{"id":12225,"date":"2020-06-20T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-20T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=12225"},"modified":"2025-07-23T12:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:40:04","slug":"summer-depression-seasonal-affective-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/summer-depression-seasonal-affective-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"How to cope with summertime sadness"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many Americans, summer is a time for fun in the sun\u2014backyard barbecues, rambling road trips, and seaside celebrations. But for some, the season isn\u2019t so sunny. In fact, it can be downright depressing for those dealing with the summertime blues or summer<\/span> seasonal affective disorder (SAD)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that coincides with seasonal changes and affects about a half a million people in the U.S., according to the<\/span> Cleveland Clinic<\/span>. While it\u2019s typically associated with winter, for some, it can manifest in the summer instead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>Depression statistics<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Can you have SAD in the summer?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Seasonal affective disorder can occur during any time of the year, but for a patient to receive a SAD diagnosis, it must occur during the same time of year for two years, per the<\/span> National Institute of Mental Health<\/span> (NIMH). Meaning, if you have a depressive episode in the summer one year followed by a depressive episode in the winter the next year, you probably don\u2019t have SAD but rather another mood disorder (like major depressive disorder) that you should talk to your doctor about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Depression, in general, is an episodic illness. You can be depressed any time of year. If you’re always depressed in the summer, that doesn’t automatically mean you have SAD\u2014which is a rare diagnosis\u2014whereas major depressive disorder is not. To be sure, summer SAD is much less prevalent than winter SAD\u2014it\u2019s believed that<\/span> just 1% of the U.S. population<\/span><\/a> suffers from the former. And if you do find yourself repeatedly feeling down in the dumps during the warm weather months, there could be another explanation altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have a seasonal pattern of depression that hits in the summer\u2014it may or may not be a seasonal affective disorder,\u201d says Owen Muir, MD<\/a>, a psychiatrist and co-founder of<\/span> Brooklyn Minds<\/span>. \u201cThere are potentially a number of explanations for it. That\u2019s the reason I take two hours to do an intake because what seems like an easy answer to something ultimately isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A licensed mental health professional can help you understand the nuances between summer SAD and more generalized depression that happens to occur during the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Causes of summer depression<\/span><\/h2>\n

Summer depression can stem from a number of different factors\u2014environmental, genetic, social\u2014though many boil down to the heightened expectations surrounding the season, says <\/span>Thea Gallagher, Psy.D<\/span><\/a>., a psychologist at NYU Langone in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor some people who have social anxiety or an eating disorder, these are definitely trigger time frames because there is more time to be social and more time to wear less clothing,\u201d she says. \u201cAlso, if you\u2019re not in a great place financially, there is more expectation to spend money to do things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media can also make the disparity between your friend\u2019s high-flying summer and your low-key summer more acute. It\u2019s easy to get caught in a sort of never-ending cycle, says Gallagher.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIronically, I think what people do is they beat themselves up for feeling what they\u2019re feeling and it only makes it worse,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to social factors, there are a number of environmental factors at play that can cause seasonal depression or SAD. For instance, while SAD in the winter is thought to stem from a lack of light, the reverse is thought to be true of summer SAD. Those 6 a.m. sunrises and longer days can throw off circadian rhythms\u2014the body\u2019s natural wake-and-sleep cycle\u2014leading to less restorative shut-eye and other physical and mental health side effects. Plus, schedules are often disrupted for a number of reasons (no school! vacations!) in summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gallagher says that some people are also less tolerant of high temperatures. Summer heat and humidity can make the summer months incredibly uncomfortable and lead to loss of appetite, weight loss, and anxiety.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes there is an easily identifiable cause for depression. Other times, it just happens, without an obvious explanation. Unfortunately, the research into summer SAD is limited, and there is still a lot that doctors don\u2019t understand about what causes summer-onset depression and how it affects those who have it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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