Midsummer Madness like SAD but Summer version

[MissPeregrinesHome]

I have had this for several years. Love Summer and sunshine and many of the lovely aspects of this time of year.

But find that I become a bit manic and find everything just a bit...much.

I find myself craving darkness..I wake up and its light..go to bed when it's light...

Much as the warmth and sun are great, I find myself thinking it's a month till the longest day, so 2 mo the from now we will still be at the same amount of daylight as we have now.

I find myself talking rubbish at work, unfocussed, and I annoy myself.

Is this a common condition? A bit like SAD?

Or am I literally the only person who has this annoying condition?

It is to do with the decrease in melatonin - we do not produce as much as the evenings are lighter. A random piece of knowledge I think I learned on mumsnet. It can be helped by closing the curtains in the evening.

I'm not sure if I have the same thing but I get the absolute opposite of SAD.

I get really quite depressed in summer. I hate the light nights, I hate the heat, I hate the humidity... I spend the whole summer feeling this immense pressure to be "doing" something, to be out the house, to be going places.

I absolutely cherish winter when it rolls around and love the dark nights, cold mornings and the knowledge that it's quite acceptable to be tucked up in my cosy house reading!!!

@GayParis yes this is sort of what I have, but I do like the heat. Do you get the manic behaviour as well?

I love all of what you describe about Winter though. I hope this summer is not too bad for you. @MistySkiesAreGone thank you out for the explanation. I have tried shutting curtains

But it doesn't feel like proper darkness quite enough.

Why is this not as common a thing as SAD?

@MissPeregrinesHome yes I definitely end up manic! It's swings back and forth. I seem to go into overdrive and try and do as much as possible in as little time as possible and it all gets a bit hectic.. then I burn out and end up miserable for a week and the cycle repeats!

It's just something about the lighter days and the lack of darkness, it feels like you're constantly needing to be doing something or "making the most of the light".

I don't know - sounds bonkers when I explain it but I'm definitely a more well rounded person in winter!

I get you OP.

It's called S-SAD (Summer SAD) or inverse / reverse SAD. It kicks in around late March when the clocks go forward. Then it's a few months of heat waves, stormy weather, wasps, hay-fever, loud music in adjacent gardens and sleepless nights. Daybreak occurring at 02:50, meaning that it's difficult to sleep again if you wake up then.

On a mental health front, Spring/Summer is when I tend to get my recurring nightmares as well. September onwards, those nightmares go away, along with the heat / wasps / hay-fever etc.

The 'normal' people who are affected by SAD become depressed from September until March, the Winter months.

Summer absolutely makes me depressed. I get lonely. I feel like I should be out doing stuff. I find the sun oppressive. I grew up in a rough area as well and Summers were always the worst for crime etc, and my abusive alcoholic dad ramped up in the Summer due to spending more time out drinking.

Especially now with climate change in full swing I just find Summers fucking terrifying.

I struggled when I had a baby in the height of Summer as well. I felt so much pressure to get my baby ‘out and about in the nice weather’. It was a heatwave that year. Flies everywhere which just caused unnecessary stress and the buzzing interrupted the little sleep I got. I just wanted to nest and be nice and cosy at home, I think I’d have enjoyed the newborn stage more in Winter.

You say you've tried closing curtains, OP. Do you have light-blocking curtains? I bought some blackout curtains for my bedroom last year and was amazed at how much difference they've made. I already had heavy blinds which did a decent job, but layering these blackout curtains over the closed blinds makes it so much darker. It might be worth a try.

For me, it's not the light that bothers me so much as it is the heat, the insects, battling weeds in the garden, etc. Summer just isn't for me. Sometimes it helps if I almost pretend it's another time of year. I'll listen to autumnal music or autumn-themed ambiance on YouTube, read/watch autumn-themed books/films, and work on crafts that make me think of autumn.