I think that I may suffer from summer pattern seasonal affective disorder - anyone else?

[BellaBobandBernietoo]

I didn't even know this was a recognised thing until yesterday but I genuinely think that I may suffer from this.

I do also struggle with deep winter SAD and dread January and February but I feel equally awful during the high summer months and wonder if anyone else feels like this?

I would like nothing more than to enjoy the hot and bright weather as so many others do but the truth is my body and mind struggle so much as soon as high summer comes along.

As soon as June through to August comes I feel dreadful. It's hard to fully articulate but the heat and the stickiness oppressiveness just wrecks me and it's not just the heat, the bright days do something to my brain, I have to wear sunglasses all the way through the summer months, even when it's not sunny, if not I can feel quite anxious and panicky. I also feel very nauseous in the summer and have little appetite, my mood is low and I have zero interest in anything and of course the broken nights sleep affect me too. When evening and night time arrive I feel so much better, more relaxed and at ease. I do have ADHD so not sure if there is a connection there?

Even when the kids were little I dreaded August and found it quite depressing for some reason that I could not fully explain.

I am happy and much lighter in March-May and then again September-November, in fact I adore September and October and feel a completely different person, I just wish those months could last so much longer. I also adore the rain, no idea why but rain calms and grounds me and makes me feel very content and happy for some reason.

I appreciate not many people enjoy these humid heatwaves that we have here in the UK the last few years but this is more than not enjoying the heat. I do love a gentle warm/cooler day with sun and fluffy white clouds with perhaps a nice cooling breeze but anything more than that does me in for some reason.

Can anyone else relate to this?

Omg I thought I was the only person who had this. I feel quite relieved to find this thread! I find high summer oppressive and melancholy; I struggle most in the afternoons. I am happiest in spring and autumn. I don’t even mind winter.

Oh God, yes. I’ve been on the verge of tears all week.

Me too at times. Plus the weather forecast keeps moving the goalposts and extending weather alerts & the heat lingers longer than originally forecast. I live in the far south 😕

Yep, I’m in London, same

This thread has really struck a chord with me, so just want to say solidarity to everyone else suffering in this horrendous weather.

I totally relate to that feeling of dread as summer approaches, and at the moment I feel like I’m counting the seconds until this heatwave ends. Something I do every day is go on the BBC weather app and look at the last day for which a forecast is available, and check the sunrise and sunset times. Once we’ve passed the longest day it’s a big mental help to me to see the sunrise time get later and the sunset time (gradually!) get earlier. It takes a while to notice a difference but I find it gives me hope. Though then I do feel guilty as if I’m wishing my life away.

Like many PPs I feel my spirits really lift from October. Even September, though we can still have hot days, feels like we’re through the worst of it.

During this heatwave I’ve found myself googling the coldest place in the UK (it’s a village in the Scottish Highlands) and actually contemplating moving there when I retire!

Yes I have this and I was delighted when the NHS recognised it as a real thing. Unfortunately there’s no such thing as a SAD lamp for us!

Mine is exacerbated by being neurodivergent and also being on a cocktail of mental health medication which makes it much harder to regulate my temperature. I start counting down to autumn in spring!

I too was googling weather for the Shetlands and Orkney islands this last week. Maybe I need to move north too. Also I agree on the relief of the summer solstice passing. I love my dark cosy evenings.

I'm feeling exactly the same. Today is even worse, I feel so on edge and angsty but at the same time really low. The heat exacerbates my IBS which makes things worse too. The heat and bright light exacerbates everything negative for me sadly.

As soon as evening comes and it becomes dusk I feel myself lifting from it. The same with the months. I feel that July and August, in particular, are months I have to drag myself through and endure and as soon as mid September onwards arrives I feel so completely different - lighter, happier, healthier even. I feel much more contended and at ease.

It's hard to find anyone in RL who feels this way.

I definitely feel this too. I've always felt a deep melancholy in the summer month but have never felt I can say it because everyone I know adores the summertime. I wish I did too but I really don't.

Lol, I do exactly the same thing.

This week I've been googling 'When will this heatwave end?', 'Are there likely to be any more heatwaves like summer and when?' and 'where is the coolest climate in the UK'

I literally can not stand this weather, I feel as though I may go crazy if we have anymore of these heatwaves. Give me a 15-20 degrees summer - anything higher is entering into tortuous territory.

I’m autistic, incredibly fair, and highly heat sensitive. I hate the sun. Summer is the worst season. I also live in a place where it is regularly 40 degrees with a uv index of 9 in the summer. I hope to move someday, but that day is far away.

I get grumpy as soon as summer appears. I cope by making up little songs about how much I hate summer because I have an endless soundtrack playing in my head anyway.

Winter is my outdoor season. It is almost always well below 0 and I love it.

I'm on Nortriptyline which I've read makes it harder going in the summer. I really don't need that but sadly I need this med right now which is frustrating.

I had no idea the NHS recognises this, at least that's one positive I suppose.

Oh! I'm on nortriptyline too but I hadn't joined the dots. Thank you.

I definitely believe being ND exacerbates this feeling. I have ADHD (and believe I'm autistic too), ds has asd and we both very much struggle with summer. DD and DH are NT and love the summer and can both tolerate being out in the heat (DH works outside).

It's all the varying sensations I despise, the constant stickiness, feeling the heat rise through my body, hot feet and a hot inner mouth sensation drives me insane, I hate summer clothing, the brightness and needing to wear sunglasses all the time. The worst thing for me is the inability to turn to my comforts which for me are wrap around clothing, my hot water bottle (need this for my IBS and endometriosis) and my throws (especially my heated throw) and the sensation of being sweaty drives me to distraction and I often end up showering three times a day.

I hate change and going from a comfortable, regulated and controlled temperature to sudden overheating heat drives me insane.

So glad to have found others that feel this way (obviously sorry that you do). I loathe summer and like pp, I start getting panicky as soon as the warm weather starts. The long days just seem to stretch on endlessly, and I hate that it’s still light at 9:30pm. My mood has been so low during this heatwave and I can’t wait until Sunday when it’s set to break!

I am a real autumn/winter person and feel totally different then; love the rain and wind, doesn’t bother me at all, or the dark evenings. I honestly thought I was on my own feeling this way, so thanks OP for starting this thread.

I think many of us with summer SAD have previously hidden how we feel during summertime as you get called a misery. It’s only with extreme heatwaves it’s becoming more acceptable to say summer is not enjoyable. The long light days literally hurt my head even without the heatwaves, I crave the darkness of proper nighttime and the insomnia drives me mad. As soon as September comes and the days are getting shorter, it totally disappears. Took me a good few years to realise it always appears in June and lasts until September. I like the cold & rain too!

You really aren’t on your own, I too adore the autumn,early winter and rain, I even love walking out in the pouring rain, it grounds me and really calms my mood for some reason. Bright, long days are absolutely draining for me too.

I am loathing this heatwave, I even flopped on my bed and bawled like a hormonal teen this afternoon from the pure frustration of it all. I can’t wait until it eases off in a few days even then I will be counting down the days till autumn (but I never say that out aloud as I know others think me crazy).

My favorite day of the year is September 1st as I then have autumn and winter to look forward to.
i don’t like the long bright days, the sweating, tiredness and lack of sleep.
September can’t come soon enough this year..

I sleep like a log in the winter months, proper decent, restorative sleep. I wake continuously during the summer months and that doesn’t help either.

Absolutely, roll on September.

It can be lonely , not joining in with the general excitement around summer. But I can’t wait for the nights to start drawing in …

My dd is like this and so am I to an extent. July and August being the worst for me ( this year it’s exceptionally early with this heat!) but my dd puts a you tube video of rain on while she reads and relaxes at night with the curtains drawn and she finds that really chills her out

I fall asleep every night with the sound of rain on the Calm app, I find it so relaxing.

I haven't read the whole thread yet but enough to make me feel less alone and more understood!
for years I thought it was because I was so overweight, then menopausal, now I'm a normal weight and I'm on HRT, but find summer very stressful and exhausting.
Will be reading all the posts as soon as my head clears a bit as today has been dreadful

I recently acquired a pair of virtually blackout sunglasses. They are not safe for driving or even in all situations, but they do help when I have to be outside and especially when I am a passenger in a car. They help with the sun exposure headaches.