Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) (video)

Transcript

You may have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD. Its official name is Major Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern, or MDD-SP, but we’re going to just go with SAD here.
The version of SAD you’re likely to have heard of is winter SAD. In the northern hemisphere winter, the days are shorter, so of course there’s less sunlight available during the day. In addition, because of the colder temperatures, people are less likely to be outside to take advantage of the sunshine.
Symptoms of winter SAD tend to consist of not only the usual symptoms of depression like sadness and a loss of interest in most things, but also an increase in fatigue and appetite, a greater need for sleep and a craving for carbohydrates, especially sweets. The symptoms start in the fall and disappear by late spring.

About 6% of the U.S. population suffers from SAD. However, there is a small subset of the people suffering from SAD (about 10%) whose worst time of the year is in the summertime. This disorder is frequently referred to as reverse SAD, and in many ways, the summer version is the flip side of the winter version. It begins in late spring or early summer and abates in late fall or early winter.
People with summer SAD often have anxiety, irritability (or outright anger), insomnia and decreased appetite, and sometimes mania similar to what we see with bipolar disorder.

Unfortunately, the cause or causes of summer SAD are even more of a mystery than that of winter SAD, likely due to the lack of research and awareness.

Of course, the main culprit of summer SAD is thought to be an overabundance of sunshine. However, it’s believed that it may go beyond exposure to the rays of the sun to include increased body temperature. This theory is supported by anecdotal evidence of sufferers obtaining temporary relief from summer SAD by not only staying out of the sun, but also keeping cool using air conditioning or cold packs.
Another possible cause of summer SAD is staying up late due to longer days and throwing your circadian rhythms out of whack.

Risk factors for summer SAD may be being female, having a relative who has SAD or another mood disorder, having Bipolar Disorder and the season that you’re born in.

So what do you do if you recognize that you or someone you know has summer SAD? Unfortunately, it’s possible that the biggest obstacle you’ll face in dealing with your summer SAD is getting it formally diagnosed. Most knowledgeable medical professionals are familiar with winter SAD, but summer SAD is unlikely to be recognized without your educating them, and even then they might be skeptical.
A record of your sun exposure, body temperature and moods might sway the opinion of even a skeptical medical professional. Keep a log for at least two weeks to show them at your initial appointment.
The good news is that keeping cool and out of the sun might alleviate your symptoms if you do have summer SAD. Try lowering your body temperature with cold drinks or cold food, immersion in cool water and cold packs to see what measures make a difference.

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