Heat panic

[Sideways]

So the weather here is hot (30+ every day) and humid (80% - subtropical). Which triggers flashbacks for me.

But my pdoc explained that heat also causes our heart rate to increase, which is potentially what is causing me to panic. Amygdala is basically interpreting heat as a threat, that I need to flee from, because the increased heart rate gets instantly linked with “This is what happens when I’m in danger, so I must be in danger”.

Apart from trying to keep cool, I don’t want to stop going outside. I have dog. And locking myself in my apartment sets my agoraphobia down an impossible path. Air-conditioned venues usually require paying money (except for the library, but there’s only so long I can spend in the library).

Has anyone ever dealt with panic that is set off by hot weather? How did you do that?

 

[Gamereign555]

For me, the hot weather seemed to increase the dissociative issues/flashbacks and sleep disturbances.

The cold weather however would trigger my somatic breathing flashback type problems, which always lead to panic. Tightening of chest and breathing difficulties.

I always experienced both problems but to more or lesser degree depending on factors. Just therapy and an understanding girlfriend and grounding techniques to cope. Good meds help.

 

[Multitudes]

Hmm, not by hot weather, but maybe by something a little similar..

Reboxetine, NRI (noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor) fills me with an hours-long adrenaline rush, one of the recognised side effects of which is increased anxiety.
I get it, feel it.. and am able to distinguish between my own feelings of anxiety and the induced, artificial anxiety/tension, caused by the drug.

Can you do the same with heat.. you have Air conditioning there?
Cool down, examine the difference between your true feelings and those exacerbated by external conditions.. they are different.

 

[shimmerz]

Heart rate is a really difficult thing to regulate. My heart rate goes down to almost nothing in the heat. Then I get to pass out.

The best thing that I have found for that is to train myself, when I am well. 5 breathes in and 5 breathes out and 5 breathes in between. I just keep doing and doing and doing being mindful of what my heart rate feels like. Then, when I feel myself go (as I think you said you do), I put my breathing into place. It synchs my heart rate with what it has learned a 5/5/5 breath should be.

I am envious of your weather there. Wish it were me!

 

[Neverthesame]

+30°C +80% Humidity?
Gah! Sounds awful. Too bloody hot. I'd melt.

 

[Deleted member 44579]

Hi @Ragdoll Circus.... It's freezing here in the UK.. Anyway would cold showers help you at all?.... Or a small ice box you could have on you which you could put your hands in?...
To cool you down?.....
Just something you could keep beside you in the house..?....

 

[Friday]

The opposite, when I get cold I start kicking into flashbacks & anxiety attacks.

How I deal with it is largely pragmatic; change my temperature.

***

Heat Tricks (from spending 2/3s of my life in the jungle (tropics, mostly SE Asia) & desert:

- Drink a LOT. Enough to be peeing clear every 90 minutes or so. In 30-50deg heat that's generally 1-2 liters per hour.

^^^ Dehydration ALSO causes increased heart rate, emotional instability, & cognitive problems... even before rising to the level of heat exhaustion. It tends to "just" be more subtle. Very little, I've found, is actually subtle with PTSD :wtf:

- Soak a pair of Skins / Underarmor / surfing rash guard / or similar & wear under my clothes. The extra layer may seem insane, but as it's damp it actually provides full body air conditioning, so it's infinitely cooler. If my surface clothes are loose and flowy? Then they add to a breeze which facilitates the cooling process. It's also possible to just soak the front of your cooling layer, if you're sitting and don't want to leave a mark on furniture, but it's a bit fiddly to accomplish.

- Cool the back of my neck. (Yay brainstem! Just like with a fever) & eyes.

- Wash my hair every morning, and apply good handful (half a cup for shoulder length, whole cup for bra length hair) of a fairly cheap gel to it without toweling it dry first... scrunching it in, then piling on top of my head, French twist, or braiding... which both -the gel & styling- will slow the drying process. ReWet as necessary, can just lean over a sink & resoak, but even in the desert it should last a good 4 hours at a minimum. In humidity? May very well last all day.

- Extreme Heat - Ice in my bra

- Paracetamol (helps prevent rising core temperatures)

- Small/Light meals (digestion creates a lot of heat, as a byproduct).

- Swimming/bathing as much as possible. Showers are better than nothing, but full body immersion = the tops! :D (if you've got your pair of Skins on? Just step right in wearing those! No need to get naked or change into a suit. Easy easy.)

 

[EveHarrington]

Heat sets off my anxiety, no matter what the season. I have to work hard at keeping myself at the right temperature. Not an easy task!

 

[Gamereign555]

The opposite, when I get cold I start kicking into flashbacks & anxiety attacks.

How I deal with it is...

It’s funny, I have noticed that when I’m hot I will drink ice water all the time because I’d feel anxious without it. In the winter cold months, I will take two showers or more.

But in reality this all does make sense. I guess this just means that when I feel uncomfortable I get anxious, if it gets bad enough I will panic depending on circumstances. So in effect changing my body temperature alleviates that pressure then suddenly I am coping.