Not quite as popular or known as your winter depressions, but there are others out there just like you.

Ian A. Cook, MD, the director of the Depression Research Program at UCLA names five causes of summer depression in an article published by our friends over at WebMD:

1. Summertime SAD.

You’ve probably heard about seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, which affects about 4% to 6% of the U.S. population. SAD typically causes depression as the days get shorter and colder. But about 10% of people with SAD get it in the reverse — the onset of summer triggers their depression symptoms. Cook notes that some studies have found that in countries near the equator – like India – summer SAD is more common than winter SAD.

2. Disrupted schedules in summer.

If you’ve had depression before, you probably know that having a reliable routine is often key to staving off symptoms. But during the summer, routine goes out the window — and that disruption can be stressful, Cook says. If you have children in grade school, you’re suddenly faced with the prospect of keeping them occupied all day, every day. If your kids are in college, you may suddenly find them — and all their boxes of stuff — back in the house after a nine-month absence. Vacations can disrupt your work, sleep, and eating habits — all of which can all contribute to summer depression.

3. Body image issues.

As the temperature climbs and the layers of clothing fall away, a lot of people feel terribly self-conscious about their bodies, says Cook. Feeling embarrassed in shorts or a bathing suit can make life awkward, not to mention hot. Since so many summertime gatherings revolve around beaches and pools, some people start avoiding social situations out of embarrassment.

4. Financial worries.

Summers can be expensive. There’s the vacation, of course. And if you’re a working parent, you may have to fork over a lot of money to summer camps or babysitters to keep your kids occupied while you’re on the job. The expenses can add to a feeling of summer depression

5. The heat.

Lots of people relish the sweltering heat. They love baking on a beach all day. But for the people who don’t, summer heat can become truly oppressive. You may start spending every weekend hiding out in your air-conditioned bedroom, watching pay-per-view until your eyes ache. You may begin to skip your usual before-dinner walks because of the humidity. You may rely on unhealthy takeout because it’s just too stifling to cook. Any of these things can contribute to summer depression.

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Alrighty, so now that we have a full list of what is contributing to our depression, what do we do about it?

1. Get on a schedule.

As Cook mentioned, I absolutely need a schedule to stay sane. Without one, I’m in trouble. So a month or so before school ends for the year, I get out my calendar and start marking it up. They will go to this camp during this week. I will be able to work from 8 to 3 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I will swim in the morning on these days. You get the point.

2. Plan something fun.

It doesn’t have to be expensive. Something as simple as taking a day off of work to have lunch with a friend or chill out with a novel at home can be incentive to get through a few weeks. One good piece of advice I received when I was trying to work through a severe depression was to plan something enjoyable every few weeks to keep me motivated to move forward. Not that I had to envision myself as having a jolly old time. But something that could give me an ounce of joy carried me through many hot summer afternoons.

3. Replace the triggers.

In their book, Extinguishing Anxiety, authors Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle explain that in order to retrain the brain from associating a negative event to a trigger that creates anxiety, we must generate new connections by exposure. So, for me, I need to replace memories of relapses in the summer (which trigger anxiety for me during the summer) with positive events during the summer. I mentioned in a recent piece, that one way I’m doing this is by getting involved in my kids’ swim team because that generates feelings of peace and happiness. And in so doing, being around the pool won’t remind me as much of the days when I sat slumped over in the baby pool section, unable to carry out a conversation with anyone.

4. Sleep.

It’s important to maintain good sleep hygiene in the summer. That is, even though the day’s events are changing from week to week, make sure to keep your sleep schedule the same: go to bed at the same time every night, wake up at the same time every morning, and don’t sleep much less than 7 hours and no more than 9 hours a night. When depressed, it’s common to want to sleep as much as you can, to kill the hours. However, extra sleep does increase depression.

5. Exercise.

During the summer months, it’s easy to abandon any exercise program that you’ve been disciplined enough to start since the oppressive heat can be dangerous, if not terribly unappealing. So before the heat sets in, design a plan you can stick with that won’t make you stick to everything else. I run early in the morning during the summer, before the humidity sets in, and I try to swim more often.

6. Be around people.

As tempting as it is to isolate during the summer, forcing yourself to be around people — even if you don’t join the discussion — is going to assist your mood and especially the ruminations that get your into trouble. If you don’t want to leave your air-conditioned home, at least make yourself call one person — a sibling, friend, or co-worker — to stay connected to the world.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2011/07/6-tips-to-help-summer-depression.html#ixzz1TtlRu9Po

But with summer at it’s peak, and across the country it’s been unbearable heat, another type of depression is getting attention, Summer SAD.

Summer SAD is linked to a sensitivity to heat and light. An estimated 1.5 million Americans may suffer from summertime SAD.

With summer SAD, all of the effects are the opposite to the Winter Blues. People affected in the summer tend to lose weight, eat less and sleep less. Like those in the winter, people with summer SAD tend to be extremely irritable during the summertime.

People with SAD in the wintertime seem to be located farther away from the equator. Some studies have found that people living near the equator tend to have more issues with summer SAD.

WebMD cites that about 10 percent of people with SAD in the wintertime also get it in reverse in the summertime.

Summer SAD is nothing new. It was first recognized in 1986 when mental health professionals suspected that heat and humidity contributed to depression.

Ideas for relieving summer SAD symptoms: Experts recommend staying cool with cold showers, air conditioning, swimming in cold lakes, or heading north to cooler climes if you can. Since people tend to drink more alcohol in the summer, be mindful of your consumption, since alcohol is a depressant.

The long summer days may also be misaligning your circadian rhythms, experts say, so another treatment plan could involve a combination of getting early morning light therapy (30 to 60 minutes daily), which shifts the body clock forward, and a low-dose of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles.

But talk to your physician if you’re strugging with a low mood this summer.

As hot weather approaches, those with summer SAD sleep less, eat less, and lose weight. They’re extremely irritable and agitated. (It’s the reverse for people with winter SAD, who sleep more, gain weight and crave high-carb foods, and tend to slow down and socially hibernate from late fall to early spring.)

It is thought that summer-onset depression affects less than one  percent of the population, making it much rarer than the winter SAD that is experienced by about ten percent of the population.

In its most severe form, people with summer seasonal depression may be more at risk for suicide than cold-weather SAD. Suicide is more of a concern when people are depressed and agitated rather than depressed and lethargic.

Experts recommend staying cool with cold showers, air conditioning, swimming in cold lakes, or heading north to cooler climes if you can. Since people tend to drink more alcohol in the summer, be careful of your consumption, since alcohol is a depressant. Although these treatments for hot-weather depression are useful for some, they lack the staying power that light-box therapy has on winter SAD.

Summer SAD

A person with summer SAD can stay inside, crank up the AC, and darken the room but then go outside into the heat and it’s as if they’ve never been treated. Another idea is that it might be the light itself that’s aggravating sufferers, whether it’s the intensity of sunlight or the angle it’s coming at people.

Still another possibility is that there may be two kinds of warm-weather depression. There might be one group of people who have an unpleasant reaction to the heat and humidity — a discomfort with the climate.

For those that have their circadian rhythms misaligned during the summer, it might be because of the longer exposure to daylight is causing some vulnerable people to cue at dusk. Dusk is shortening the typical body clock and delays a person’s sleep-wake cycle thus triggering depression.

People with summer depression have been treated with a combination of getting early morning sunlight (30 to 60 minutes daily), which shifts the body clock forward, and low-dose melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. Severe symptoms may also benefit from antidepressants.

These are some of the symptoms you can expect to find in most aspects of your life. If you find that you’re out of sorts during the winter, pay particular attention to winter-onset SAD. If you find that summer is especially difficult for you, see if your symptoms match up with summer-onset SAD. Finally, if you feel great during the spring and summer but other people find you difficult to deal with, check the symptoms for reverse SAD.

Winter-Onset SAD

Winter-Onset depression occurs during the winter months but not during the rest of the year. This type of SAD evokes a lack of interest in activities you would otherwise enjoy through the warm, summer months. Fatigue and low energy are often symptoms of Winter-Onset SAD, commonly leading to disinterest in completing simple tasks at work and at home. Oversleeping is also a common symptom, causing the affected to sleep in excess of anywhere from 2-8 hours more than they generally sleep during the summer. Additional symptoms include overeating – particularly sweet, starchy foods, resulting in weight gain as well as thoughts of suicide and overall despair.

Summer-Onset SAD

Summer-Onset SAD depression occurs during the summer, manifesting as an irritability and anxiety toward manners that wouldn’t normally trouble you during the winter months. Aggression, as well as a lack of caution in potentially dangerous situations are additional effects of Summer-Onset SAD, as is insomnia, causing you to sleep far fewer hours than you normally would during the winter. Increased sex drive or a lack of rational regarding appropriate sexual behaviour also occurs in many people affected with Summer-Onset SAD, in additional to poor appetite and weight loss. Thoughts of suicide and self harm are also common symptoms of this type of depression.

Reverse SAD

Reverse SAD manifests itself with an unnatural euphoria, hyperactivity, increased social interaction, an over enthusiastic attitude in addition to an overdeveloped sex drive. In extreme cases, people may take on an aggressive aspect to their personality, displaying the illusion that they are invulnerable to harm.

If you fit any of the above statements you may suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is suggested that you seek professional therapy. SAD light therapy lights are an effective treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder which can eliminate your physical symptoms and alleviate your depression over a course of short, daily exposures. However, should your physical symptoms disappear, but reform internally into feelings of guilt, it may be an indicator of a much larger problem and you are urged to seek medical attention promptly.

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Professor of Biological Sciences Douglas McMahon, and team say their experiment provides the first proof of seasonal imprinting of biological clocks in mammals. In this case, the imprinting effect in baby mice may help us understand better why humans born during the winter months are more likely later on in life to develop some neurological disorders.

McMahon said:

“Our biological clocks measure the day length and change our behavior according to the seasons. We were curious to see if light signals could shape the development of the biological clock.”

The team raised baby mice from the day they were born until they were weaned in artificial winter or summer light cycles. After being weaned, their cycles either continued the same or were changed to an opposite cycle for a 28-day period. When they reached adulthood they were placed in continuous darkness while their behaviors and activity patterns were monitored.

The mice which had been born in the winter environment demonstrated a consistent slowing of their daily activity period compared to the summer-born mice, no matter what subsequent cycle they were in after weaning.

They used a gene which makes the clock cells glow green when they are active so they could examine their master biological clocks. Here they also found a slowing in the winter-born mice’s gene clocks compared to those born in the summer environment.

Team member, Chris Ciarleglio, said:

“What is particularly striking about our results is the fact that the imprinting affects both the animal’s behavior and the cycling of the neurons in the master biological clock in their brains.”

The gene clock activity’s imprinting close to their birth date had a considerable impact on the mice’s biological clock reactions to subsequent changes in seasons during adulthood, the investigators revealed.

McMahon commented:

“The mice raised in the winter cycle show an exaggerated response to a change in season that is strikingly similar to that of human patients suffering from seasonal affective disorder.”

Further research is needed to determine when exactly the imprinting occurs and whether it has a permanent or temporary effect, the team said.

This study makes one wonder what impact seasonal light/darkness cycles very early in life might have in the development of our personalities.

McMahon said:

“We know that the biological clock regulates mood in humans. If an imprinting mechanism similar to the one that we found in mice operates in humans, then it could not only have an effect on a number of behavioral disorders but also have a more general effect on personality. It’s important to emphasize that, even though this sounds a bit like astrology, it is not: it’s seasonal biology!”

Human studies have found a link between schizophrenia risk and being born in winter (rather than a specific month). Scientists have suggested many factors which could influence neurological disorder risks, such as viral exposure. This study clearly shows a link between just light cycles and a specific brain function development.

Ciarleglio said:

“We know from previous studies that light can affect the development of other parts of the brain, for example the visual system. Our work shows that this is also true for the biological clock.”

It took the team two years to develop a special strain of genetically engineered mice. They carried a gene that produces a naturally fluorescent green protein – when their biological clock neurons were active they would glow green, making it possible for the team to monitor them accurately.

The master biological clock is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) – an area in the middle brain behind the eyes.

“Perinatal photoperiod imprints the circadian clock”
Christopher M Ciarleglio, John C Axley, Benjamin R Strauss, Karen L Gamble & Douglas G McMahon
Nature Neuroscience. Year published: (2010) DOI: doi:10.1038/nn.2699

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210639.php

To determine whether or not you have seasonal affective disorder, your doctor will want to know if you demonstrate symptoms each year during the same season, for at least 2 years in a row. Your doctor also needs to verify that after showing symptoms during the fall and winter months, for example, your depression goes away in the spring and summer. The doctor may also complete a thorough physical and psychological examination to determine any other factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.

If you suffer from fall and winter seasonal affective disorder, you may feel anxious, depressed, hopeless and lethargic. You may also gain weight, have a hard time concentrating, lose interest in daily activities, withdraw from friends and family and sleep more than usual. The symptoms of spring and summer seasonal affective disorder are a bit different. Instead of feeling depressed, you may feel irritable, anxious and agitated, and you may lose weight and suffer from insomnia. A rare form of the disorder, called reverse seasonal affective disorder, makes people feel extremely hyperactive and manic instead of causing depression.

Luckily, there are effective treatments that can relieve your symptoms and even prevent you from experiencing the negative emotions caused by seasonal affective disorder. In a common treatment called light therapy, you sit close to a light therapy box that gives off bright light. It creates the same effect in your brain as outdoor light and may relieve your depressive symptoms.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/3541-need-seasonal-affective-disorder/#ixzz144XyrTNP

Winter-Onset SAD

Winter-Onset depression occurs during the winter months but not during the rest of the year. This type of SAD evokes a lack of interest in activities you would otherwise enjoy through the warm, summer months. Fatigue and low energy are often symptoms of Winter-Onset SAD, commonly leading to disinterest in completing simple tasks at work and at home. Oversleeping is also a common symptom, causing the affected to sleep in excess of anywhere from 2-8 hours more than they generally sleep during the summer. Additional symptoms include overeating – particularly sweet, starchy foods, resulting in weight gain as well as thoughts of suicide and overall despair.

Summer-Onset SAD

Summer-Onset SAD occurs during the summer, manifesting as an irritability and anxiety toward manners that wouldn’t normally trouble you during the winter months. Aggression, as well as a lack of caution in potentially dangerous situations are additional effects of Summer-Onset SAD, as is insomnia, causing you to sleep far fewer hours than you normally would during the winter. Increased sex drive or a lack of rational regarding appropriate sexual behaviour also occurs in many people affected with Summer-Onset SAD, in additional to poor appetite and weight loss. Thoughts of suicide and self harm are also common symptoms of this type of depression.

Reverse SAD

Reverse SAD manifests itself with an unnatural euphoria, hyperactivity, increased social interaction, an over enthusiastic attitude in addition to an overdeveloped sex drive. In extreme cases, people may take on an aggressive aspect to their personality, displaying the illusion that they are invulnerable to harm.

If you fit any of the above statements you may suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is hard to self diagnosis, so please see your doctor if you are experiencing symptoms.  SAD Therapy Lamps are an effective treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder which can eliminate your physical symptoms and alleviate your depression over a course of short, daily exposures.

Winter Blues, Revised Edition: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder by Norman E. Rosenthal

Snooze… or Lose!: 10 “No-War” Ways to Improve Your Teen’s Sleep Habits by M.D. Dr. Helene A. Emsellem

Seasonal Affective Disorder and Beyond: Light Treatment for Sad and Non-Sad Conditions by Raymond W. Lam

A Clinician’s Guide to Using Light Therapy (Cambridge Clinical Guides) by¬†Raymond W. Lam and Edwin M. Tam

The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papolos M.D. and Janice Papolos

Winter Blues: Seasonal Affective Disorder: What It Is and How to Overcome It by Norman E. Rosenthal

Seasonal Affective Disorder For Dummies by Laura L. Smith and Charles H. Elliott

Vitamins B6 and B12 affect and help regulate your mood, and might help alleviate SAD. A Finnish study reports vitamin B12 helps reduce depression.

Vitamins B6 and B12

Vitamins B6 and B12 promote healthy blood cells, and help regulate the nervous system.  They affect mood and brain functioning.

The B Vitamins and SAD

Vitamins B6 and B12 promote dopamine production, one of the body’s neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure. ¬†If a person does not have adequate amounts of these vitamins, he might experience lethargy, a lack of concentration, anxiety and other symptoms similar to SAD.

Food Sources of Vitamins B6 and B12

Food sources include fish, meat, chicken, cheese, milk, eggs and fortified cereals. Vegetarians should consider a supplement.

Daily Requirements

Eat 1.3 to 1.7 mg of vitamin B6 per day. Eat 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 per day.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/32354-b-vitamin-seasonal-affective/#ixzz0r8XdhwsA