Is The Extreme Heat Causing You Stress?

It’s summer and supposed to be fun…so why am I so anxious and feel depressed?

That could be due to heat stress! Believe it or not but research shows that extreme heat has consequences not just for our physical health but also our mental health! One study noted a 40% increase in the likelihood of hospitalization for depression and mania during periods of high heat. And another one found a correlation between high temperatures and increased suicide rates. Another study noted the increase of violence and conflict as the temperature increases.

If you are noticing that you are having some emotional challenges you are not alone. Most of the US has been struggling with extreme heat and it is barely officially summer.

What is heat stress?

Heat stress happens when our body can’t readily regulate its temperature and cool us down. Most of us are aware it can lead to heatstroke and we need to take precautions. But is also can interfere with our sleep and alter our daily routines both of which can lead to increased stress and even cognitive impairments. When we don’t get good sleep, it affects our moods too.

What can heat stress do to our mental health?

Heat stress can increase our anxiety by activating out body’s stress response and heightened levels of stress hormones in our bodies. As a result, we can feel restless and apprehensive.

That stress response can lead to being irritable and agitated due to those stress hormones. And we can find ourselves more easily frustrated, irritable, restless, impatient and having more conflict with others. It can contribute to mood swings, feelings of sadness too.

High temperatures actually affect our ability to cope with stress and weaken our resilience making it harder to manage daily stressors and challenges.

When it’s so hot we aren’t so motivated to engage in activities, our energy gets easily drained too. We can end up feeling a sense of helplessness, despair, and powerlessness when we can’t escape the relentless heat.

What if you have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety?

Those of us who have mental health conditions like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorders may experience more intense symptoms during heat waves too. It’s very important to manage your condition extra well during periods of extreme heat.

What can you do to help yourself cope emotionally?

The good news is that mindfulness and stress management techniques have been shown to be helpful tools to assist in the effects of heat stress.

Mindfulness are practices that help us to stay present and calmly acknowledge out feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Mindfulness appears to help us manage our reactions to the heat and reduces our emotional distress. Tools include mindful breathing, guided meditations, progressive muscle relaxation.

Stress management tools like maintaining a regular sleep schedule, eating a healthy balanced diet, staying hydrated and taking breaks from the heat can also be helpful.

What if your tools aren’t working?

If you find yourself struggling to cope do know that therapy can play a vital role in coping with heat‐induced mental stress. Therapy can be a safe place to explore your feelings and develop coping strategies and alter patterns of thought and actions that contribute to your anxiety and depression distress.

Since weather extremes appear to be here to stay it is really important for us all to have the tools we need to cope well with whatever mother nature brings our way!

Do Contact Me to begin Anxiety Therapy or Depression Therapy today!

JD’s Midlife Tools For Living Practices, Holland, MI
Offering Heartfelt care, Compassion and Coping Tools

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