April is the cruelest month: How these famous words enlighten us about seasonal depression in the spring
I feel like April is a melting pot for a lot of big life ordeals. In April, we transition from winter to spring, finish school, prepare for summer and reflect on the year we’ve had. There are many decisions made and mental battles fought in this one-month timespan.
I was recently inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land,” whose starting line reads, “April is the cruelest month…” Eliot asserts that April is cruel because it starts the cycle over again — the cycle of hurt, failure and sadness. Although it is the start of spring and new beginnings, these new beginnings are meaningless. They always lead back to the same patterns, and it would be better if it ended altogether.
This concept takes suffering out of a cycle of time and instead makes it indefinite. The longer days, budding flowers and promise of springtime make no difference to the real issue at hand. This made me think about seasonal depression, especially during the spring and summer months.
Seasonal depression is by nature confined to a season, but it is not confined solely to the season of winter. Many of us — for valid reasons — associate seasonal depression with the dreariness, isolation or slowness of winter.
However, seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can happen at any time of year. Like the poem expresses, it is entirely possible to be disheartened by the start of spring.
I wanted to write this piece to raise awareness for seasonal depression occurring at this time of year, as well as encourage anyone who might be struggling with it.
In no way is this meant to minimize the struggle of seasonal depression in the winter months. If that’s you, feel no shame in celebrating your perseverance and victory. Making it through the winter is a reason to be relieved and encouraged, and you should do so from the bottom of your heart.
From another angle, you are also a fresh source of empathy for anyone entering into a period of seasonal depression. This will give some purpose to the pain you endured and everything you struggled through. Leave no one behind.
Whether it’s the idea of starting an entire new cycle of seasons, discomfort about the way you look in the mirror or stress about your responsibilities — you are not alone. This is so cliche, but it’s so important. I don’t think any of us are immune to depressive thoughts. This is why awareness and community must be valued.
People tend to cower in isolation because they think they’re the only one who struggles or that they will not be understood. If we all feel like this, there is no sense in carrying those negative emotions alone.
Here is the bottom line: keep checking on your friends even though spring has sprung, even if they seem to be doing fine on social media, but especially if they seem to be withdrawing from the friendship. It is impossible to know what people are holding in their hearts unless we connect with them.
When we stop overlooking the possibility of seasonal depression in the spring, we too will create something that is indefinite. Instead of being indefinite suffering unaffected by time, it will be a community that is steadfast, genuine and worthwhile.
We must simultaneously hold the possibility of good and bad as we enter into April. Yes, it is the start of spring; but we cannot forget that sadness lingers on. Having this awareness will enable us to live — and do so with meaning.
The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.
These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.
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Sami Grace Donnelly, junior in English literature, began writing for the Plainsman in the Fall of 2021. She has served as a columnist, the Opinion Editor and is now a writer abroad during her exchange program in Spain.
