First up: Seasonal Depression, or Summertime Blues
If you’re
• feeling sad, or just meh
• feeling anxious
• feeling agitated
• experiencing a reduced appetite
• experiencing unexplained weight loss
• having difficulty sleeping or insomnia
then you might be experiencing Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder.
SAD is more common in the winter but it can happen in the Summer, which many do not realize. It can occur due to biology or to changes in routine, body image challenges, financial stressors, and even the heat.
For example, you are struggling to balance a change in your family routine due to schools being on Summer holiday. Or because you are seeing others go on extended vacations and you cannot. It could occur because of body image struggles that are further stirred by images of peers in bathing suits or other Summer styles. The financial stressors could be triggered by perceived expectations around Summer vacations and parties. Then the heat could trigger SAD because perhaps you are seeking indoor shelter to beat the heat. However, the excessive time indoors has you skipping meals, ordering take out more, skipping workouts, or unintentionally isolating yourself from others due to wanting to not venture out in the weather.
Whatever the cause, if you are experiencing any of these feelings or stressors, know that you are not alone. Know that your feelings are valid and you can get help managing them.
The first step should always be to talk to a credentialed therapists or counselor. You can also try tracing what you are experiencing back to its cause to help you make changes. For example, if you are having trouble sleeping, ask yourself why. Is the bedroom too hot? Is the stimulation from Summer events disrupting your ability to wind down? Are the long daylight hours disrupting your melatonin levels? Do you need to put your family (or yourself) on a “Summertime Routine” to instill some structure?
This of course requires a level of self-awareness, honesty, and self-compassion that not everyone has. That’s OK too, they are skills you can develop! This is where that therapist comes in! To help you grow those skills not only for the here and now, but for future seasons to come.
Here are some resources to help get you started:
More on Summer SAD: https://www.webmd.com/depression/summer-depression#2
More on SAD (general): https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder/
How to find a therapist near you: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-find-a-therapist (𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴.)
