We haven’t yet experienced the heat waves that have occurred in other parts of the country. But if you look at the weather forecasts over the next few weeks, it does look like hotter weather is right around the corner.
When we talk about our hot summers in Brooklyn, we talk about not getting enough water, or we talk about getting sunburned. Maybe we sometimes talk about the street smell as the trash heats up. But we frequently do not talk about the effects that hot weather can have not only on our physical health and wellness, but our mental health as well.
While sunny weather might encourage outdoor activities, excessive heat can have profound effects on our mental health, sometimes lasting beyond the hot days themselves.
How Hot Weather Creates Mental Health Challenges
High temperatures are challenging for the body and mind. Without proper management, the heat can exacerbate existing mental health issues or create new ones. When we experience extreme heat, we may also experience:
Increased Irritability – High temperatures can lead to increased irritability and mood swings. The body’s effort to regulate temperature stresses physiological systems, often resulting in heightened emotional responses. This can make individuals more prone to frustration and anger.
Sleep Disruptions – Hot weather can interfere with sleep patterns, leading to poor quality sleep or insomnia. The inability to cool down at night can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep, contributing to fatigue and exacerbating stress and anxiety levels.
Dehydration and Reduced Cognitive Function – Dehydration is a common consequence of hot weather and can negatively impact cognitive functions. Even mild dehydration can impair concentration, decision-making abilities, and overall cognitive performance, which in turn can affect mood and productivity.
Increased Anxiety – The physical discomfort of being too hot can increase anxiety levels. Individuals with pre-existing anxiety disorders may find their symptoms worsening during heatwaves, as the stress of physical discomfort compounds their mental health challenges.
Social Isolation – Hot weather can limit outdoor activities and social interactions, leading to feelings of isolation. Staying indoors to avoid the heat can reduce opportunities for social engagement and physical exercise, both of which are important for maintaining mental health.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – While often associated with winter, Seasonal Affective Disorder can also occur during the summer. This condition, sometimes referred to as “summer SAD,” can cause symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and changes in sleep patterns and appetite, driven by the prolonged exposure to heat and light.
It’s also easy to envision how these issues may lead to secondary mental health problems. For example, if a person is struggling with irritability and anxiety, they may also have friction with a romantic partner, which in turn can cause other psychological challenges.
In addition, our brain chemistry can change when we experienced prolonged mental health challenges. Someone with anxiety caused by weather may experience changes that lead to anxiety even as the weather cools down. Because some people with summer-related mental health challenges may have already had the conditions in a way that hot weather simply made worse, it’s easy to envision why it is so important for people to address these issues.
How Would a Therapist Be Able to Help with Hot Weather?
Taking care of your physical health is going to be the first step towards taking care of your mental health, and many of those are going to be things you can do on your own. For example:
Stay Hydrated – Ensure adequate hydration by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Proper hydration helps in maintaining cognitive functions and stabilizing mood.
Maintain a Cool Environment – Use fans, air conditioning, and other cooling methods to create a comfortable indoor environment. A cool living space can help improve sleep quality and reduce irritability.
Adapt Your Schedule – Schedule outdoor activities during cooler parts of the day, such as early morning or late evening. This can help avoid the peak heat and reduce physical and mental stress.
Practice Relaxation Techniques – Incorporate relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga into your daily routine. These practices can help manage stress and improve emotional resilience in hot weather.
Spend Time With People – If possible, make sure that you don’t suffer from social isolation even in the extreme heat. Schedule time with people and make sure that you’re still getting social support.
It also can often help to speak to a therapist in NYC, where the two of you can work together to maintain your mental health as you’re addressing the heat, and learning tools and coping techniques to support you in the months and years to come.
Therapists do this by providing:
Psychoeducation – Therapists can provide valuable information about how heat affects mental health. Knowing the physiological and psychological impacts of heat can help individuals recognize symptoms and take proactive measures to manage them.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – CBT is effective in addressing anxiety and mood disorders exacerbated by heat. Therapists can help clients identify and challenge negative thought patterns, develop coping strategies, and improve emotional regulation.
Stress Management Techniques – Therapists can teach stress management techniques such as mindfulness, deep breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation. These practices can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, promoting a sense of calm and well-being.
Sleep Hygiene Education and Support – Improving sleep hygiene is crucial for those affected by heat-related sleep disruptions. Therapists can provide guidance on creating a conducive sleep environment, establishing a consistent sleep schedule, and incorporating relaxation techniques before bedtime.
Encouraging Social Engagement – Therapists can support clients in finding ways to maintain social connections despite the heat. This may include scheduling indoor activities, using virtual communication tools, or planning social interactions during cooler parts of the day.
Therapists may not be able to make the sun cooler, or prevent heat related illness. But a therapist can help make sure that you’re always feeling your best and living your best life, whether it’s hot outside, cold outside, or anywhere in between.
Call Flourish Psychology Today
Flourish Psychology may not be able to affect the heat itself, or the physiological effects of it, but we can help make sure that any anxiety, stress, depression, or other mental health conditions you’re struggling with get the attention they deserve. For more information, or to book a session with one of our therapists, please contact Flourish Psychology today.
At Flourish Psychology, many of our therapists work with patients that are struggling with traumas in their life. But not all traumatic experiences are the ones that we typically think about when we discuss the idea of trauma. In life, there are many times when we may have what would otherwise be a minor interaction or experience, but it left a profound impact on who we are.
Those are, at least in some form, life traumas. While we may not talk about them as though they have the same impact as other trauma examples, but it’s also important for us to note that how you feel is how you feel, and it is up to us to explore that.
Trauma vs. PTSD
Part of the reason that many people may silence themselves about their traumas is because they may not qualify for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
PTSD is a condition that typically (although again, not always) occurs after someone has experienced what can best be described as “profound psychological trauma,” like serving in a war or surviving a physical assault. Those can lead to issues with stress coping that can cause a condition like PTSD, and often require working with a therapist to process that trauma in order to better understand how to move forward.
But there is more to trauma than PTSD. An individual can also experience many other traumas over the course of their life – from childhood all the way to adulthood – that can have a powerful impact on who we are and what we become.
These may seem like they’re minor traumas compared to other types of traumatic events. But part of therapy involves understanding you at a core level, and that requires treating any trauma that you experience as significant to you, and then determining what we can do to help you process it, address it, cope with it, or move forward depending on your needs.
Seek Help When YOU Need IT
What prospective patients need to understand is that comparing your traumas, experiences, and struggles with others only holds you back from getting the help you need. If you feel like something in life is affecting you in a negative way, and you believe that addressing that with a therapist may help, then you should seek therapy. You do not need to compare your trauma to others. What you need to do is address that trauma and compare your life before therapy to your life after.
If you need a therapist to help you with trauma, please contact Flourish Psychology, today.
Here at Flourish Psychology, we believe that each individual deserves their own approach for addressing their mental health. For some, that is cognitive behavioral therapy. For others, it might be EMDR. Each situation is different.
There are situations where an individual may benefit from what’s known as art therapy, which involves communicating and addressing issues through various artistic mediums. Art therapy provides a unique approach for adults seeking to address and heal from childhood trauma.
This therapeutic practice integrates the creative process of art making with psychological treatment, offering a non-verbal pathway to explore and express feelings that may be too difficult to articulate with words.
How Art Therapy Can Help Us Uncover Hidden Emotions and Memories
It can be very difficult to express our emotions or experiences with words, no matter how hard we try. In addition, childhood trauma also often involves experiences that are buried deep within an individual’s memory, sometimes inaccessible through conventional verbal therapy methods. Art therapy allows individuals to:
Express Unspoken Emotions – Through the creation of art, individuals can express feelings that they cannot easily discuss or may not even be consciously aware of.
Revisit Memories Safely – Art provides a buffer or a ‘safe distance’ from direct recollection of traumatic events, enabling individuals to explore their past with less intensity and more control.
Process Emotions Slowly – Art takes time. By helping the person create or recreate their feelings, they are also tasked with processing it in a way that is slow, safe, and less emotionally charged.
Art therapy can also help us understand ourselves better as we go through these emotions. How we process and discuss the art can be revealing as a way to better understand ourselves.
The Process of Art Therapy
Art therapy is conducted by one of our experienced and trained art therapists, who ensures a safe and supportive environment. The process involves:
Art Creation – Individuals use various mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, or collage to create artworks that reflect their personal experiences and emotions.
Reflection – The therapist helps the client reflect on the artwork produced, discussing the possible meanings and associations elicited by the art.
Integration – Through regular sessions, insights gained from the art and discussions are integrated into the individual’s understanding of their trauma and self.
Art therapy is a highly regarded form of therapy, and one that requires special training. Flourish Psychology in New York City has experienced art therapists to help with this approach.
Benefits of Art Therapy for Childhood Trauma
Art therapy offers several benefits for adults dealing with the aftermath of childhood trauma. Creating art helps individuals understand hidden aspects of their feelings and reactions, leading to greater self-awareness and insight. Art therapy provides a safe outlet for the expression and release of complex emotions associated with trauma, such as anger, sadness, or fear.
Through art therapy, individuals learn coping strategies to manage emotional distress and build resilience against future stressors. The therapeutic process can facilitate a transformative journey from trauma-induced suffering to emotional healing and recovery.
Start Art Therapy in New York City with Flourish Psychology, Today
Art therapists are trained to handle sessions with a trauma-informed approach, ensuring that they are sensitive to the triggers and psychological states of their clients. At Flourish Psychology, we believe that our therapy must be tailored to the individual’s specific trauma history and emotional needs, acknowledging that each person’s path to recovery is unique.
Art therapy can be an effective standalone treatment or part of a broader therapeutic plan, including talk therapies like CBT. By engaging the creative process, individuals can unlock emotional blockages, revisit and reinterpret their past, and move towards a more integrated and wholesome future. For many, art therapy is not just a treatment but a transformative experience that provides deep personal growth and recovery.
If you’re interested in pursuing art therapy to address trauma that you’ve experienced in childhood or adulthood, please contact Flourish Psychology, today.
The journey to parenthood is not always straightforward. Many couples face challenges when trying to conceive, which can lead to a range of emotional struggles including stress, disappointment, and a sense of loss. Infertility can deeply affect one’s mental health, impacting both individuals and couples as they navigate this complex and often painful path.
Here at Flourish Psychology in New York City, we have several evidence based therapeutic techniques we can use to address a person’s mental health, such as CBT and DBT, and together we determine what modalities make the most sense for you.
One that we may recommend for those that are struggling with infertility may be art therapy. Art therapy has been shown to be a helpful way to address infertility related issues, and is one of the many options that we have available here at Flourish Psychology.
Exploring Art Therapy as a Supportive Measure
It can be very difficult on both a couple and on an individual when they are struggling to conceive. It’s not necessarily a specifically diagnosed mental health issue (in the sense that it may not be a diagnosable condition, like depression or anxiety), but it is still extremely hard both emotionally and psychologically, and can cause substantial distress in a person’s life.
That is why art therapy is seen as useful. Art therapy is a processing and personal exploration tool. It allows an individual and their therapist to have guided conversations about worries, stresses, and other concerns related to infertility and parenthood, and then gives you strategies and tools to work through it. Advantages of art therapy include:
Emotional Expression and Processing – Art therapy provides a unique medium through which individuals can express and process complex feelings about infertility. Creating art can help articulate the sadness, anxiety, or frustration that often accompanies fertility struggles, offering a release and a way to work through these emotions.
Stress Reduction – Engaging in artistic activities is known to reduce stress levels, which is particularly beneficial for individuals dealing with infertility. Stress can theoretically negatively impact fertility, so finding ways to manage it is important. Art therapy offers a soothing, meditative practice that can help lower stress and promote a sense of peace.
Improving Coping Skills – Through art therapy, individuals can develop stronger emotional resilience and coping strategies. It teaches ways to handle setbacks and disappointments, which are common in the journey towards becoming parents.
Enhancing Relationship Dynamics – For couples, infertility can strain relationships. Art therapy can be a joint activity that helps couples communicate their feelings and strengthen their bond, making them feel more connected and supported as they face infertility together.
Support for Decision Making – Infertility often involves making difficult decisions regarding treatment options or considering alternatives such as adoption or surrogacy. Art therapy can help clarify thoughts and emotions, aiding in the decision-making process.
While art therapy does not treat infertility physically, it offers significant emotional support, helping individuals and couples navigate the psychological impacts of infertility. For those exploring therapy to help address infertility, art therapy is one technique that may be beneficial. For more information about infertility in NYC, contact Flourish Psychology, today.
Creating a human is challenging. If you think about the complexity of the human body, and how much needs to go right in order to turn essentially a few cells into a living, breathing person, it’s amazing that we are able to create children at all.
It is for that reason not uncommon that some couples do struggle to conceive right away. While we may hear stories of couples that get pregnant right away, many couples do take 6 months to a year or more, with many – many – factors affecting this number. If you also have any underling medical or hormonal conditions, it may take even longer.
That means, even if you’ve been trying for a baby, there is no guarantee of success right away.
But that can be hard. There is the excitement of deciding you are ready for a child, and the stress, disappointment, and worries that come from struggling to conceive.
Typically, when it is difficult for a couple to get pregnant, one piece of advice that many people recommend is looking for ways to improve sleep and reduce your stress levels. Sleep is known to affect hormone levels and fertility, as is stress. Still, that can be a challenge. After all, if you’re struggling with fertility, you’re likely experiencing stress as a result. If you also have mental health challenges, like anxiety, the idea of someone telling you to “be less stressed” can even be laughable.
So, what can you do?
Seeing a Therapist to Help with Fertility
Can seeing a therapist help reduce infertility? It’s not entirely clear. We know that stress reduction, better sleep, and other issues that are often reduced when you see a therapist definitely play a role in the ability to conceive, but as we discussed earlier, fertility is extremely complex. There are many factors at play, and it’s almost impossible to determine what exactly is causing infertility and how it can be addressed.
Still, there are many reasons to believe that seeing a therapist can help, with benefits to both you and – potentially – to the baby as well. For example:
Stress Reduction – No one can say with any certainty that reducing your anxiety and stress will help you conceive, as human bodies are far more complicated than that. But we do know that stress reduction is important for fertility and for healthy pregnancies, and so reducing stress now has the potential to support the body and make sure that you’re able to sleep better, regulate your hormones better, and feel better physically overall. That has real value.
Next Steps – Sometimes, conception does require additional help and decision making. You may need to speak to doctors, or you may need to figure out what your goals are and what may need to change. These are much easier when you are in better mental health, with coping tools to help you navigate these decisions.
Relationship Help – Infertility can be stressful on a relationship. Even though no partner is at fault, the frustration and process of trying for a baby can cause rifts that need to be healed in order to both give you the best chance of success, and also make sure you’re both connected and ready to bring a baby into the world.
It’s also important to acknowledge that, when you do struggle to conceive, the stress and anxiety you feel even after you become pregnant can last into childhood. These are, in some ways, minor traumas that we sometimes carry with us. If and when you bring a baby into this world, you want to make sure you are becoming a parent as emotionally and psychologically healthy as you can be. Children are stressful as well, and the better your stress coping tools and the stronger your mental health, the easier parenting will be.
So, Does Seeing a Therapist Help?
Therapists may not be a cure for fertility issues, but the benefits of therapy for those that feel like they need it can be substantial. If you’d like to inquire about mental health treatments that benefit those looking to become parents, please give Flourish Psychology a call today.
Location: 300 Cadman Plaza West Floor 12 - Brooklyn, NY 11201
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