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<\/p>\nWhen it\u2019s gorgeously sunny outside, it can feel wrong to feel so miserable on the inside. <\/p>\n
But your summer slump might not just be in your head \u2013\u2013 it could be due to a real health phenomenon that could require getting help. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s because higher temperatures and humidity can trigger, even exacerbate, depression and recurring health problems in unseen ways. The first step is recognizing how this time of year could be the cause of your cranky and gloomy moods and sleepless nights. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you need to watch out for. <\/p>\n
Your summer slump might be an understudied \u2014 but very real \u2014 type of seasonal depression.<\/p>\n
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David Petrus Ibars via Getty Images<\/p>\n
If being outside in the heat puts you on edge and miserable, you might have summer SAD. <\/p>\n
You may know about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) causing recurring depression in the fall and winter. Still, not enough people know that hot, humid summers are also a trigger for SAD, because this kind of seasonal depression is \u201ctremendously understudied,\u201d said Kelly Rohan<\/a>, a psychology professor at the University of Vermont. \u201cThe existing studies are from the late 1980s, early 1990s and with very small sample sizes.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s also hard for people to realize their depression is specifically due to the weather. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s people with winter depression that are affected for years before they put it together,\u201d Rohan said. \u201cThe same phenomenon applies to those who are out there suffering with summer depression, and haven\u2019t yet put it together that this is a pattern.\u201d <\/p>\n You might also be confused because people with winter SAD experience their depression differently than people in the hotter months. <\/p>\n People who experience this in the colder months report feeling lethargic, craving more rich carbohydrates, and sleeping too much. But if you experience this in the summer, you might be more likely to experience insomnia and a lowered appetite, Rohan said. <\/p>\n Unlike the lethargy of winter SAD, summer SAD could also make you agitated. To be clear, summer SAD is not just disliking a hot, humid day and preferring winter. Instead, going outside under this heat-related depression can spark overwhelming, averse feelings of \u201cI can\u2019t take this. I can\u2019t function in this kind of humidity. I need to get into the embrace of a dark movie theater right now in order to feel human,\u201d Rohan said. <\/p>\n