Mental health and wellbeing issues were brought to light during Mental Health Awareness Month to help create awareness and reduce stigma by sharing that mental illness is common and treatable. Stigma holds individuals back from seeking the care to greatly improve their lives and society as a whole. We all have the ability to help others learn, share resources, and support community behavioral health. Communication and conversations surrounding mental health and wellbeing must continue year-round.
Many people may not realize that summer heat can play a role in mental health. Hot temperatures and humidity can adversely affect the most vulnerable members of the populations in the extremes of ages - babies and young children as well as older adults age 65 & older are particularly at risk since they may be unable or less likely to sense and respond to changes in temperature.
Heat can affect older people due to medications they may be taking and how their bodies are able to adapt to and regulate heat. High temperatures can increase potential side effects of certain medicines and toxicity levels in the body. Physical implications with heat can also present harmful issues with heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Staying properly hydrated is extremely important, as is good nutrition and daily gentle exercise and movement.
The American Psychiatric Association lists mental implications of suffering from extreme heat as experiencing trouble sleeping, depression, irritability, or increased incidents of aggression, suicide, and substance abuse. Other signs to look for when it comes to someone being adversely affected by the heat, shared by the National Institutes of Health, may include: sadness, anxiousness, feelings of hopelessness, or helplessness. Older Adults may not be themselves - showing physical symptoms like decreased energy or fatigue or loss of interest in doing everyday things.
Mental health and wellbeing affects all of us so it's important to have understanding, show empathy, watch out for each other, and reach out for help when it is needed. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers confidential online help and services. Locally, the Peace River Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, offers a broad range of mental health, victim services, and substance use disorder services throughout Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties for those in need - to learn more, visit their website at https://www.peacerivercenter.org/
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