Panic and Heat

It is widely known that humour disorders, more specifically depressive states, are more common when the cold season arrives. Temperatures go down, there is less light, the days are shorter (equals less exposure to the light of the Sun or none at all), and the weather is usually uninviting, which means that for the most part we have to remain indoors. All of these factors can contribute to people feeling depressed.

It is less known, however, that panic attacks are more frequent in the hot seasons, or when there are abrupt changes in temperature. In the current absence of a definitive explanation to this statistical tendency, it is assumed that these are triggered in part by a similarity between the bodily response to heat and to anxiety or fear: as body temperature rises, the normal response is sweat, an increased heatbeat, and an increased difficulty in breathing (sounds a lot like anxiety as well, doesn't it?).

Panic attacks can manifest themselves as difficulty in breathing, a pain in the chest, dizziness, tingling in upper and/or lower limbs, increased heartbeat and sweating. The first reaction for many people, as the heart begins to race, is that there might be something wrong with them. In turn, this increases anxiety, which deepens both the symptoms and the fear the person feels, in a anxious loop... and thus conditions are set for panic.

A small reminder that the physical environment plays an important role in our mental health, as well, along with many other factors.