Sometimes the clouds above us are also within us. And so does the sun. It is meteoropathy, a heterogeneous reaction of our organism that occurs in conjunction with changes in weather conditions or seasons.
We talk about it with Carlo Marchesi, director of the School of Specialization in Psychiatry at the University of Parma and of the hospital psychiatric services under the university management of the Mental Health-Pathological Addictions Department of the Parma Local Health Authority.
What are the symptoms of meteoropathy?
The reactions can range from a specific short-term general malaise, strictly speaking meteoropathy, to a real disorder, which has a much greater impact on the life of the individual. In the first case, two to three days before the atmospheric changes, the meteoropathic can develop sleep disturbances, restlessness, sadness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and somatic manifestations such as headache, lumbar pain, palpitations … These symptoms reach a peak during the establishment of the new meteorological condition, only to be resolved with the end of the atmospheric change. Other individuals, on the other hand, may develop a seasonal mood disorder. More frequently, these are people who manifest depressive episodes, which almost exclusively begin in autumn or winter and then resolve spontaneously in spring, while more rarely the depressive disorder occurs in the summer months.
What characterizes climate-related depression?
In the depressive episode the mood is gloomy and in the most serious cases it cannot be modified by external events; one feels unable and insecure in carrying out one’s usual activities and the lack of interest and pleasure can become pervasive; one feels guilty about what one has done or has not done in the past, places little value on life and believes that one cannot heal. Furthermore, compared to the non-seasonal depressive picture, the seasonal one is characterized more by psychomotor inhibition or on the contrary agitation, hyperphagia and consequent weight gain, or inappetence and weight loss, hypersomnia or insomnia. It is therefore evident that the seasonal depressive episode differs from meteoropathy due to its symptomatic characteristics, its severity and its duration. A seasonal pattern was also observed in bipolar disorder with phases of arousal occurring mainly in spring and summer and more frequent depressive episodes in autumn or early winter.
Are there geographical areas where the phenomenon manifests itself more?
The frequency of seasonal mood disturbances increases the further away from the equator, in areas where exposure to sunlight is greatest in the summer months and lower in the winter months. However, it is possible that patients with depressive, bipolar or anxious disorder may also suffer from meteoropathy: in these subjects, periods of actual illness can be associated, in conjunction with atmospheric changes, with the general nonspecific and short-term malaise of meteoropathy. It is therefore frequent that meteoropathy, recalling the depressive or anxious symptoms of their disorder, convinces them that they have relapsed again in an episode of illness.
Are prolonged hours of sunlight a guarantee of an improved mood?
No. Sometimes, when the climatic conditions are particularly disadvantageous, especially during the summer periods due to high temperatures, there is a worsening of many mental disorders, in particular those of mood and anxiety, especially in elderly patients. The worsening of mental conditions in these periods determines an increase in access to the emergency room and in the number of hospital admissions.