Seasonal Affective Disorder in Summer: How Does it Affect Vacations?

The arrival of summer holidays It is one of the most anticipated events of the year for most of the population; a period in which we can rest for a few weeks and recover the energy lost during the months of work. However, there are those who at this time experience emotional disturbances related to that season of the year, something that makes it difficult to fully enjoy those days or weeks free of professional obligations.

This is what happens when it takes place what is known as seasonal affective disorder, a psychological phenomenon that, although it manifests itself more frequently during winter, can also occur during the hot season and the lengthening of the day. Let’s see what it consists of.

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What is summer seasonal affective disorder?

Some people may feel that with the arrival of summer they begin to feel more unmotivated or have less energy to do all the summer activities that they would like to do, or even experience a feeling of hopelessness and a relative inability to enjoy anything. activity that they usually like and interest. These are typical symptoms of depressive disorders, but in this case it seems that their arrival coincides with the transition from one season of the year to the next, giving rise to the so-called seasonal affective disorder.

seasonal affective disorder It is associated with climatological changes, both in hours of light and temperature which take place with the arrival of the new season, and if certain circumstances occur, they destabilize the biorhythms (processes related to a kind of internal clock on which, among other things, our level of nervous activity and our predisposition to react in a certain way depends. a more or less intense way to the stimuli).

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In addition to that, seasonal affective disorder is also associated with the change in life, routine and habits that take place during the holidays, both summer and winter; days in which we dedicate more time to leisure, meeting with friends and family or spending more time without working and, in general, getting rid of routine.

What is this about? Changes in mood at times of rapidly changing average daily temperature and sunlight exposure do not occur by chance; They take place because in our body there are a series of biological predispositions that lead us to feel and behave in slightly different ways depending on certain environmental variables.

This has its reason for being in biological evolution: the activity of a good part of animal species changes depending on the season, to adjust to the transformations that take place in the ecosystem, and although these readjustment mechanisms make less sense in some Times in which technological development allows us to protect ourselves from cold and heat and lead a very similar lifestyle throughout the year, continue to be present in the physiological and neurobiological processes behind our mental activity, operating discreetly and automatically

Normally, these adjustment mechanisms, based above all on the secretion of hormones, do not cause problems, but sometimes it happens that certain processes become unbalanced and we are more vulnerable to suffering depressive-type emotional alterations. We must not forget that the endocrine system is in constant interaction with the nervous system and vice versa, and that many hormones are also neurotransmitters used by the neurons in our brain to communicate with each other.

How does seasonal affective disorder affect the holidays?

As indicated, this type of seasonal alteration can considerably affect the mental health of the person and usually also influences the correct development of both leisure and social activities that take place during the summer holidays, thus generating a vicious circle: depressive symptoms predispose us to adopt a passive attitude and embrace a more sedentary lifestyle, which exposes us less to fun or stimulating activities, which reinforces that low mood.

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There are many emotional and physical alterations that occur in people with a seasonal affective disorder in the summer months, and their impact on daily vacation habits is also usually multiple and varied depending on each person.

1. Depletion of self-esteem when comparing ourselves with others

The symptoms most commonly associated with the onset of seasonal affective disorder during the summer months are those related to depression: sadness, anguish and obsessive thoughts based on guilt and/or shame. These alterations lead us towards a pessimistic confirmation bias: we interpret everything as evidence that we are worthless, that we do not deserve a good vacation, etc.

If we add to this that during the summer holidays many people tend to compare themselves with others, we have the perfect cocktail to get discouraged and suffer from the frustration of not having a good time.

2. Tiredness

Generalized fatigue is one of the most visible symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and one of the ones that best help us detect it during the summer months in anyone.

Feeling abnormally tired throughout the day or apathetic, without wanting to do anything, and without suffering from an organic disease to explain it, is one of the unequivocal signs that we may be facing a case of seasonal affective disorder in summer. And in turn, It leads us to pass up opportunities to have a good time, opening ourselves to new experiences those with a greater capacity to be fun because they move away from routine, but at the same time they require more physical activity or mental effort from us to adapt to what is new.

3. Lack of organization

The large amount of free time we have during the summer months can make it difficult for us to organize all the activities we must do during the day. The feeling of having to make many decisions about what to do It is often overwhelming for people with seasonal affective disorder.

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4. Lack of motivation

The lack of daily motivation and the loss of interest in carrying out any activity during the day can also serve as a sign that something is not right with us or with a loved one.

Seasonal affective disorder is associated with low levels of motivation to do anything, something that leads us to do over and over again what we have already internalized as routines and that we practically do without thinking, such as staying at home watching television, watching social media content non-stop, or simply eating snacks out of pure boredom, without being truly hungry.

5. Mood swings

Irritability, malaise, and sudden mood swings can also be due to the onset of seasonal affective disorder, which It will decisively affect both the mental health of the person and their way of relating to the environment. The latter is very relevant considering that for many people vacations are a time to see friends who live far away, family, etc.

6. Sleep problems

As we have seen, seasonal affective disorder is linked to biorhythms, and the change in sunlight hours can trigger significant alterations in this aspect. To this we must add that some people have a very disorganized sleep schedule during the holidays something that leads to the appearance of cases and insomnia and the inability to sleep deeply.