Spring blues
in Psychology & Therapy ·
Hello everyone.
I haven't been active on this forum lately, but I would like you to leave this thread up if it complies with the other posting rules. If this topic doesn't fit this subforum, feel free to move it elsewhere.
As the title suggests, I struggle with spring depression. At 27 years old, I am finally ready to admit this and start addressing it.
Unlike most people with seasonal issues who suffer during autumn, winter, or the holidays, I don't experience that. For me, this depression starts creeping in around February—as soon as the days get longer—then intensifies through mid-to-late April before tapering off by June.
Ever since the 5th grade, I’ve felt the changing weather and longer days starting to "suffocate" me. It creates this constant restlessness and kills my concentration while studying. The afternoons are the worst—from about 2:00 or 3:00 PM until dusk. Just endless restlessness. Depression mixed with anxiety. A sense of aimlessness. Emptiness. Sometimes even a sense of dread.
During this time of year, I often feel like spring is physically tearing me apart. Days were only tolerable if it was raining. Rarely did a spring day pass without me feeling like absolute shit. During my school years, I tried to drown out these horrible feelings by burying myself in work and obligations, though they remained present.
Over the last three years, this period has been more manageable than before (when I lived at home), and during this past year (2022), working helped me realize I handle spring better now than I did during my education. However, that mindset—that difficulty with this specific season—is still there. It remains hard, even if it has weakened slightly over the last three years.
I have always remained functional during this time, just 2-3 times less productive than I am during the winter.
My questions for you all are:
Do you experience similar issues? (I would prefer we focus specifically on spring moods rather than generalizing or discussing other seasons).
How do you cope?
What are the potential causes?
Is there any professional literature on this?
Have you managed to overcome, or attempted to overcome, this period?
Just today, seeing people relaxing and hanging out in Central Park served as a blunt reminder that this spring depression is here, and it is present.
Thank you in advance for your kind and constructive responses.
I haven't been active on this forum lately, but I would like you to leave this thread up if it complies with the other posting rules. If this topic doesn't fit this subforum, feel free to move it elsewhere.
As the title suggests, I struggle with spring depression. At 27 years old, I am finally ready to admit this and start addressing it.
Unlike most people with seasonal issues who suffer during autumn, winter, or the holidays, I don't experience that. For me, this depression starts creeping in around February—as soon as the days get longer—then intensifies through mid-to-late April before tapering off by June.
Ever since the 5th grade, I’ve felt the changing weather and longer days starting to "suffocate" me. It creates this constant restlessness and kills my concentration while studying. The afternoons are the worst—from about 2:00 or 3:00 PM until dusk. Just endless restlessness. Depression mixed with anxiety. A sense of aimlessness. Emptiness. Sometimes even a sense of dread.
During this time of year, I often feel like spring is physically tearing me apart. Days were only tolerable if it was raining. Rarely did a spring day pass without me feeling like absolute shit. During my school years, I tried to drown out these horrible feelings by burying myself in work and obligations, though they remained present.
Over the last three years, this period has been more manageable than before (when I lived at home), and during this past year (2022), working helped me realize I handle spring better now than I did during my education. However, that mindset—that difficulty with this specific season—is still there. It remains hard, even if it has weakened slightly over the last three years.
I have always remained functional during this time, just 2-3 times less productive than I am during the winter.
My questions for you all are:
Do you experience similar issues? (I would prefer we focus specifically on spring moods rather than generalizing or discussing other seasons).
How do you cope?
What are the potential causes?
Is there any professional literature on this?
Have you managed to overcome, or attempted to overcome, this period?
Just today, seeing people relaxing and hanging out in Central Park served as a blunt reminder that this spring depression is here, and it is present.
Thank you in advance for your kind and constructive responses.