Changes in attitude, changes in latitude, or do people in the tropics get seasonal affective disorders?
So, it’s the first day of autumn and my brain is doing its usual “Summer is over and nothing will ever be good again” dance (despite the fact that we’ve had exceptionally fine September weather). So this has me wondering – is seasonal depression limited to the high latitudes? If your day is 12 hours long year round, do you never get SAD? Are there people who always have some version of SAD because the days never get long? Are there people living in the tropics who get SAD even though the days are getting shorter 2000 miles northwards (or southwards, I guess). Is there such a thing as monsoon-season-affective-disorder?
So, in other words, absent seasonal cues such as changing temperatures and length of days, are there built-in rhythms in the human brain that serve to remind you that you’re wasting your life away? Or do the folks in the equatorial regions just get depressed when the tourists show up?
And to carry this one step further, is there a gradient, where people in, say, Florida, get mild versions of SAD, while people in North Dakota, Nome, and Manitoba gulp Prozac like M&Ms?
According to Wiki, Seasonal Affective Disorder can also occur in the summer. It’s distinguishing feature is depression taking place during the same time of year each year, not necessarily in winter.
The disorder was first noted by Norman Rosenthal after he moved from South Africa, which although temperate is sunny year round, to the northern US.
I have never heard of anyone here in Panama who said they were affected by seasonal depression. The day length varies about an hour total between December and July.
Seasonal depression might be theoretically possible because there is considerably less sun during the rainy season from May to December, although the day length itself doesn’t differ much. However, except maybe in October and November it’s rare to go a full day without bright sunlight during at least part of it. In October and November we can get three or four days in a row when it’s cloudy and rainy all day.
I lived on Guam for two years. Bad weather comes in short, violent bursts during the rainy season (typhoons, storms, etc.) but nothing lingers. It’s basically summer year-long but part of the year is stormy. I don’t see that you’d get a chance for SAD to kick in.
A more interesting question is how prevalent is it in the opposite extreme, such as Alaska where you can have days without sunshine.
Length of day varies much less in the tropics - so getting the SADs from that is less likely one would assume. However climate changes with season can be a significant issue. In Darwin (top of Australia) the climate is monsoonal, and comes as “the dry” and “the wet”. The wet is legendary for its oppressiveness and the suicide rate jumps dramatically.
A friend of mine once observed that it was the only time in his life that upon waking in the morning, the thing he most wanted was a cold beer.
I don’t think the people that live in FL, CA, etc. get SAD, but I do think when a person gets used to something, it’s not as special. For example, I’ve read that when a person buys a new car, the “new” feeling wares off in about two months. In other words, it’s not that special to drive the new car anymore. To be honest, if I could, I would prefer to be living in a year-round warm climate, but I cannot move at this time because of obligations. It’s a lot easier not having to worry about shoveling snow, etc., and winter can be depressing.
Once when I was in Barbados a native asked me if the cold weather came in the summer or winter. He knew the name of the seasons but not the meaning. In Barbados, the temperature is only about 1 deg C warmer in July than in January, although the day is a bit longer and there is more rain. Basically, the only season there is sugar harvest.