Do you feel lonely when the weather is terrible and want to sleep the day away? Or do you feel like it is the perfect time to drink when it’s raining?
It may seem absurd, but believe it or not, the weather affects your mental health.
Weather and Your Mental Health are Connected
When there is bad weather, it feels cold, dark, and lonely. The weather affects your mood. Most likely than not, it affects your mental health, sometimes negatively.
Depression
Studies show that exposure to sunlight produces more serotonin. Serotonin helps boost your mood and makes you calm and focused.
When the weather is dark and terrible, your body produces low serotonin. Low serotonin means increased depression, overeating, anxiety, and negative thoughts. These conditions are very challenging for someone who’s trying to stay sober.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Usually, people with SAD start to feel depressed when the season is colder and end when it is sunnier. Less sun means less serotonin. Mood swings caused by season changes can cause relapse.
Social Isolation
People who suffer from addiction and substance abuse are people who like to isolate themselves. People don’t usually go out in bad weather. No interactions. The lonely feeling during terrible and dark weather likely leads to substance dependence and addiction.
Inactivity
Bad weather not only limits interaction with others. It also limits physical activity. Sure, there are indoor exercises, but being stuck in a house without changes in physical activity for a long time affects people’s mood. Walking outside and changes in scenery mean positive things for our mental health.
Weather Can Trigger Addiction
While this may seem far-fetched, yes, weather can trigger addiction. There are times the weather brings back memories from the past. Painful memories or even happy ones.
Some people run from their past by drinking alcohol to feel numb. Some want to copy their feeling of happiness from the past by using substances.
Whether this or that, you don’t need to suffer from addiction. You don’t need to face the battle alone.
You can Get the Help You Need Today in Skyward Treatment
The road to sobriety is hard, but you don’t need to go through the journey alone.
Here at Skyward Treatment, we believe that every individual has different needs. Our programs like Drug Addiction Treatment and Alcohol Addiction Treatment are designed based on the needs of every individual.
We take pride in our world-class facilities, medical expertise, and complementary therapies.
Skyward Treatment also serves patients from Dallas, Texas.
If you want to learn more about our programs and facilities, you can contact us today!