Mental Disorders: How Climate Affects Emotions

Emotions are feelings and the way people feel about things. Emotions are not only crying or laughing. A person's mood and their emotions are very similar, and are impacted mostly by the same type of things. The weather and climate can have serious affects on lifestyles and health. Weather can not only have an impact on where people live, but it can also affect emotions and how people feel.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition in which a type of depression is caused by the changing of the seasons. This disorder occurs in the fall and winter months when the weather gets colder and the days get shorter ("Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)"). Therapy is recommended for people diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder. A form of therapy commonly
used is light therapy. According to Michael Miller, M.D., exposure to light in the winter may be able to reverse the disorder in some ways (Miller). Many people often use "light boxes" that provide light to make up for the loss of sunlight during the winter months. These boxes are used to improve mood and are typically used in the mornings (Miller).
Being sick tends to put people in a bad mood.
As well as emotions, climate has an impact on health. Changes in the normal climate can have a big impact on health. Every year, most people fall sick with allergies or a cold in the winter months. When the temperature rises or drops dramatically, health problems are more at risk than normal. Extreme high temperatures puts people more at risk for many health problems, including heat stroke and dehydration ("Climate Impacts on Human Health"). Another issue that makes health problems more common in the U.S. is the air quality. According to the EPA, "Warmer temperatures and shifting weather patterns can worsen air quality, which can lead to asthma attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular health effects." Poor air quality or pollution in the air can trigger an asthma attack. About 17.7 million adults and 6.3 million children in the U.S. have asthma, which would put a large number of people at risk for an attack in bad air quality
("Asthma").
The weather affects people's living ability. Places all around the world have different climates and types of weather. People in developing environments are more vulnerable to health problems and diseases. A common disease that people get is Vectorborne Disease, an illness that is spread by "disease vectors" like ticks and mosquitos. This disease is caused by change in temperature or weather and is then spread to animals, which can carry viruses or harmful bacteria to infect humans ("Climate Impacts on Human Health"). Another thing that greatly affects the way humans live in their environment is extreme weather and storms. Events like hurricanes and tornadoes are very harmful to areas and can cause long-term problems. According to the UCSB Science Line, "About a dozen people died last year in La Conchita when an anomalously wet rain season caused landslides that buried several houses." These events are more consequential, however, in areas with a larger population where more people are affected ("How does weather affect the way we live?"). Storms not only do physical damage, but emotional as well. When a storm tears down a family's house, they not only have to recover physically (by moving or buying a new home). The family is also going to have to recover emotionally from the damage. People who experience life threatening events are likely to suffer from PTSD, or sometimes depression (Padhy). PTSD is a life changing condition that affects the way the person will live for sometimes the rest of their life.
Changes in the environment can have serious impacts on a person's mental health.
People with mental illnesses are more at risk for problems in extreme climates ("Climate Impacts on Human Health"). "Studies have found that having a pre-existing mental illness tripled the risk of death during heat waves.", according to the EPA. People with mental illnesses, like anxiety and depression, tend to get nervous easily and react in obsessive or absurd ways. Quick changes in the climate could put excess stress on people affected by a type of mental illness. This excess stress put on them could cause an attack or breakdown to occur, resulting in more problems in the future. Extreme temperature changes can cause mental exhaustion, which is related to mental illnesses. Heat waves have been shown to trigger anxiety and mood disorders. Studies show suicides rates are higher in the summer months and aggressive behaviors have been linked to extreme temperature changes (Padhy). Many people in the world suffer from a type of mental illness, and extreme conditions are putting them in distress and making their condition
worse.
There are many different emotions which are affected by different things, weather being one of them. Weather has made an impact on not only emotions, but health and life as well. It is not always obvious, but humans are emotionally affected by their health (mental and physical). Saying the weather only impacts where someone lives is an understatement. There are many psychological ways emotions are affected, especially by weather, that go beyond location. The weather affects who we are as people because it is naturally a part of who we are; life is like a rollercoaster, and sometimes rain could stop us from enjoying the ride.