn’t bring reprieve for everyone. Some people suffer from a different form of seasonal depression, which peaks over the spring and summer. Sometimes called ‘reverse SAD’ or ‘summer SAD’, this may be all the harder to bear for being poorly understood. After all, many people can relate to feeling miserable in winter – but a summer-related depression can be truly isolating.
Read the rest of this article at Patient
Journalist portfolio 