Beyond its physical toll, the menace of extreme heat extends to our mental well-being, potentially scorching the psyche when persisting relentlessly over multiple days and nights. The repercussions can vary from mild, inducing feelings of despondency or edginess, to perilous, exacerbating preexisting mental health issues and disturbing medicinal routines.
Amid the burgeoning body of evidence correlating the climate crisis, particularly soaring temperatures, with compromised mental health, the research landscape remains relatively nascent. Dr. Joshua Wortzel, who chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s committee on climate change and mental health, acknowledges the recency of this realization.
“The impact has truly garnered recognition only in the last five years,” he remarked.
However, the available knowledge underscores an alarming pattern, as numerous studies underscore a potent link between elevated temperatures and a surge in suicides. Similarly, a connection emerges between heat and escalated rates of violent crime, particularly interpersonal aggression. Furthermore, a correlation surfaces between elevated temperatures and heightened hospitalization rates among individuals grappling with conditions such as schizophrenia, dementia, psychosis, and substance abuse. Disturbingly, those wrestling with the latter three conditions face a 5% augmented risk of mortality with every incremental 1°C rise in temperature.
Another pertinent facet is the thwarted pursuit of restorative sleep when temperatures remain above 20°C overnight—a predicament acutely felt by the homeless and individuals unable to afford air conditioning or bolster insulation in their residences. This issue assumes significance as a pivotal link between heat-related stress and mental anguish.
For individuals requiring pharmaceutical interventions to manage preexisting conditions, the vulnerability escalates. Notably, several commonplace medications, including antibiotics, beta blockers, as well as select antidepressants and antihistamines, are now recognized to impact the body’s capacity to perceive and regulate body temperature.
Lithium, a widely employed treatment for bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia, is especially precarious. This medication can actually expedite sweating, leading to dehydration and exposing the body to perilous levels of the element.
