HYDERABAD: The rains don’t always spell romance or a day of relaxation and rest for some. While many rush to click that perfect picture with chai and samosa from their balcony, few others just can’t stand the pouring weather. If the past two weeks made you feel gloomy and if rains, despite not having to venture out, bother you, even to the point of feeling extremely low, all of a sudden, you’re not alone. Called ‘monsoon blues’, this condition is pretty common in most people and worsens in a few others — we attempt to break it down for you.
Wrongly referred to as monsoon depression, which mean the low-pressure system in the seas/oceans, monsoon blues are those irrational dampening of your spirits due to the incessant rains.Clinical psychologist Baijesh Ramesh says that such a condition points to seasonal affective disorder (SAD). “Such behaviour tends to show mostly during the rainy and winter seasons, due to several reasons — the biggest being lack of exposure to sunlight. This problem is seen more in people closer to the poles than the equator, because they tend to hand shorter days and longer winters,” he says.
Explaining how low sunlight affects people, he says, “Your body goes through several chemical changes when you don’t receive adequate exposure to sunlight. This would mean that your vitamin D levels, serotonin and melatonin levels are affected. Your sleep pattern takes a hit too, disrupting your biological clock. However, all of these are yet to be backed by enough proof to diagnose this as SAD. Family history, history of depression and already existing low vitamin levels of the body could be some causes too.”
Some of the common symptoms of monsoon blues include feeling down, have low interest and energy levels, sleeping too much or less, feeling sluggish, lower attention span, inability to focus on a regular task, overeating or change in eating habits etc., mentions Baijesh.
Psychologist Ruhi Panandiker says that seasons do affect our moods and explains why: “Usually, darkness and dullness along with gloomy colours bring in a negative effect. It’s largely biological, we start by feeling fatigued and sleepy and go on to develop more symptoms due to lack of activity. These symptoms are parallel to the weather. The minute the gloominess externally reduces and there is light in general, the spectrum of bright colours becomes visible, and it begins it pleasantly affect the mood.”
One way to regulate symptoms would be beginning therapy or creating an artificial setup with enough light, enhancing activity and working closely with social networks (these can be antidotes), says Ruhi.
But some have claimed to show such feelings of gloom mostly during monsoon than winters and Baijesh responds, “That could probably be because you rains play spoilsport to your plans while that isn’t the case with winters.”
He seconds Ruhi to say that a regulated, disciplined sleep cycle, healthy diet, and good physical activity even when at home can all help cheer you up. “If none of these help, therapy is a great option. If the intensity of these symptoms increases and reaches extremity, especially when it comes to difficulty in focusing, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, completely shutting yourself out, reach out for professional help.”