Seasonal depression most often kicks in on gloomy winter days. But there is another, less common type of seasonal depression that arrives on sunny spring and summer days — and, according to experts, it’s just as serious.
“It’s important to remember that everyone is different, and while most seasonal episodes of depression occur in the winter, up to 30 percent of people [with seasonal depression] will experience summer depression,” says Samar McCutcheon, MD, who is a psychiatrist specializing in depressive, bipolar, and anxiety disorders at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
People with summer-pattern seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — aka “reverse SAD” — typically experience common symptoms of depression for about four to five months each year when the weather is warmer, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Read more in Everyday Health.