The condition is most often associated with cold, dark winter days, but some people have reverse SAD that occurs in summer, says Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School and author of “Winter Blues,’’ who first identified SAD in 1984. While winter SAD frequently causes a type of lethargy that makes it tough to get out of bed, summer SAD often manifests as “a mixed state where [sufferers] feel both depressed and manic, which makes them agitated,’’ says Rosenthal.
In fact, suicides actually reach their peak in the summer, which Rosenthal speculates could be due to the fact that agitation triggers people to act on their depressed mood.
How much excess sunlight contributes to summer SAD remains a matter of debate. Rosenthal thinks it does, but Janis Anderson, a clinical psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, says, “It may be more the temperature, humidity, and body’s change in metabolism.’’
The condition occurs less commonly in Bostonians since the city tends to have milder summers, says Anderson, who has conducted research with Rosenthal on SAD. “I rarely see reverse SAD in my clinical practice here.’’
One study they conducted found that wintertime depression is far more common in New England, which makes sense given the endless frigid days and snowstorms. And, yes, hot humid places like Florida see more summer SAD than winter.
Unlike winter SAD, where most sufferers eat more, sleep more, and gain weight, summer SAD causes insomnia, loss of appetite, and weight loss, she says.
Situational circumstances - like my own deflated expectations - can also play a role, especially in those with a milder case of the summer blues.
Teachers and others with seasonal jobs that don’t pay in the summer might feel stressed because they’re tight on money, points out Anderson. And those who previously experienced the death of a loved one in the summer might feel depressed around that time.
