EDMOND — Almost everyone gets tired of the long, hot summer days in Oklahoma. We all know the extreme heat can be hazardous to our physical health, but psychologists say it can be detrimental to our mental health as well.
“Folks that I’m seeing for other reasons say to me that they’re worse in the summer,” said Ann Benjamin, a local licensed professional counselor. “They do hover inside and don’t want to get out. So I say, ‘let’s talk about that,’ and it turns out they are very affected by the weather.”
Susan Ramseyer, an Edmond licensed psychologist, agreed. “The heat and dryness are really wearing on people,” she said.
For some Oklahomans, though, the hot summer weather is more than just an irritant. For people with a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, it can be
debilitating.
Seasonal depressions were noted by doctors as long ago as Hippocrates, according to the medical Web site www.priory.com, but the syndrome has become more familiar in recent years. The diagnostic term “SAD” was coined in 1985 and is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.
Winter SAD, related to cold weather and lack of daylight, is estimated to affect about 5 percent of adult Americans, while summer SAD affects only about 1 percent, with women sufferers outnumbering men.
“Winter SAD gets a lot more press,” Benjamin said. “We don’t think about SAD in the summer so much, but I think it is real.”
Typical symptoms of SAD include depression, decreased energy, irritability, difficulty concentrating, anxiety and social withdrawal. SAD patients also may suffer from chronic sleepiness and increased or decreased appetite.
Summer SAD sufferers may retreat to air-conditioned indoor spaces, but that creates a problem, too, since air conditioning can create an imbalance of positively charged ions in the air, thought to contribute to SAD symptoms.
A Columbia University study published in 1995 showed some sufferers do find relief by using negative ion generators to refresh the air.
“Negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness and more mental energy,” said Pierce J. Howard, author of “The Owner’s Manual for the Brain.”
Howard said people who are sensitive to ionization tend to feel sleepy when around air conditioning, but feel immediately refreshed and invigorated when they step outside or roll down the car window, particularly on a cool, damp day.
Electric ionizers are available in specialty stores at the mall or online. The price ranges from around $20 for an automobile version to more than $1,000 for a home air cleaner.
Ramseyer said she recommends people with summer SAD, like those with other types of depression, exercise regularly — in the cool morning, of course.
“It’s the last thing you want to do, but it helps,” she said.
Benjamin said self-care is important when dealing with summer SAD.
“People have to develop their own plan to cope with it,” she said. “They need to realize that it’s more difficult to manage their mood in the summertime. They need to say, ‘I will have to press myself to do the energizing activities I enjoy.’ I know it’s hard to find that motivation, but knowing yourself and what energizes you is key.”
When behavioral changes don’t help, doctors can prescribe antidepressants, but people who take prescription drugs may need to be more watchful during summer weather, Ramseyer said.
But hope may be on the horizon, even so.
“The good news is that the summer type of SAD usually goes away by the end of August,” Ramseyer said.
Features
Related Photos
-
MAIUKE RODE
Discussion
Is summer making you SAD?
- Features
-
-
Special care needed for senior pets
Q: I have a black Labrador mix that is starting to get gray hair around her muzzle. Baby is only 6 years old and we have taken very good care of her. She has always had her shots, she was spayed as a puppy, is on monthly heartworm preventative and is a good weight for her body size at 66 pounds. Is she really already a senior citizen, and what should we watch for? We love her very much and want to keep her healthy and happy as long as possible.
-
High self-esteem, reward system can backfire
The media recently reported “new” research findings to the effect that rewards often backfire and self-esteem is not the wonderful, uplifting personal attribute once thought. As a result, schools are rethinking their teaching and classroom management philosophies.
-
When rooms talk, it’s time to remodel
I think I might need a keeper. Every room in this house is screaming at me (some more loudly than others), and the cacophony is driving me nuts. You know how it goes. You spruce up one room (in my case the kitchen), and every other room in the house clambers for its share of TLC too.
-
Seminar focuses on pet allergies
Paul DeMars, DVM, Community Practice at Oklahoma State University’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, will present a Pet Care Seminar at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the McElroy Hall Auditorium at the corner of Farm Road and McFarland on the Stillwater OSU campus.
-
Canadian Carnaval is cool carousing
Yes, I have the coolest job in the world — and I visit some really cool places. But the spot that takes the Popsicle is Québec with the Carnaval de Québec and the Hôtel de Glace.
-
Wobblers syndrome is chronic, progressive
Q: I have an 8-year-old dog that is three-quarters Doberman Pinscher. He always has been quite active and healthy until about a month ago when he began showing slight signs of weakness and stiffness in his hind legs, but didn’t exhibit pain. He’s worse now.
-
Today’s children are being mis-educated about their feelings
Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of England, once said, “One of the great problems of our age is that we’re governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas.”
-
Purging of high heels brings despair
If you recall, last week I promised that you had heard the last of my New Year’s purging of closets and cabinets.
-
Why does my dog eat his own poop?
Q: My dog Max has suddenly started eating his own poop, and I find it totally disgusting.
-
Good Eats
PORK CHOPS WITH ORANGES AND PARSLEY
- More Features Headlines
-
Special care needed for senior pets
