Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the other name for Meteoropathy

By Cristiano Antonino On Nov 28, 2022

It happened: you opened a magazine, read ‘seasonal affective disorder’ (SAD), also known as meteoropathy, which is the condition of strong mood swings that usually manifest themselves as physical and mental fatigue and depression in the winter months or increased anxiety and tendency to irritability in the summer months, and you panicked

You started to think back to all the times you felt a little melancholic during the Christmas holidays compared to the periods of well-being you experienced with the arrival of summer… and so… here we are… the first thought is: I am a meteoropathic person!

Being meteoropathic

Hold on a second.

First of all, feeling more tired and sad in winter and more energetic in summer is an extremely common phenomenon, slight mood swings are completely normal and nothing to worry about.

In fact, from a biological point of view, sunlight releases substances that make us feel more energetic and active, while darkness stimulates certain hormones that make us feel more tired.

Having said that, it is still important to get to the bottom of the matter to understand what it means to be meteoropathic and what Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) consists of and not fall into easy self-diagnosis.

Meteoropathy: origins and symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Let us try to reconstruct the origins of the disorder: it was in 1984 when psychiatrist Norman E. Rosenthal first attempted to define meteoropathy.

Among other symptoms, he noticed that some patients tended to change their mood depending on the seasons.

Specifically, he identified a winter form, in which subjects suffered from depression during the colder, darker months.

For instance, they could burst into tears out of nowhere for no apparent reason, sleep many hours more than they should and binge more easily.

Rosenthal also diagnosed a summer form in those patients who, on the contrary, developed anxiety during the warmer months.

They were easily irritable, hyperactive, ate less, suffered from insomnia, and sometimes engaged in aggressive behaviour.

The causes of seasonal affective disorder

As mentioned above, the causes can be traced back to biological factors.

Serotonin, also referred to as the ‘feel-good hormone’, is a neurotransmitter that is stimulated by sunlight and causes a feeling of immediate pleasure and well-being.

Melatonin, on the other hand, is a hormone that acts as a ‘biological clock’ as it is the main regulator of sleep and is activated during the night hours.

Those suffering from seasonal affective disorder are more affected by the change of seasons, tending to produce excessive amounts of serotonin during the summer, thus becoming sleep-deprived and more irritable, and to produce excessive amounts of melatonin during the winter months, becoming more prone to sleepiness and a worsening of mood.

I think I have the symptoms of SAD: when should I worry?

It depends. If the symptoms are debilitating and life-threatening for the person in question, it is important to seek expert advice.

The most important thing, however, is not to self-diagnose SAD, especially when the symptoms are so easily misinterpreted.

As already mentioned, slight mood swings are completely normal, and very often we hear people call themselves meteoropaths lightly.

In conclusion, let us not panic if we feel a slight melancholy on a rainy day or if we feel particularly happy in the park with friends in the sunshine.

Let us relax, avoid searching for meteoropathy tests on the internet, close our psychiatry books and leave them open to professionals who know how to interpret them.