As the Northern Hemisphere settles deeper into the summer months, two social media platforms offer up very different portrayals of the season.
Instagram is awash with reels of people enjoying their holidays, sunbathing at the beach and lingering over late-night al fresco dinners. However, over on the discussion site Reddit, forums dedicated to reverse SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, show users sharing reasons they dislike summer and how the longer days and brighter evenings exacerbate their mood disorders.
“The fact that the sun is out there bright, blazing and hot sucked out joy, hope and will from me,” reads one post. “I feel the terrible pressure of what I should be doing and how I should spend my time,” reads another. Others describe starting to “feel depressed” when the heat and light are intense.
“Summer-pattern seasonal affective disorder, sometimes called reverse-SAD, is a form of depression in which symptoms appear during the warmer months and improve when temperatures fall,” says Rita Figueiredo, a clinical psychologist and founder of Peninsula Psychology. It is much less common than winter SAD, which is one reason why many people have never heard of it.
“Its presentation is also different. People are more likely to experience restlessness, irritability, anxiety and emotional overwhelm than the low energy and increased sleepiness we associate with winter depression,” Figueiredo adds.
While not as prevalent, summer SAD has been gaining traction online and in discussion forums as global temperatures rise.
A 2025 study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found a global prevalence of 5.01 per cent for people with SAD and 0.57 per cent for summer SAD.
What causes reverse SAD?
While SAD is linked to a lack of sunlight, summer SAD has been linked to too much of it. The body uses light-dark cycles to convert daytime mood-boosting serotonin into sleep-promoting melatonin. These levels change with sunlight hours.
“Unlike traditional winter SAD, the issue is not a lack of sunlight but a possible hypersensitivity to summer stimuli,” says Dr Roberta Fedele, a clinical psychologist at BPS Clinic. “Intense sunlight, high temperatures and longer daylight hours may disrupt circadian rhythms and contribute to a state of hyperarousal, characterised by agitation, insomnia, anxiety, irritability and reduced appetite.”
Experts also cite factors such as heat, humidity and individual predisposition.
“Reverse SAD is more common in tropical and lower-latitude regions than in temperate regions,” says Dr Cynthia Ghosn, a psychologist at Thrive Wellbeing Centre. “This points strongly towards heat and humidity, rather than light, as the main environmental trigger. This makes hot, low-latitude climates like the UAE a relevant context to consider, given the intense heat and humidity experienced during the summer months.”
That said, not everyone exposed to the same heat and humidity develops reverse SAD, which suggests that genetics plays a role in individual vulnerability.
Guilt of experiencing summer 'wrong'
In the subreddit SeasonalAffective, user simmyawardwinner sums up the guilt many people with the disorder say they feel: “I hate the stigma … a lot of people are all, ‘ugh how can you hate the summer? You’re so miserable’.”
Alongside the worry of being called a summer Grinch is FOMO, or fear of missing out: sufferers compare their lives to advertising or social media posts, leading to self-criticism.
“Summer carries strong expectations that we should feel relaxed, social and happy,” says Figueiredo. “Holidays and outdoor activities dominate advertising and social media, creating the impression that everyone else is making the most of the season. When someone is struggling emotionally, that contrast can create guilt, self-criticism and the feeling that something is wrong with them.” Distress is added by a belief about what one “should” be doing, she adds.
For Fedele, our relationship to the seasons is “not merely climatic conditions but emotional containers”. She says: “Intense sunlight may be experienced as overly exposing, almost intrusive. Summer, with its implicit expectation of sociability, enjoyment, body exposure and emotional openness, can intensify feelings of inadequacy, shame, loneliness, or identity conflicts.”
In this region, a further layer is added by the relationship residents have to the hottest months of the year. “In the UAE, this pressure can become even more complicated because summer is also the season when many friends leave the country, routines disappear and social circles shrink,” says Figueiredo. “Feeling lonely or disconnected during this period is a very understandable response.”
Managing reverse SAD feelings
Recognising and acknowledging your feelings and separating them from cultural or social expectations about the season are vital to removing guilt. It is also important to appreciate that there is nothing wrong with having a preference for a particular time of year.
“Managing reverse SAD starts with recognising what's happening and approaching it with self-compassion rather than self-criticism,” says Ghosn. “From there, practical, physiological strategies matter. Staying in cooler, lower-temperature environments, or timing outdoor activities for cooler, less bright parts of the day, can reduce the physical strain that's driving a lot of the psychological discomfort.
“Staying well hydrated is important too, since dehydration affects daily cognitive functioning, on top of the effects of heat and humidity.”
As the body clock can be thrown off by increased daylight hours, trying to keep a consistent sleep routine can help stabilise mood and energy, explains Ghosn.
Limiting social media exposure and maintaining routine and structure, even if they are looser, are also important. During the summer, routines easily disappear as people travel, and moving social events inside can help alleviate the effects of reverse SAD.
“One of the biggest sources of distress is the feeling that you are experiencing the ‘wrong’ emotions for the season,” says Figueiredo. “People can benefit from recognising that the pressure is largely cultural.”
