Moods can plummet or intensify the hotter the temperature rises. While there are always warnings about taking care of children, pets, and the elderly in summer heat, people in recovery from addiction or mental health conditions can suffer just as intensely, be at risk of heat-related illnesses, and find their sobriety and equilibrium tested.
Addiction, Mental Health, and Summer Heat
It’s been scientifically proven that weather affects well-being. While some people experience winter blues or gloominess during stormy days, excessive heat can do its own damage. People in recovery need to know how their sobriety, mental health, and overall well-being can be negatively impacted by heat exposure.
There are many possible consequences to excess heat that can threaten sobriety and stable mental health including:
- Dehydration: The human body needs water, and without proper hydration a person’s body can be profoundly affected. However, mood is also impacted. The brain especially needs water. Dehydration can lead to mental distress, from anger to sadness to anxiety to poor choices about alcohol or other substances. Vow to hydrate regularly and often.
- Isolation: Being told to stay indoors when it’s too hot is safe, but it can also be isolating for someone in recovery who relies on connection and socialization. It’s essential to stay in touch with loved ones, friends, and support teams through various means, whether air-conditioned visits or virtual meet-ups.
- Inactivity: Moving the body is one of the tenets of sobriety and mental and physical wellness. If you primarily exercise outdoors, seek alternative options during the hottest times of summer, whether that means temporarily joining a gym, virtual exercise classes, or getting in a run or walk after the sun goes down.
- Relapse: If you have managed addiction, depression, anxiety, PTSD, dual diagnosis, or other mental health condition, excessive temperatures can lead to relapse. Poor sleep, interrupted appetite, and other side effects of excess heat can cause irritability, fatigue, headaches, and other uncomfortable conditions. These feelings can lead to cravings and unhealthy decisions that threaten sobriety or lead to a disruption of mental health.
Is Relapse More Likely as the Temperature Rises?
Even if summer temps are manageable and you can spend plenty of time outdoors, these several months of the year are also populated by celebration-heavy activities. From barbecues to neighborhood parties, Independence Day celebrations to vacations, there will be temptations to join in the drugs and alcohol in the vicinity. Add heat to the mix, thirst, or a desire to feel as much joy as everyone else around you, and relapse is far more likely.
- Desire to have fun: Don’t overestimate your ability to stay sober. You might think you can handle a party where substances are plentiful, but putting yourself in this situation sets you up for potential relapse. Better to find healthy, substance-free fun elsewhere. It does exist.
- Social pressure: Rely on your support group to help you navigate the societal pressure you are likely to feel as summer heats up and presses on. If you socialize with those who understand your circumstances and support your sobriety, you are less likely to relapse. Prioritize yourself and your health and don’t feel obligated to put yourself in social situations that could damage your well-being.
- Increased stress: When you know there will be triggers all around for the summer, your stress level can increase. If you worry about your health in the heat, or the health of loved ones, you can also feel stress. Anticipate the worst and plan for it but know that having a plan is the best way to stay safe and healthy, no matter the temperature.
There is likely to be an overwhelming feeling of temptation throughout the summer, especially if you expose yourself to the same people, places, and events that you always have. Work with your support team to develop a plan to keep you sober when the heat is on — literally or figuratively – and keep addiction at bay and your mental health in check.
Stay Ahead of Heat Triggers
Every season of the year comes with its own challenges for someone in recovery or who is working to keep anxiety or depression at bay. Knowing what to expect, what the hurdles will be, and planning how to keep yourself healthy are the best ways to stay ahead of temptations and triggers.
Keeping holistic therapy treatment front of mind is key to withstanding the heat of the summer. If you find yourself struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out to Beachside Rehab in West Palm Beach, Florida. Our clinically driven retreat offers individual care and structured programs for achieving healing, wellness, and peace when life is most challenging. Contact us to discuss inpatient and outpatient rehab, mental health treatment, and holistic recovery in a luxury retreat setting. Call 866-349-1770 to speak with a trained admissions counselor.