Mumbai: Got the blues? You must be feeling SAD today

Does the sun shining overhead make you feel happy and do rains give you the blues? Well apparently it does that to many, and the city’s psychiatrist vouch for this little gem.
Cases of depression do spike during monsoon.

The incessant downpour from last month may have lifted the spirits of a certain section of people hoping for a good monsoon and respite from the heat. But for another section, the “bleak” weather has resulted in spells of anxiety and depression. Psychiatrists are seeing an increasing number of people knocking on their doors for what they describe as unexplained sadness, lethargy, irritability and “feeling grey”. While some psychiatrists call it Seasonal Affective Depression (SAD), which is seen in western countries, especially during winters, others refrain from giving it a name but agree that people are affected because of the lack of sunlight.

If untreated, it can aggravate depression and lead to suicidal tendencies in high risk cases, psychiatrists said. Quoting figures, Dr Arun John, senior vice president, Vandrevala Foundation, who runs a 24 hour helpline for depression said that the calls have gone up in July. “We get around 1,400 calls a month. In July we received 1,800 calls, the majority complaining of anxiety and depression,” said Dr John.

Dr Parul Tank, psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital-Mulund said, “There has been a rise in cases because of the change in weather. It is similar to SAD cases in western countries. People are complaining of irritability, low mood, and sluggishness.”

Dr Tank said the heavy downpours in the city remind many of 26/7. “People who have witnessed the 26/7 Mumbai deluge have bad memories of the day. Such people have been visiting psychiatrists with anxiety problems”

“A person who is sensitive by nature is more prone to seasonal depression. During monsoons people have reduced levels of Vitamin D due to lesser exposure to sunshine.

People like to sleep a lot, feel withdrawn from everything, have frequent crying spells, insomnia, binging (as the body craves for more carbohydrates) or loss of appetite and low self-esteem. Counselling or confiding with family members or friends does help overcome this,” said Dr Nilesh Shah, head of psychiatry in LTMG Sion Hospital,

A 25-year-old, marketing executive from Powai, who is a workaholic, couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden he didn’t feel like reporting to work. All he wanted to do was sleep and be shun the world. Only after his work started to get affected by this sudden mood change did he know that something had to be done. He eventually called up one of the helplines to seek help.

Dr Harish Shetty, senior psychiatrist in LH Hiranandani Hospital, seconds that. “It is 48th day that Mumbai is missing the sun. This has spread gloom. But it will be wrong to associate it with SAD,” he said.

Explaining the reasons behind the wet days that the city has been witnessing, Shubhangi Bhute, a Indian Meteorological department meteorologist, said, “Our region has a very active Madden Julien Oscillation (MJO), which generally has a cycle of 40-60 days. It is one of the annual global synoptic systems that brings with it cloudiness and rainfall. It has been very active over the Indian Ocean and this spell will last till August end.”

VK Rajeev, director of IMD, Mumbai, blamed the frequent formation of low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal to Mumbai region witnessing continuous rainfall. “For several years low pressure used to form occasionally. This year we are seeing a different pattern. There is low pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal every week. Though the low pressure is not that strong, it ensures that the region receives continuous rainfall.” 

He said compared to last few years, the off shore trough, which includes upward movement of the winds, has not been that active in Mumbai this season. “With no upward movement of the wind, the cloud cover has remained stagnant over the region,” said Rajeev.