Write to Nick at neckstein@bsu.edu.
I am writing in response to Hannah Schneider’s piece, entitled, “Truth behind seasonal affective disorder” (SAD). It is great to make people aware of SAD. I would like to expand a bit beyond her writing to bring awareness to another form of SAD, one which even less people have probably heard about or realize exists — Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Only about 10 percent of those who have SAD have this summer version, in which depression comes in summer as a result of the very long days, bright sun, high temperatures and other factors. It is believed that the disorder is tied to too much sunlight, high temperatures and melatonin levels in the brain, according to Psychology Today. A Google search for “summer SAD” will reveal much information about this real and debilitating condition.
Although fewer people suffer from it as from winter SAD, it can perhaps be even more incapacitating due to others’ lack of awareness, and thus believing the individual with summer SAD is simply irrational or eccentric — which only exacerbates the feelings of depression.
For those with summer SAD, and I am one of them, conditions worsen quickly through the spring, accelerating in March and April. The rapidly lengthening days, increasing temperatures, increasing sunlight (both amount and directness) and society’s manipulation of clocks that leads to sunset two hours later than it actually is here in Indiana, all contribute almost exponentially to the worsening of depression symptoms. Some people may experience their worst symptoms in July or August, some earlier or later — mine seem the worst in March through May as conditions deteriorate and then linger until around October, whenever it begins to get bearable again. Even at this time of year, signs of the upcoming spring prove challenging.
On top of the SAD that most people know about in winter, people should be aware that a reverse condition in the summer is also very real, even if it is less common. If the longer days and excessive sunlight of summer make you want to stay inside, you may suffer from this less understood form of depression.
-Nick Eckstein
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