how our mental health can be affected by change in season.

Life is a cluster of emotions and mood swings. Some days you are more than ready to face the world and dominate, other days you just want to curl up in a bowl and sleep the entire day and literally just interact with nobody. Moods are confusing, they swing faster than an ambitious kid in a playground. Our lifestyle and activities have a huge effect on our mental health. We sometimes ignore the smallest of things that later lead to poor mental health. Our mental health also varies with seasons and as the seasons change, our mental health either worsens or gets better. Which is why sometimes a certain kind of weather makes us feel a certain kind of way.

What’s behind this is a brain Hormone called Serotonin which deals with mood and our mood ultimately determines our mental health.Serotonin increases with increase in the exposure of light and vice versa. Which is why often times you feel much more relaxed being outdoors on a sunny day.

Seasons affects our mental health and behavior much more intensely than it seems following is how the season-brain chemistry controls your mental health.

Seasonal affect is pretty self-explanatory. It is a depressive and a mood disorder, a sufferer may exhibit healthy behavior mood throughout the year except a particular season. This particular season apparently opens up an abyss of shallow mood throughout the period until the beginning of the new season. A person may appear tired and exhausted throughout, may have irregular sleeping pattern and generally become introverted. The season varies person to person, some may suffer in winters due to lesser sunlight available while for some, summers can increase anxiety levels. To Tackle SAD, Bright light therapy is used.

⦁ Depressed? Sun can help but pray it does not rain

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Since the hormone Serotonin increases with the increase in the exposure of the light, sunny weather can cheer up a depressed person. Sunny days in general indicate towards possibilities and activity. Bored? You can always go for a sport or hiking hence the possibility of potential activity can cheer up a person. But what about rain or a windy weather? While sun can cheer up a depressed person, rain can depress a depressed person even more since almost no outdoor activity is possible and your best refuge is your home. Apparently, rain doesn’t help with mental health much. Sunny days are also linked with spending more, since you’re already feeling positive about yourself due to increased serotonin, you are much more likely to empty your pockets than on a dull day.

⦁ Higher temperature leads to aggression and results in poor mental health

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Higher temperature is linked with aggression and rudeness. This is a rather practical and observable example; we get more aggressive when we are feeling hot and as soon as our bodies cool down, we are much more interactive and friendly. With gradual increase over room temperature, we get less helpful and are faced with more discomfort as the temperature rises. Higher temperature also leads to verbal aggression. This is mainly due to the fact that, the hotter the temperature gets, we get more impatient due to the increasing discomfort. According to researchers, with increase in temperature, the possibility of inter-personal conflicts grow by 14%. Summers can be hard to cope with and really drain your mental health

⦁ summer is not good for mental health

Spring, a season that renews life and is a sign of hope for most is ironically responsible for increased suicide rate. While more sunlight is linked with a happy mood, increased temperature is not. Following the last point, high temperature is linked with discomfort and dissatisfaction. To support the claim, according to a study by Koskinen, people who worked outdoors were likely to commit suicide in may than in the months of winter. Similarly, for indoor workers summers weren’t too friendly either. To add to the study, a meta-analysis in 2012 on the seasonality of suicide and a Swedish study in 2013, both showed a universal pattern that increased in spring and summers.

⦁ Seasons may come and go but stress won’t

Stress is an invariable factor to seasonal change. Different events throughout the year can bring you stress and drain your mental health, be it a family conflict or a minor work stress. It can go a long way ahead and trouble you. Tackle it as soon as you can through proper guidance. Too many people compromise on mental health. To tackle seasonal health, make sure you’re getting a fair share of nature, you have your priorities in order and are maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Seasons come and go but mental health is something not to be taken for granted, take care of your well being and since summer is right around the corner, make sure you get your fix of fun activities. And in case the temperature gets unbearable, the air conditioner’s always got your back.