Sad in the Summer? You May Have Summer Seasonal Depression Richard Sima - Washington Post
go to original July 6, 2023

Summer is a time of outdoor fun for many people, especially those who have slogged through winter’s bitter cold. Not so for individuals who suffer from summer depression.

Heat, humidity and pollen are likely to cause summer sadness, while reduced daylight causes winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Compared with winter SAD, summer depression has not received as much attention in research or general awareness.

“It certainly deserves more study, certainly deserves more concern,” said Norman Rosenthal, a psychiatrist at Georgetown University School of Medicine who first described SAD, in the scientific literature in 1984.

The symptoms of winter and summer SAD appear to be different. They both are marked by sad mood and reduced feelings of pleasure, but winter depression patients tend to oversleep, overeat and feel sluggish, Rosenthal said. “The summer ones were in many ways the opposite,” he said. “Not that hungry, less appetite, insomnia.”

Risk of suicide higher for summer depression

Summer depression is also a more agitated depression, where patients tend to feel more distressed than lethargic as in winter depression.

Individuals with summer depression may be at an increased risk of suicide. Suicidal behavior peaks in the late spring and early summer, but dips in the winter.

This may be because depression patients who feel suicidal during the winter may not have the energy to carry out the plan, said Rosenthal, whose upcoming book, “Defeating SAD: A Guide to Health and Happiness Through All Seasons,” aims to provide an up-to-date and concise understanding of SAD and practical strategies to counter it. People with summer depression who are both sad and agitated, however, unfortunately may have more energy to harm themselves.

Summer SAD is more heterogenous and varied in nature, which has also made it more difficult for researchers to study. Compared with winter SAD, which affects about 5 percent of Americans, there has not been as much research on summer seasonal affective disorder in the decades since Rosenthal and his colleagues first described it.

In one study of 2,819 Danish subjects, about 0.1 percent met the criteria for summer SAD. Summer sadness, though seemingly rarer than winter depression, should be acknowledged and treated by medical professionals, experts said.

“Recognize it’s not all in your head,” said Kelly Rohan, professor of psychological science at the University of Vermont. “It is a real thing.”

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