mental struggles related to hot weather

This is kind of a weird issue and I'm not sure I'm even writing in the right forum. I live in the Midwest which in the summer is prob similar to the climate of hell, and coping with the heat is a struggle mentally. I'm also peri-menopausal which isn't helping. Of course I hate the sweating which makes me feel like I'm in a constant state of being dirty, but it's the mental stuff that is most upsetting. When I'm exposed to the heat for even a few hours I get depressed and profoundly exhausted and it can last for more than a day. If I'm with people I get quiet and unsociable. It's like my mind just shuts down. People around here, esp younger people, like to plan get togethers and cook outs and I hate to even attend because I feel like it's obvious that I'm in misery and want to be left alone or even just leave. It's embarrassing. For example - I was in a lot of heat yesterday combined with some HUGE fam stress and today I feel to exhausted to move. I don't want to sleep all day, but the fatigue is just overwhelming. The fatigue then triggers fears that I'm going to relapse no matter how much I tell myself that this is a 'normal' result of stress and heat. I think my biggest fear on earth is relapse. My therapist thinks I'm still having PTSD from my last hospitalization for mania. I just find this whole situation really scary. It seems like I have the opposite of the seasonal affective disorder that people get in the winter. Its seems ridiculous to let something as minor as the weather drag me down to this point. All I can think is, there's 3 more months of this?! How am I going to survive intact?! Maybe it's a result of taking Seroquel since that increases the risk for heat exhaustion/stroke. I just wonder if there's anyone else out there that deals with these mental struggles from dealing with the heat and how do you cope? I feel like a freak and no one seems to understand how devastating this heat is to my mind and how beyond my control this feels like. Sorry if this is a rambling post - I'm a mess today. If anyone thinks I should post this in a different forum just let me know. Thx for reading -

Hi!

Perhaps talk to your T about having reversed seasonal affective disorder? My worst time of year is August through the end of September, which August is the hottest month of the year here. Also, at season shifts things can be harder for some reason.

I also hate the heat. I swell up. My hands and feet especially. It's very uncomfortable.

My coping skills are basically just to bulldoze through anything I'm facing. It's not really the best thing, maybe. But like I force myself to get up and go and take shower, etc. Sometimes it's easier than other times. Maybe if you're feeling overheated take a cold shower. Cold water when you're hot is wonderful.

I despise heat , always have. Its hell with Bipolar and My Fibro pain is worse.

I drink and drink and drink loads of water whether I am inside or out...
Can't afford to keep my house cool like I would like to.
I try really hard to avoid being out in it as much as possible, but there are times it's unavoidable.

I do go outside early early morning and late evening, I have to go outside daily or I will nosedive into a hellish depression.

I hope you can find way to work around this disgusting heat

YES I hate heat too!

I've been to Minnesota twice during the summer and it's definitely hot there. Once it gets hotter than 80 F I start to feel the energy leaving my body. Even in my own house if it gets hotter than 74 F I sometimes start getting heat flashes. I don't know what it is, but heat makes me really uncomfortable and quick to anger. I feel snappy anytime I get stuck in hot room. Too much sunlight also gives me anxiety, always has.

I think a good amount of bipolars are sensitive to the weather, but don't always fit into the SAD or Summer SAD subtype. Even in Washington state it gets too hot and sunny for me half the year. In recent years it doesn't even seem to rain as much. Alaska during summer was perfect.

I like temperatures that stay within a 19-24C range. Once it gets to about -10C I'm considering it way too cold, and 26C and above is certainly way too hot for me.

When I'm too hot I get reallllly sluggish, both physically and mentally. Unless I'm in a spectacular mood and/or really WANT to be doing something - which case I can truck on through it!

I tend to be more depressed in the summer, too. I can't breathe in the humidity, and hate sweating. I hope u feel better

I loathe hot weather. Not a fan of sun, either (want to talk about feeling like a freak, lol!) Yup, my idea of hell is a beach in summer! Hot weather just saps all my energy, not only physically, but for mental acuity as well. Christina's right about drinking lots of water. It's even worse to be dehydrated on top of the other, after all(!) Also second the going outside early and/or late whenever possible. It's the only way I ever got any gardening done. Though it did give pause to think what the neighbors might think seeing me out there with a shovel, digging in the dark, haha. Walking, it's the shadiest route options, even if it they're a bit longer. Like faerie_moon_x said, cold water can really help with overheating, but for me anyway, it's too much to plunge straight in. Too much of a shock. But taking a shower that starts lukewarm and then reducing temp as it goes makes it easier. Other cooling water ideas... a spray bottle of water that's been cooled in the fridge spritzed periodically on yourself... a cool wet cloth draped on your neck...and really, there's no law says you can't keep some cool water in a tub and just go lay in it periodically (assuming you don't have a pool, but do have a tub of course!). Because when you're surrounded, that really helps get the core temp down. Maximum benefit. Oh! And laying a wet cloth across your stomach when you lay down. (No A/C in car or house? Got some techniques for those too, if you'd like.)

And aside from the physical, I get what you mean about its effects on the mind. Last year, had to make a major unwanted move, the weather there was positively beastly and I found myself in a month and a half long mixed episode to boot! O.M.G. horrid. I did note that any times of some degree of mental respite that managed to find their way through happened at night. Not that it was cool then (just cooler), but it seems any bit of relief must've gotten through to the brain too, not just the body. I don't personally relate to a reverse SAD per se, but do know people who can. Soooo, you're not alone, not a freak, we're out there all over the place!

*********
Mr. Robot

Makes me sick to the heart, Oh I feel so tired. And the way the rain comes down hard, that's how I feel inside.

--The Cure

That is such a comfort you guys! I was feeling so alone with this. I didn't realize that it was a possible for a lot of sunshine to trigger anxiety in some people, but I've noticed I feel more stable when it's cloudy. If my whole family wasn't here I'd love to move north. Like north pole! I did realize today that when I had ECT the treatments began in July. It just seemed weird cuz summer is 'supposed' to be the happiest time of year, at least for people around here. Thx everyone!

It is hot and muggy here and i am in a wretched state, im sure i'm hitting mentalpause too, and not sure if that contributes but im having a really tough time with this wet, hot, dirty air. blech

Did you mean menopause or mentalpause??

Either way - I looooove the idea of the term mentalpause! Seriously. Can we start using it for whenever our emotions are all over the place? Like.. menopause has hot flashes, can mentalpause have mood flashes?! Yes??!

That's an awesome word!! Kind of a Freudian slip! that's certainly the case in my fam! When my mom hit 50 (and I was in my teens) I told her, "Great - now you're going to grow whiskers and lose your mind." I'm eating those words now!

Haha, or mentalpause for when you lose something or forget words