Seattle heat wave got you down? You’re not alone

A heat waves, like the one gripping the Seattle area this week, can take a toll on one's mental health.

They can disrupt sleep — especially for those who, like many in the Seattle area, don’t have air conditioning — which can make folks irritable, unhappy, and more at risk for depression.

That’s according to Dr. Josh Wortzel, a psychiatrist at Brown University and the chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Climate Change and Mental Health.

He said the mental health effects of heat waves can be severe: When temperatures rise, suicide, violence, and ER visits for mental health conditions also increase.

People with mental illness are also more likely to die during a heat wave — in part because they might lack shelter or a place to cool down, Wortzel said, but also because “patients with mental illness are less able to regulate their temperatures, so they're more likely to overheat. Some of our medicines also can make this worse.”

Beyond the direct impacts of heat itself on mental health, heat waves are a reminder of the earth’s rising temperatures — and thinking about climate change can lead to anxiety for many people.

“Those emotions related to climate change can become so severe that it impacts people clinically,” Wortzel said. “If someone's feeling suicidal or so depressed that they feel like they're not able to live their daily life, then they should be seeking treatment.”

Wortzel said that to manage emotions during a heat wave, people should practice good sleep hygiene; keep their homes as cool as possible; and, if they’re anxious about climate change, discuss and process those emotions with like-minded people.