Even the best of bollywood romances have taken place under the rain, who can forget that? Most of us would ring up our friends and call them home to celebrate the weather or spend some time alone sipping over the cup of coffee. Monsoon doesn’t only welcome rains but also a ton of emotions with it.
India has been traditionally enjoying the monsoons, welcoming it with a smile everytime they start. However, rain is not only associated with the feeling of joy but is also associated with sadness or a sense of gloom. And too much rain and too little sun, believe it or not, can actually dampen your mood and make you feel low.
With too much rain for days or little over a week, you would want to wake next to your comfortable bed and would want to just cuddle up and continue sleeping. Or you might want to skip school because of the weather and stay home doing some other think of interest. Wanting to take a day or two off to spend a lazy morning is completely acceptable, but if it starts to interfere with your daily schedule, work and social life, you might start getting depressed.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is more common among Europeans, especially among people who live in places that do not receive sunlight continuously for months. This not only affects their appearance but contribute greatly towards their mood too.
Also known as winter depression or winter blues, SAD is also known to affect Indians, albeit to a lesser degree due to the tropical climate.
Symptoms of the disorder include sluggishness, gloominess, increase in appetite and binging (especially foods that are high on carbohydrates), a strong urge to sleep more than required or hypersomnia, insomnia at night, irritability or crankiness, feelings of guilt or a sense of worthlessness and low self-esteem.
A person with SAD is generally an otherwise mentally healthy person with mood swings occurring as days grow shorter. Something no one looks forward to.
SAD is also associated with low temperatures and inactivity, and therefore, keeping warm and exercising on daily basis might help you alleviate these symptoms and keeps you active both at work place and in your social group.
Also, frequent exposure to bright light, particularly fluorescent, can effectively turn your mood around as well as act as a preventive measure. However, in severe cases, where the sun fails to a person feeling low, it would be advisable to seek professional help.
As is the case with other mood disorders, this one too is highly common among women.
The disorder can either be unipolar – the person would display symptoms of depression or bipolar, with symptoms of both depression and mania.
So if lately the rain is keeping you off and you stay indoors most of the time, try stepping out and enjoying it. Or even better, plan a trip with family or friends to a place where you can excessively enjoy the warming sun.
India has been traditionally enjoying the monsoons, welcoming it with a smile every time they start.
