Tag: heat

Depression Not Always About Loss

by Mershon Niesner

Dealing with depression effectively is a mark not of weakness, but your strength.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Helpline

Do you always assume your sad feelings are a result of your loss?It’s summer and the lethargy you’re feeling may be due to the heat.

Here are a couple of tips to help you feel better: 

  • Just as people who experience SADD (Seasonal Affective Depressive Disorder) schedule a trip to the beach in the winter, consider a trip to the mountains or another cool location for a week this summer.
  • Keep water with you. Even mild dehydration can cause your mood to dip.
  • Check on your sleep. If your sleep is interrupted due to heat or your routine, this too can cause mild depression. 
  • Get back to exercise. If it is too hot for your usual walk, change it up with a trip to the gym. 

I hope these suggestions will help you get back to your happier self. However, if you’re more than mildly depressed, have feelings of hopelessness, or serious insomnia, please seek professional advice. 

Coaching request: Don’t assume, check out other possibilities for your sad feelings. 

The Heat Got You Down?

by Mershon Niesner

The worst kind of sad is not being able to explain why. Unknown

According to psychiatrist Prakash Masand, MD, founder of COPE: Centers of Psychiatric Excellence, seasonal depression rates can be higher in the summer in traditionally warm climates–and aren’t most of us experiencing warmer than usual weather this year? Experts think the lethargy that comes with sweltering heat could play a small role. Also, your rate of activity may have declined due to the heat which could also be a factor in your psychological well-being. 

Here are a couple of tips to help you feel better: 

  • Just as people who experience SADD schedule a trip to the beach in the winter, consider a trip to the mountains or another cool location for a week this summer.
  • Keep water with you. Even mild dehydration can cause your mood to dip.
  • Check on your sleep. If your sleep is interrupted due to heat or your routine, this too can cause mild depression. 
  • Get back to exercise. If it is too hot for your usual walk on the beach, change it up with a trip to the gym or the YMCA. 

Request: If you’re more than mildly depressed, have feelings of hopelessness, or serious insomnia, please seek professional advice. 

Coaching question: If the weather is playing a role in your mild depression, what will you do about it? 

Image by cloud_purple from Pixabay