Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder with Dr. Vinay Saranga

When people talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), it’s usually to refer to wintertime depression. What you might not know is that for some people, SAD can also apply to summertime depression. When most of us are looking forward to fun in the sun, for those who suffer from Summer-onset SAD, life can be anything but enjoyable. What are the symptoms?

Today's special guest, Vinay Saranga M.D., a psychiatrist and founder of Saranga Comprehensive Psychiatry says, “Reverse SAD is real. It’s not about being a party pooper. Summer depression can really bring some people down. The sun, to them, is utterly oppressive. It drains and exhausts them. They are energized on cloudy days. This type of exhaustion can isolate people and intensify feelings of sadness and anxiety.”

More specifically, Dr. Saranga says to look for: agitation, anxiety, fatigue, eating too much or too little, significant changes in weight, unexplained aches and pains, loss of interest in activities that usually bring pleasure, lack of motivation, depression, little to no optimism about things, lacking that zest you usually have, avoiding friends/family/social situations.