Are You Suffering From Summer Depression? How to Tell If You Have It

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is depression that comes and goes with the seasons. The onset and end of an episode are the same from year to year for each person. Most people with SAD experience symptoms in the fall and winter.

Only a small amount of people have what is called spring and summer SAD. It’s also known as summer depression or summer-onset SAD. The winter-onset variation is more common because of the colder weather, less sunlight, and more time spent indoors, which can be isolating.

Any version of SAD is more than seasonal or weather-related blues. Some shifts in mood as the seasons change is to be expected, but SAD is a real mental illness. It requires a professional diagnosis and care to overcome.

Summer depression causes much of the same symptoms as other types, including winter depression:

• A feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and generally being down most of the time on most days
• Losing interest in activities and pursuits you used to enjoy
• Changes in eating and sleeping habits, potentially with changes in weight
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating and completing tasks
• Feeling worthless, guilty, or ashamed
• Having suicidal thoughts

There are some important differences between summer and winter depression. The winter type tends to make a person eat more, sleep more, and feel more lethargic and drained. If you have the summer type, the opposite is true. Summer depression makes people more agitated and irritable. They tend to eat less and sleep less, even struggling with insomnia.

Exactly what causes any type of depression isn’t always clear. There are likely genetic components, but environmental triggers and experiences also play a role. Summer depression is uncommon and not as well understood as other types, but some factors that put you at a greater risk for it include:

• Changes to routines and schedules that often accompany summer, such as being out of school
• Isolation from friends when school ends, triggering loneliness
• Feeling uncomfortable in hot, humid weather
• Living somewhere with very hot and sunny summer conditions
• Having pollen and other spring and summer allergies
• Circumstances, such as health or money that don’t allow you to participate in typical summer activities or travel
• Anxiety and stress over body image issues and summer activities that require wearing less clothing or a bathing suit

The pressure to enjoy summer and its activities only add to this type of SAD. It’s challenging for other people to understand why you don’t like this time of year. They might put pressure on you to be happy or participate in activities, which isn’t helpful.

If you have bipolar disorder, you have an increased risk for SAD, including the spring and summer types. While the winter version of SAD can increase depressive cycles, summer SAD might trigger more manic episodes.

Summer depression with bipolar disorder can cause or worsen mania, trigger hypomania—a less intense variety of mania—and make you feel more irritable, agitated, angry, or anxious.

The only way to know for certain that you have summer depression is to get a diagnosis from a mental health professional. Don’t hesitate to speak up about it and share your symptoms. Few doctors will immediately make the connection to summer depression because it isn’t that common. Emphasize the seasonal nature of your symptoms and ask about SAD as a possible diagnosis.