In the northern hemisphere, flowers are starting to blossom; days are warmer and getting longer. Spring is in the air. And, for some, an increase in mood disturbance (record screeches to a halt).

That’s right. "seasonal affective disorder," or SAD, frequently assumed to mean depressive episodes that occur with waning sunlight, can rear its head as sunlight increases (e.g., Galima et al., 2020; APA, 2022). While a much rarer phenomenon than the winter version, the suffering is just the same.

Before going further, it must be noted that SAD is not an actual diagnosis. It's popular shorthand for the "with seasonal pattern" specifier for major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. For the sake of simplicity, though, SAD will be used from here on in.

While popularly used to describe a winter mood slump, it should be understood that SAD is not synonymous with “winter blues.” Many people feel a little less motivated, perhaps seek comfort food, and sleep a bit more in the winter. If they’re not a winter sports enthusiast, they might be grumpy, awaiting what they consider nice weather. The increased sleeping and eating in some could even be a remedy for boredom. It becomes disordered when one’s mood significantly impacts one's ability to function optimally. In short, depression-type SAD involves major mood episodes (MDE).

Clinically, SAD, while an appropriate anacronym to suit the affliction of wintertime MDE, is not limited to depression. “Affective disorders” is synonymous with mood disorders, and there are two categories, depressive and bipolar; the latter, of course, means MDE cycling with mania (also known as manic-depression).

Given it is seasonal affective disorder and not winter affective disorder, SAD, collectively, means that people can have MDE or hypomanic/manic experiences as light fades and/or as light increases. In short, SAD means that there is a........

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