Does Weather Affect Your Mood?

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I’m considering building an ark, because it feels as if it’s been raining for 40 days and 40 nights.

In one of the wettest, coldest Mays in Maryland’s history, highly sensitive types like myself are having difficulty not getting pulled into a depressive mood that often accompanies bad weather.

I am clearly affected by rain — especially when it rains consistently for weeks as it has this spring. And I know other people who are, too, so I thought I’d study why the extra precipitation alters the limbic system (emotional center) of the brain and review the research regarding mood and weather.

Studies That Link Mood and Weather

John Grohol, PsyD, founder and CEO of Psych Central, offers a great overview of the studies that exist on weather and mood. There is research that says weather has little to do with mood, he notes, but “the overall preponderance of evidence suggests that weather can have more than just ‘a little effect’ on you mood.”

Here are some of the studies Grohol presents.

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Therese Borchard
I am a writer and chaplain trying to live a simple life in Annapolis, Maryland.

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3 Responses
  1. Doing What I Can

    I’m both a Summer Hater and Rain Hater. My Summer Hating is way more though. I totally HATE HATE HATE the Summer. And now that I’m dealing with hormonal changes and hot sweats and flushes, dang, do I hate carrying my own personal summer with me.

    In the meantime, I do my best to not eat certain things that will aggravate me even more with the heat and all.

    Great and informative post. Thanks, Therese.

    1. Lee cousins

      Never, never, use the word hate, replace it with something that is to be less of a drag on you, having said that if you’re emotional state is being influence by discomfort from hormonal imbalances there are means to specifically deal with it, that can be less troubling then dealing with some depressions, maybe you will or have discover that already…. best of wishes Lee.

  2. Doing What I Can

    I should also add a way I sometimes deal with getting through the horrid summer months… 2 things right off the bat…

    1. I keep my Winter Decor Snowflakes on my Window as I stand in front of the A/C. Ahhhhh…

    2. I sing along with Olaf’s Summer Song from, “Frozen.”

    🙂