Have just come across this article, and wondered if anyone here suffers from Summer SAD, and whether this article might be helpful:


For many people, the arrival of sunny days and blue skies is a cause of deep gloom, reports Lucie Hoe

Summer may be around the corner, but while most of us welcome it, others dread the first signs of sunshine and blue skies. Psychologists have discovered it is not just the dark winter months that can give rise to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and its symptoms of depression and fatigue. For those with summer (or reverse) SAD, the sun coming out is not a reason to be cheerful.

Precisely what triggers the summertime blues is being studied by experts at America's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Though less common than the winter form of SAD, from which up to one in three of the population are said to suffer, the summer variant nevertheless affects about 600,000 people in the UK and is no less debilitating. Many sufferers go to great lengths to avoid the sun's rays and warm weather.

Such is the low profile of the condition that they may be unaware of the reason for their dips in mood when the clocks go forward.

"We have had calls from quite a few people who have symptoms of summer SAD but have never heard of it," says Amelia Mustapha, a spokeswoman for the Depression Alliance. "It is an area that is currently being looked at more closely, but because so little is known about it, people are often misdiagnosed or not taken seriously by their doctors when they complain of summer depression."

What researchers do know is that the better the weather, the worse summer SAD gets. This could be one reason, they say, why Australia's Gold Coast and California - both areas with enviable amounts of sunshine - are also home to the most depressed people in the world.

"The effects of heat can be similar to the effects of depression," says Professor Thomas Wehr of the NIMH and an expert in summer SAD. "You lose motivation, you sit around a lot more and can have sleep problems. Summer SAD could be an extreme expression of the body's normal response to heat."

What causes summer SAD?

Nobody knows the exact causes, says Prof Norman Rosenthal, a psychiatrist and SAD expert at Georgetown University. "It could be the increased light or the rising temperatures," he says. Some researchers believe there is a genetic link to SAD - more than two thirds of patients studied have a relative with some form of mental illness.

Others think the key could lie in the brain's hypothalamus, the control centre for hormones. Because it is linked to temperature sensors, certain mental coping mechanisms could be affected when temperatures rise.

Prof Wehr has shown in trials that those with the condition tend to experience a significant rise in body temperature at night compared with non-sufferers. "When depressed patients were wrapped in cooling blankets at night, their temperatures dropped and their symptoms disappeared," Prof Wehr says. "As soon as they went outside into the summer heat, their depression returned."


How do you know if you are suffering?

Winter SAD is thought to be linked to a lack of sunlight which increases production of the sleep-related hormone melatonin and results in overwhelming feelings of tiredness and depression. Often, these are accompanied by a craving for carbohydrate foods and weight gain.

Symptoms of summer SAD are different - they usually start in early spring and persist until the clocks go back. Sufferers often complain of feeling agitated and restless as well as experiencing insomnia. They often feel uncomfortably warm at night.

In extreme cases of both conditions, sufferers can become clinically depressed. Twice as many women suffer from both forms of SAD and it strikes mostly during their reproductive years.

What can you do about it?

According to Prof Rosenthal, simple steps to tackling summer depression include using blackout curtains or blinds and opening windows at night when the weather gets warmer.

It might also be helpful to avoid bright light by wearing sunglasses; to take cooling blankets or frozen hot water bottles to bed; and to have frequent cool showers.

Prof Rosenthal also advises getting a thyroid check, as "there is some evidence that people with summer SAD have low thyroid function".

Amelia Mustapha says that exercise and a healthy diet are important mood boosters. "If symptoms persist, it is important to see your GP about your summer depression so that medication -usually anti-depressants - can be prescribed."

Where to go for help

If you are suffering from depression and think it might be linked to seasonal changes in the weather, contact the SAD Association (www.sada.org.uk; 01903 814942).



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/m.../30/hblue27.xml

I suffer from it...unfortunately I suffer with both. I have always suffered with extreme summer SAD, but the winter SAD didn't get so bad until I hit about 30...it was always there, just not life altering.

This article isn't much help. I believe it is a combination of light and heat. But i find that the humidity makes it much worse.

I don't start feeling really bad until about the middle of June or later. (and my spouse suffers with both also...we both had alcoholic fathers)

these are my symptoms: EXTREME irritablity, tiredness, lethargy, loss of appetite for anything other than carbs (I used to eat icecream for B/L/D), yet insomnia too. I usually get up feeling super hot no matter what we keep the A/C on. My normal bedtime is 9:30-ish, but this time of year I'm lucky if I can get to sleep before midnight...and even when I do I toss and turn all night long. Like i'm just half asleep. I also gain weight this time of year usually (I assume because of the high carb consumption). I also seem to have a challenged immune system because I get some kind of infection in the summer (or at least for the last 6-7 years I have).

I find if I stay in the A/C as much as possible and use room darkening shades it helps somewhat.

My DH and I are a really good study of it. We couldn't be more opposite, yet we both suffer equally. So it has to be a common denominator (in other words, outside of our bodies) that causes the problems. While we both have chemical imbalances, what prompts the symptoms has to be the same thing. Just haven't figured out what it is...but I'm sure it must be too much light for one thing...Also, if I sit in front of my winter light for too long, i start feeling much the same way as I do in the summer.

just wanted to add that both my daughters suffer from it also. I believe there is a hormonal link also.

Can hardly wait to go through menopause just to see what happens to my SAD.