For many people, the change of seasons is a gentle transition—something you notice when it's time to reach for the umbrella or dig out the sunscreen. For others, it brings mild emotional discomfort, a faint cloud that drifts in with new weather. But for many—from teenagers to the elderly—the shift can feel more like an emotional rollercoaster than a passing breeze.

This seasonal imbalance is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). While winter depression gets most of the attention, summer anxiety is sneakier and just as disruptive. Both have a way of quietly slipping into our daily routines, influencing mood, energy, and social interactions—and they rarely travel alone. Anxiety and depression tend to arrive together, taking turns at the wheel.

If either scenario sounds familiar, you're not imagining it. Seasonal changes are revealing underlying depression and anxiety that affect millions worldwide. The good news? You're not powerless against the seasons. Understanding how seasonal depression and anxiety show up—and learning to spot the early signs—can make all the difference.

When Winter Brings the Heaviness

Research shows that about 5% of people experience clinical SAD in winter—and yes, even Portugal's relatively mild winters can trigger it.

What's actually happening? Reduced sunlight disrupts your circadian rhythm and lowers serotonin production. Combined with vitamin D deficiency, this shifts your brain chemistry fundamentally. The result isn't just feeling "a bit tired." You're oversleeping yet never feeling rested, craving carbohydrates as your brain desperately tries to boost serotonin, and withdrawing from social contact. Your energy disappears. Simple tasks become monumental.

But there's more beneath the surface. When winter arrives, you're suddenly confronting emotions you've been suppressing all year, and your nervous system feels utterly exhausted. Depression settles in heavily, and anxiety quietly joins it—bringing worry about getting through each day, fear that this heaviness will never lift, and mounting concern about how isolated you've become. The combination is suffocating.

For those who stayed busy and socially active through summer—even if it emotionally drained them—winter can oddly feel like permission to rest. The social pressure finally lifts. There's no expectation to be "out there" constantly. You can stay in without judgment. But this relief comes loaded with all the difficult emotions you've been outrunning.

The Hidden Pattern: When Summer Becomes the Storm

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What most people don't realise is that roughly 10% of people with seasonal mood disorders experience the opposite pattern. Summer brings them down. This is significantly underreported because, frankly, who admits they're struggling when everyone else appears to be having the time of their lives?

The biology works differently here. Excessive heat and prolonged daylight suppress melatonin production, which wrecks your sleep quality. Add stimulants like excess caffeine, poor nutrition, and irregular eating—and your nervous system becomes depleted, unable to regulate emotional responses properly. Poor sleep triggers anxiety. Anxiety worsens sleep. The cycle spirals relentlessly.

But psychology plays an equally powerful role. Spring and summer carry unspoken pressure to be happy, busy, and thriving. Everyone seems to be booking holidays, posting beach photos, glowing with energy. If you're not in that headspace, it can feel like everyone else has been invited to life—except you. If you're stuck while others travel, lonely while social media shows friend groups at festivals, or struggling with body image while everyone heads to the beach, the supposedly liberating season becomes a prison.

Symptoms include difficulty sleeping, reduced appetite, restlessness, agitation, and a constant feeling of being on edge. Like winter depression, summer struggles carry guilt and shame. What's wrong with me? Everyone else is fine. You isolate and sleep more—not from exhaustion like winter, but to escape the pressure.

For summer strugglers, winter offers relief. For those energised by summer's spotlight, winter feels torturous—the darkness, isolation, and lack of stimulation drain them completely. The underlying depression and anxiety remain constant, just changing sunscreen for an umbrella.

The Expat Factor: When Seasons Intensify Everything

For expats, seasons can feel particularly brutal. You're already balancing cultural adjustment, a new language, and the daily puzzle of building a life in unfamiliar surroundings. Initially, novelty carries you—the new cafés, sunny weekends, excitement of discovering fresh corners. But when that glow fades, what remains can be quietly lonely.

Building life abroad often means rebuilding yourself—finding genuine friends, creating stability, and learning to belong again. When winter rolls in or summer's social pressure ramps up, that fragile balance cracks. The familiarity, routines, and support systems you once relied on aren't readily available. You think: Back home, I knew how to navigate this. Here, I'm just... existing.

In winter, the lack of close connections amplifies that heavy feeling. Depression takes hold, and anxiety slips in beside it, whispering doubts about your choices and whether you'll ever feel settled. Throughout the year, depression and anxiety trade places like dance partners. You keep busy with work and weekend trips to stave off sadness, yet subtle pressure lingers: Shouldn't I be happier? Isn't this supposed to be my dream life? These thoughts spiral into anxiety that keeps you awake.

What Actually Helps: A Three-Level Approach

Here's what most people miss: seasonal depression and anxiety aren't purely psychological. They're biological, psychological, and social. Addressing all three levels makes the difference between managing symptoms and genuine transformation.

Support your biology first. Get a blood test to check vitamin D, B Complex (especially B12 and folate), magnesium, zinc, and iron. Many symptoms that feel purely emotional are rooted in nutritional deficiencies. Consider targeted supplementation: vitamin D3, methylated B Complex, magnesium (glycinate for calming, L-threonate for cognition, chloride for mood regulation), L-carnitine for energy, and iron if deficient. For winter patterns, use a light therapy box for 15-30 minutes each morning. Dosage matters—work with someone who understands these protocols.

Protect your nervous system. Your sleep is non-negotiable. Create darkness, maintain cool temperature, keep consistent schedules. Depression thrives in formlessness, so structure your days intentionally—set specific times to connect with people and complete small tasks.

Address the psychology. Stop comparing yourself to others—social media isn't reality. Journaling or making voice notes helps unburden anxiety and reveals intrusive thoughts of self-criticism and unrealistic expectations. Give yourself permission to opt out while knowing you're taking action. Recovery doesn't follow the calendar—your commitment does.

Here's the crucial part: treating biology first—optimising sleep, nutrients, nervous system regulation—often unlocks capacity for real psychological work. Your brain needs resources for concentration, emotional stability, and deep therapeutic engagement. Sometimes symptoms are purely biological and resolve with proper support. But if emotional distress remains, that signals deeper work awaits: unresolved stress, lifestyle misalignment, or residual trauma you may carry.

This is when therapy becomes genuinely transformative. With biological foundation stable, you can process what you've avoided, examine outdated protective patterns now imprisoning you, and rewire how your nervous system responds. Professional guidance can make all the difference.

The Take Away

Seasonal patterns aren't your enemy—they're information. Your mood responding to seasons reveals year-round patterns that intensify when external conditions shift.

Perhaps your work-life balance needs adjusting. Perhaps you're carrying unprocessed grief. Perhaps you're realising the life you're living doesn't match your dreams. The solution exists, but it requires addressing biology, psychology, and social connection together.

For expats specifically: the stress of settling down can last up to five years. That's completely normal. Don't give up. Pay attention to your internal weather, build small habits of care, seek support when needed, and remember that no season—external or emotional—lasts forever.

The seasons will keep turning. Your mood will keep responding. The question is whether you'll use this information to make changes that last beyond the calendar.

Author's Contact:
Email: psychology.in.a.new.era@gmail.com
Website: https://psychologyinanewera.carrd.co/