SAD geographies: making light matter

This paper addresses the relationship between light and mental health through a multifaceted inquiry into the complex and contested condition of ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’ (SAD). It does so by first charting a disciplinary neglect of seasonal depression in ‘geographies of mental health’, followed by a consideration of broader philosophical ideas about human sensibilities and the place of light in life. These interpretative resources are brought into correspondence with both clinical debates about the legitimacy of SAD as a phenomenon and the role of culture in the experience of light-affected sadness. The paper culminates by outlining a future research agenda for a cultural geography of SAD in the context of climate-changed environmental light.