Ibiza Seasonal Affective Disorder

I was a little apprehensive about the sudden onset of high tourist season and in fact, I was even a little scared at the amount of people who are already streaming through the airport terminal and into the old town right now. It would appear that I have been suffering from a mild case of the sads. Or perhaps, more appropriately, the ‘iSADs’ – Ibiza seasonal affective disorder. While the traditional description of SAD disorder is depression associated with the arrival of late winter and thought to be caused by a lack of natural light, my Ibiza version is in fact, the complete opposite. I’m not unhappy, but my life is dramatically affected by the change of season. By the arrival of sunshine. By the hordes of people. For residents of Ibiza, our lives change dramatically with the season change and it’s virtually overnight!

All of a sudden there’s so much life in Ibiza. There’s so much glorious sunshine. There’s heat. There are new restaurants to be explored, new shops to be perused, new people to meet, new projects to work on, new magazines to read (stay tuned for more on WHITE magazine – our new project, your new read!) and so many parties to attend. The sun is shining, the weather is sweet and we’re about to get back into the cycle of eat, sleep, rave, repeat (yes, I just rhymed Bob Marley with Fatboy Slim). If anyone thinks that summer isn’t here already, just check out the photos from the Ants Pre-Season Warm-Up at Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel last Saturday. The entire club was full. Fireworks, acrobats and the whole pyrotechnical shebang. And did you see the queue outside Pacha for the Maceo Plex warm up last week? Up and down the whole block, like a scene from the middle of August. And that really was just a taster – this week sees the club scene burst open again, with my favourite, Luciano and his Vagabundos returning to Pacha on Friday, followed by another round of Ants with Apollonia at Ushuaia and the handsome Frenchman Bob Sinclar on Saturday. Because it’s the weekend, I’ll be able to sneak in a little sleep between that and the opening of RUMORS in its new location on Sunday, before Solomun at Pacha and then really race to finish my work early on Monday so I can get to the king of all parties, Circoloco, early enough to actually see what colour the walls are painted. Then there’s a brief respite (in my world at least, however if you’re up for it there’s more action at Pacha every night) before the IMS festival in Dalt Vila, the much-talked about Heart opening party, Destino’s official opening, the rescheduled Amnesia opening and the mighty mighty Space opening – the final Space opening we’ll ever experience (in its current location anyway). I can’t help but wonder, if this is mid-May, what is August going to be like?

They say SAD can come on because of the changes in your body’s circadian rhythms, when your body’s internal clock is disrupted. I can attest to that – as I typed the above, I could already feel that familiar dread that my body clock is about to get turned upside down, as it has to start to dealing with getting four hours sleep in the morning, followed by a catch up siesta in the afternoon. (And speaking of SAD and bodies – I’m sad I didn’t have the foresight to think about bikini season just a week ago, when I was indulging in all kinds of Medieval meaty goodness). My brain too, has to learn to sharpen up during the party season, because (kind of frustratingly) along with all the extra partying, comes the extra workload. We don’t just kick back and go to the beach every day, despite what my friends across the world may believe. Office life goes on – for me and many, many, many other Ibiza dwellers – and we have to learn to beat away the fuzzy brain syndrome of the mornings or to delegate the tasks that require the most focus to the afternoon when we’re back to normal. So I’ve decided that if SAD is a disorder, then here in Ibiza we’re all affected by it at this time of year, and (in most cases) iSAD should really be called HAPPY. The season has changed. Summer is here. Life will be different – sometimes better, sometimes harder, sometimes more fun, sometimes more stressed, sometimes more chilled, sometimes blissful, but probably never boring. The thing about Ibiza is you just have to take each day at a time, and accept whatever it throws at you. No matter how SAD it makes you! *Editor’s disclaimer: Miss W is not making light of genuine SAD in any way. Miss W expresses her extreme sadness at the thought of people developing SAD. She thinks all the people genuinely suffering from SAD could benefit from a trip to Ibiza. But she’s also not a doctor!