Summer seasonal affective disorder is a common issue that can affect a person's everyday life which makes some wonder whether you can use CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder. While most of us welcome the summer season with open arms, this is not the case for some.
The weather changes and longer days can cause people to feel overwhelmed. It can feel as though they are out of tune with their regular routine. These powerful emotions leave individuals with SAD feeling depressed and anxious.
With that, if you are experiencing SAD, it is essential to find ways to cope and look after your wellbeing. Let’s explore what SAD entails and how CBD could potentially help.
Table of Contents
What is summer seasonal affective disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder, or as it is known by many SAD, is one of the many kinds of depression. However, what makes SAD different is it follows a seasonal pattern. When describing SAD, some people say summer depression or winter depression.
This is because the symptoms of SAD occur or are more present during this particular season. Some people feel depressed during summer but are incredibly happy in winter. The length of the day, the weather, and the colour of the skies can all trigger how we feel during the season.
In addition, SAD is not a once-off feeling. If you have SAD during the summer, you will experience this sort of depression whenever the summer season rolls around. This mental health issue can play a significant toll on an individual’s life. It can be irritating and make daily life that bit more challenging.
Learn more about how CBD oil can help with depression.
What are the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder?
While SAD may sound as though a person just feels depressed, there are many symptoms of this condition. Below are the most common symptoms of SAD.
- Persistently having a low mood
- Lack or loss of interest in normal daily activities or activities that would make you usually feel excited
- Feeling guilty, worthless, and irritable
- Having confidence issues or a low self-esteem
- Feeling very upset to the point of tears
- Anxiety and stress
- Lowered sex drive
- Lack of interest in social activities, slowly becoming less social
- Feeling tired, lethargic, or as though you lack energy
- Sleeping for more extended periods of time than usual and struggling to get out of bed in the morning
- Food cravings such as sugars and carbohydrates and weight gain
How can CBD help summer seasonal affective disorder?
Now you know what summer seasonal affective disorder is and what it entails. Let's look at whether you can use CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder.
CBD can enhance and balance your mood
Depression is the primary symptom of summer seasonal affective disorder. Therefore, it is crucial to find ways to manage this. One of CBD’s claimed benefits is mood management.
Many people who have tried CBD have claimed it helped them enhance, regulate, and balance their moods. Due to this, research has been conducted to determine whether CBD can help depression. In particular, a 2014 review suggests that CBD has antidepressant-like effects.
Therefore, it seems you can use CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder to minimise your depression. This will enable you to cope better during the seasons that affect you most.
It can reduce stress and anxiety
Another common claim among CBD users is that the compound can reduce stress and anxiety. Similarly to depression, this has led to some research into whether it can help. The results prove very promising.
A study from 2011 which involved participants with social anxiety disorder taking CBD has suggested it reduced their anxiety. Another study in Japan also confirmed that participants' social anxiety levels decreased after taking CBD.
Given that, it seems likely that CBD has the potential to reduce stress and anxiety. Therefore, taking CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder could help minimise these feelings.
Additionally, CBD’s ability to lessen social anxiety could help you keep up your social life while feeling down. It could increase your interest to do the social activities you enjoy.
CBD increases energy and focus
Those experiencing SAD may feel tired, lethargic, and fatigued. This can get in the way of them going about their daily life. With that, to tackle your SAD, it is crucial to up your energy levels.
Currently, there is not much research to prove that CBD can increase energy levels. However, one review from 2014 has suggested CBD can make people feel more awake and energetic. In saying that, they still acknowledge that more research is necessary to confirm this.
Although, it seems promising that CBD could potentially increase your energy levels. Therefore, taking CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder could be effective in enhancing energy levels.
It could help in battling food cravings
While not everyone experiencing SAD will experience food cravings, some do. Usually, the food we crave is that of foods that are unhealthy and cause us to gain weight. Therefore, while it is crucial to allow yourself a cheat day, it is vital to curb these cravings.
Research has found CBD could reduce appetite and boost metabolism. One animal study injected CBD into rats and saw their appetite decreased, and as a result, they lost weight. This seems promising; however, human research is required to determine to what extent CBD affects appetite and weight.
In saying that, it seems you could use CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder food cravings. However, you should not use CBD as a weight loss supplement. CBD should be taken as part of a healthy diet.
Key takeaways
Summer seasonal affective disorder is relatively common and can take a toll on a person’s everyday life. As the season changes, so does the weather and the length of the day, which can result in individuals feeling depressed, stressed, and overwhelmed. Therefore, it is crucial to find ways to manage these emotions so that you can cope.
You can use CBD for summer seasonal affective disorder. Research has suggested it could help to regulate, enhance and balance your mood. It can also reduce stress and anxiety while improving energy and helping you battle food cravings.
You may also like to read: CBD for Depression
