Why Are Some People Depressed in Autumn?

The weather is getting cooler, and autumn is drawing near slowly. Do you have any autumn melancholia? 

We can find that in four seasons that appear in ancient poems, autumn is often associated with sad emotions, which can be described as “autumn has long been lonely since ancient times”!

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So how did the “autumn melancholia” come about?

What is “Autumn Melancholia” about?

Seasonal Affective Disorder

The generation of “autumn melancholia” has a physiological basis and is related to mood swing induced by changes in human hormone.

Inside human brain is a little thing about the size of a pea, which is called the pineal gland.  

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The pineal gland is a small pinecone-like endocrine gland located above the pars dorsalis diencephali of vertebrate, which is also called pineal body. The pineal gland is located near the center of human brain, so Descartes, a French philosopher in the 17th century, described pineal gland as “the residence of the soul”.

Why is the pineal gland mentioned here? That is because one of the hormones secreted by pineal gland is related to autumn melancholia, and this hormone is melatonin.

Melatonin is a kind of neuroendocrine hormone secreted by pineal gland. In 1958, it was purified and identified from pineal gland of thousands of cattle by Lerner et al. In chemical composition, it comprises 5-methoxyindole acetic acid. Melatonin is named melatonin for it can cause the skin of tadpole to turn white. It is also called pinealin for it is secreted by pineal gland.

Melatonin can regulate circadian clock and facilitate sleep. When melatonin secretion is out of balance, one will feel tired and insomnic. Melatonin also has the function of inhibiting the gonad axis. If the pineal gland is destroyed, precocious puberty is likely to occur...

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Melatonin in human body mainly derives from tryptophan through a series of enzymatic reactions. It is a fat-soluble hormone, which cannot be stored after being synthesized in the cells of pineal gland, but immediately released and enter blood.

Image source: Melatonin and Seasonal Affective Disorder

Peripheral organs (e.g. retina and gastrointestinal tract) can also generate small amounts of melatonin, but the melatonin in blood mainly comes from pineal gland, so the concentration of melatonin in blood is closely related to the secretion rate of melatonin by pineal gland.

The secretion process of melatonin from pineal gland is largely affected by the diurnal changes, so the level of melatonin in blood will also change with the alternation of day and night. The rule is that it increases at night and decreases in the day, mainly because light can inhibit the synthesis of melatonin.

I know all the truth, but what does this have to do with sad autumn?

Autumn begins with short days and long nights. There is less sunshine, continuous autumn rain and gloomy and cold weather. Inadequate light can significantly increase the melatonin secreted by pineal gland, and diminish the secretion of human hormones, such as thyroxine and adrenaline which can revivify people through the “negative feedback” effect. Then the metabolism of human cells slows down, people feel depressed and sullen, and some even feel listless and drowsy all day long...

Autumn Melancholia Can Also Become a Disease

Of course, seasonal depression occurs not only in autumn, but also in winter. Some people experience depression during the winter months, but the depression will relieve itself after next spring, especially in Northern Europe, where the days are short, the nights are long, and the winter lasts long.

In 1984, Rosenthal defined this emotional problem arising from seasonal changes as “seasonal affective disorder”.

The clinical symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include not only depression, lack of interest, fatigue and inattention, but also sleepiness, preference for carbohydrates (also because carbohydrates can make one feel relaxed and happy) and weight gain  (Are you also going further and further on the road of gaining weight in autumn?)

For those who are sensitive and sentimental, especially women, the probability of seasonal affective disorder is higher. However, we don’t need to worry too much. Depression resulting from “autumn melancholia” usually disappear itself soon, and it is rare to really constitute a disease. Don’t suspect yourself of depression just because you feel down in the dumps for a while.

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If you perceive that you are in a state of depression for long, you have to adjust yourself consciously. But how?

Ways to Overcome Depression

Physical exercise is a good self-regulation method when you feel depressed and upset from time to time. 

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There are plenty of studies showing that physical exercise actually improves mental health.  For example, aerobic exercise (continuous rhythmic exercise, such as rope skipping and running, etc.) and strength and flexibility exercises can improve the mental health level of middle-aged healthy men. Long-term physical exercise and long-term progressive relaxation exercises (all parts of the body first strain and then relax in turn) can lower the anxiety level of women with high job stress.  Long-term practice, such as swimming, bodybuilding and fencing can also develop positive emotions.  

It is reported that both short-term and long-term exercise can effectively control depression and reduce anxiety. Aerobic exercise (low intensity, long duration) and anaerobic exercise (high intensity, short duration) can also alleviate depression and reduce the anxiety level.  

Apart from physical exercise, if you’re stuck in an emotional rut and cannot extricate yourself, you may as well find a close friend and prepare a dozen of tissue paper and pour out (definitely, first you must have friends who are willing to serve as your emotional trash can). Alternatively, traveling and outing are also good choices when you don’t want to bother your friends.  

There is another way out, that is, to throw yourself into your work, put aside your bad feelings, and focus on your work so that you don’t have time to grieve over the changes of seasons (no wonder I never have autumn melancholia, it turns out that the work saves me …).

The autumn of 2021 is coming. Do you autumn melancholia?  

[1] Lu Jizong. What is the reason for “autumn melancholia” since ancient times? [J]. Health Preserving, 2009, 30 (9): 790-791.

[2] Cao Fang. Melatonin and aging [J]. Nervous Diseases and Mental Hygiene, 2001(02): 63-65.

[3] Zhang Liwei and Mao Zhi Xiong. The relationship between physical exercise and mental health: a review [J]. Journal of Guangzhou Sport University,1995 (04): 42-47.

[4] Yin Hengchan and Fu Xuelin. Analysis and perspective on mental health effects of physical exercise [J]. China Sport Science, 2004, 24 (6): 37-39.

Reviewing Expert: Sun Tao,Psychological Counselor