The WEF also pointed to 2021 study published in the European Journal of Psychiatry, which found a connection between heat and humidity and an increase in manic episodes in bipolar disease sufferers. Mental health professionals in Canada have experienced firsthand how extreme heat and climate change affect people, particularly more vulnerable populations.
BC’s Crisis Centre executive director, Stacy Ashton, worked between June 25 and July 1 of last year during the heat wave that left more than 600 people dead in British Columbia. Ashton recalled that it was a busy period for her company, which runs hotlines for people who are experiencing mental discomfort and suicidal thoughts.
Ashton told Global News that every time a heat wave arrives, the Crisis Centre receives more calls, which they attribute to the fact that persons with anxiety disorders might spiral when such weather-related triggers are present.
The mechanisms by which heat exacerbates stress and anxiety are complex, but a 2018 study by Polish researchers found that hotter temperatures raise levels the stress hormone cortisol in the blood, and a 2006 study published in the US National Library of Medicine found that our bodies produce more adrenaline when under heat stress.
Sean Kidd, clinical psychologist at the Centres for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) said, “Another thing worth mentioning is the impact of heat on people’s cognitive functioning, as well as emotional distress and dysregulation. People can become fatigued. People can have difficulty thinking clearly.”
