Our mood is affected by seasonal changes, by temperature, by the amount of light and by different weather phenomena. But we are wondering if anxiety disorders are made worse by cold or heat. And although the cold and winter are often proposed as the main culprits for the worsening of emotional disorders, the answer is not so simple. Cold or heat? It depends on each person.
Anxiety that worsens with cold
Indeed, the cold can worsen some of the symptoms of anxiety. Winter, the lack of light and low temperatures is not the ideal time to keep our spirits up. You don’t feel like going out because it gets dark very early and muscle tension worsens from the cold. Furthermore, the cold winter not only worsens anxiety, but also other emotional disorders, such as depression.
Rain, wind and storms are not the best allies for a calm day either. There are people who are not only afraid of storms, but also suffer from a true phobia of thunder and lightning, with which the anxiety disorder only gets worse. In the same way, snow is not so ideal for many people, who see it as a dangerous meteorological phenomenon, so their alarm or anxiety mechanism goes off.
A cold, rainy day is also not the best thing for a person who has been suffering from generalized anxiety disorder for a while. Anxiety symptoms can be made worse by anxiety, as well as pessimism and a lack of motivation. Dark days do not promote the energy we need to overcome anxiety, but it is also true that some people feel more secure and relaxed listening to the rain hitting the windows.
Anxiety that gets worse in the heat
And it is that one thing is that the weather influences the state of mind and another very different is that it affects all people in the same way. Remove the opposite. In the same way that winter can spell anxiety hell for some people, there are others who find their anxiety worse in the heat. One of the anxiety symptoms that get worse in the heat is irritability. High temperatures are also considered by many people as a sign of danger, which increases their anxiety.
Although the type of anxiety that is most affected by heat is obsessive compulsive disorder. When there is a previous anxiety disorder, excessive heat can worsen those rituals or repetitive movements, such as continually washing your hands or going through the shower many times a day. Panic attacks are also more frequent with heat and sensations such as shortness of breath or sweating become even more frequent.
In short, there is no single answer to whether cold or heat is worse for anxiety. It all depends on the type of anxiety that is suffered and the body itself, which does not react the same in all people. In any case, we must observe if our anxiety disorder worsens in the winter or in the summer, because it is crucial information to find the most appropriate treatment.
