There are days when the heat doesn’t stay outside. It enters through the windows, sticks to the skin, settles in the head and ends up touching deeper places: patience, spirit and the way we respond to those around us.
It is not uncommon that, under our relentless Caribbean sun, a simple conversation becomes an argument, a wait seems unbearable or sadness becomes unsustainable.
The body knows it before we do. We sleep worse, we tend to drink less water than we need, we walk slower, we work tired, we lock ourselves up to escape from suffocation and vaporization. Even so, we feel that there is not enough air.
Then that irritability appears that we sometimes confuse with a bad character, when in reality it can be exhaustion. Extreme heat not only fatigues: it triggers many internal situations.
Science edifies us: A study published in JAMA Psychiatry, based on more than 3.4 million emergency room visits in the United States between 2010 and 2019, found that days of extreme heat are associated with an increase in visits for anxiety, mood disorders, substance use and other mental health problems. In other words: when the temperature rises too high, our emotional risk can also rise.
We see it on the street, in traffic, not to mention motorized vehicles, in lines and on social networks. The word comes out harsher, we become more intolerant.
Research published in The Lancet Planetary Health has observed that, outside of a comfortable thermal zone, aggressive expressions increase in digital environments. Heat reduces our ability to pause, listen and self-control, also affecting our relationships.
But not all of us face summer from the same place. Older adults are especially fragile, families in poorly ventilated houses, workers who spend hours in the sun and those who already suffer from anxiety, depression or some illness or disorder.
Also those who cannot afford to take refuge in air conditioning, or move to a place with trees, or simply take a break when the body asks for it.
Therefore, as the summer solstice approaches, this year, on July 21, when the sun seems to stay on us longer, it is worth remembering that taking care of yourself is neither a luxury nor an exaggeration.
We need to protect our calm, slow down, avoid errands during the most intense hours, seek shade and check on our loved ones.
Hydration is essential, drink water before you are thirsty, wet your face, turn off mental noise for a moment, breathe slowly before reacting with anger. Ask ourselves: “does what I feel belong to this situation or to the fatigue I have?” That reflection can avoid injury and give us back a little control over ourselves.
In these three summer months, it is worth the effort to practice a simple form of tenderness and empathy. We all have some invisible battle, and the heat can make it heavier.
Practice not taking things too personally in the face of the hostility of the environment. We paraphrase Mario Benedetti: “when hatred is loose, one loves in self-defense.”
