Seasons, Culture and Mental Health

Photo by Jay Mantri on Unsplash

A season is a subdivision of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology and hours of daylight. Seasons are products of the yearly revolution of the earth around the sun. In temperate and subpolar regions, generally, four calendar-based seasons are recognized namely; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. However, ecologists mostly use a six-season model for temperate climate regions that include prespring and late summer as distinct seasons along with the traditional four. 

The seasonal changes in weather, ecology and hours of daylight are known to have a direct effect on mental health, possibly through the biological clock and of course indirectly through disasters in the physical environment. Lifetime studies that investigated the relationship between world climate and cultural activities back to the dawn of recorded civilization have shown that there exists a  most important 100-year cycle of climatic changes that influences human affair through solar minimums and maximums as the geomagnetic fields  intensify interaction with humans  electrochemically within the brain. This affects man’s psychological wellbeing by creating anomalous hormonal swings and significantly mutating brain activities. While this fact should not be overstretched, there is significant evidence in medical literature that establishes linkages of seasons to some mental illness. 

Man is endowed with a hormonal system that is regulated by an inbuilt biological clock which may be sensitive to hours of daylight as a cue for regulation. The pineal gland in the brain and the uterus in women are major organs in humans with a hormonal activity that may be linked to mental health.

Seasons can impact the physical environment through changes in vegetation, varying rainfall patterns which determine food crops availability and seasonal presence of disease vectors just as flood disasters, hurricanes and tsunamis can exert a grave impact on the mental wellbeing of the people.  Folks lose their loved ones and properties and may experience an economic downturn.

The importance of the solar system especially the sun in determining the seasons may explain the reason for its designation as a god to be worshipped. A solar deity also known as the sun goddess represents the sun in its perceived power and strength. Solar deities can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. Hence many beliefs have formed around this worship, such as the ‘missing sun’ found in many cultures. 

In Nigeria, the Tiv people for instance consider the sun to be the son of the Supreme Being- Amindo. These deities are celebrated in festivals and indirectly through an important food product peculiar to the season like the new yam festival. The essence of this discourse is for us to appreciate the interplay between seasons and the dynamics of human behavior. A good number of our culture-related disorders are associated with seasonal changes. Prominent among them are the ‘Arctic hysteria’ which is a vague general term used by outside observers for often dramatic behavioral reactions shown by indigenous inhabitants of arctic and sub arctic areas in stress situation in which the person affected experiences a temporary state of dissociated consciousness induced by anxiety. Physical deprivation, mineral and vitamin deficiencies and the psychological stress of surviving in an extreme climate have been adduced to explain this phenomenon.

There is substantial evidence that more schizophrenic persons are born in late winter and spring than expected; since respiratory viral infections tend to occur in autumn and water, maternal infection especially during the second trimester of pregnancy may be the risk factor.

Seasonal affective disorder was formally described and named in 1984 by Norman E Rosenthal and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health and known variously as winter depression, winter blues and summer depression. Considered as a mood disorder which occurs in folks who are normal most part of the year but experience depressive symptoms specifically in winter or summer. Although experts were initially skeptical; this condition is now recognized as a common disorder with its prevalence increasing especially in the US. While it may no longer have the status of a unique mood disorder, it serves as a strong qualifier for destructing mood disorders.  There is also some evidence that suicide is about 10 times commoner in spring than in winter or summer which is consistent with peak times for hospital admission for depressive illness. Africans tend to disguise mental illness as a consequence of seasonal changes and menstrual cycles. Oftentimes this premise is not sustainable but only a form of denial.

Seasonal festivals are oftentimes not directly related to the solar system but could be consequential. Death anniversary of a loved one may be seasonal especially their birthdates  The most important lesson is to be proactive and curb certain harmful practices to  mental well-being  very common during festivals and seek mental health experts opinion when an abnormal behavior is  seasonal .

Dr. Adeoye Oyewole

adeoyewole2000@yahoo.com

+234 803 490 5808 (WhatsApp Only)