EP # 216 How Temperature Affects Our Emotions

Robb (: 00:01

And welcome to another show of Don't Get This Twisted. I am Rob, along with my co-host as always, Tina. How you doing, Tina?

Tina (: 00:06

Oh my God, Rob, if we make it through this podcast, I will be so happy. It has been it has been a week and it's what Tuesday?

Robb (: 00:11

yeah, me too. I think we're both. Yeah, we're both. Yeah, that's kind of how I feel today, so. Yeah, it's just one of those. wow. Yeah. But got to do what you got to do. Got to keep moving. At least for now. OK, so we are going to talk about

Tina (: 00:20

Yeah.

Tina (: 00:30

Absolutely. Yeah.

Robb (: 00:40

how the weather can affect your mood and energy it says. Yeah, I do believe that there is a there's a lot to that. There's a lot to unpack. The funny thing is, is that my good friend was the one who actually said to do this show and you said something about it yesterday, which is kind of like, you know.

Tina (: 00:46

Ooh, we got lots to talk about on that one.

Tina (: 00:56

yeah.

Tina (: 01:10

Well, it's no secret in my world that the weather affects me. I mean, I live in Southern California. We don't have a lot of weather and I'm grateful for that. We just had this big storm over the weekend and I was like the last four or five days we've been having storms and it's still crappy today, but at least it's not raining and the sun's out. But I have been in a freaking mood. I couldn't go on my bike this weekend and I'm

Robb (: 01:10

Premonitioning.

Tina (: 01:39

Finding that that has been my place of peace to get out and be on the bike and go riding and I wasn't able to. Did go with a friend to a movie and had a good time there but I just didn't feel, I just haven't been feeling myself and then with everything that life's been throwing at me.

Robb (: 01:58

you

Tina (: 01:58

I definitely haven't been feeling really good, but the rain really kicks my ass. mean, it... I try to keep a positive attitude always, but when it rains, it just drowns that out, for sure.

Robb (: 02:14

Mm-hmm.

You you

Tina (: 02:16

And I definitely experienced that this weekend and yesterday. For those of you that don't know, I don't think anybody knows, but I called Rob yesterday because I forgot that we had to do the podcast and he texted me we didn't have anything set in stone. I totally forgot. And then when I saw his text, because I was just going through it, I just started crying. I couldn't keep it together and poor Rob had to get the...

He had to get the mental dump that I was going through at the moment. Poor thing. It sucked. And I don't even like being that person. So it was really hard for me to even open up like that. But fucking rain didn't help.

Robb (: 02:55

Yeah, think, look, there's a lot to this. know, first of all, looking at it from the point of view of like most things with the weather, I think it affects everyone.

It affects them obviously differently and where you live probably has a lot to do with it. Mostly with colder climates, I think. You know, we live in Southern California, so we have kind of a love-hate relationship with the sun, right? Because it's out so much here and the weather is pretty much warm year round.

Right, we generally get good weather. So when the rain hits here, it's really crippling. So, and if you're not working, think it's like I'm an overthinker anyway. So you add rain to the situation and I can put every single story in my head that you can think of.

Tina (: 03:41

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 03:57

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 04:08

Because it can't go nowhere, can't do anything. Really, you you're just kind of like, you know, like, a lot of it, a lot of it is, is pretty heavy. And look, it's a lot of it's probably psychosomatic and it's all in our head. But, you know, the cold here is rough on a lot of people because when it gets cold, you know, your mood definitely changes because now you're

Tina (: 04:14

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 04:35

Hunkered down, you've got a lot of clothes on, you're doing whatever you are to get to your car without getting poured on, and then the stress level starts kicking up. So you're stressed about driving far. There's a lot of things. Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 04:42

You

Tina (: 04:48

Well, drivers here suck. Driving sucks in the rain here because people are still driving like, you know, it's a sunny day in California and they don't drive well anyway. Let's face it, everybody goes fast and they want to go hard and they want to be the first one to the light because you'll hit every one of them. But you still want to be the first and.

You add water to that and people not paying attention and still being on their phones and it's a shit show. We have so many accidents, huge accidents. After it rains, I notice there's a lot of people with new cars with, you know, temporary license plates because they've crashed their cars during the rain. there's even stats to prove that in California, the rate of accidents goes up in the rain and then the rate of buying new cars seems to go up higher after a rain.

It's insane.

Robb (: 05:42

Yeah, I I saw lots of people that were driving way faster than they should be. And mostly, you know, where you live,

Tina (: 05:49

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 05:56

And where I live, the drainage systems are not the greatest. Because they don't arise. So they back up very, very quickly. Like we were having flash flood warnings where I am. So yeah, it was, it was an interesting, an interesting few days and we're going to get more. So it's not like this is, you know, Thursday, Friday.

Tina (: 06:00

Well no, because they don't need to be. We hardly ever get rain.

Tina (: 06:08

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 06:12

Yeah.

Robb (: 06:24

We're we're gonna get more so, you know, we've got a hunker down because it's definitely coming So it's one of those things where you're like, oh great like here we go again, but it's it's definitely coming and We're just going to have to brave it for whatever a couple of days we have to do it And yeah and hope it's not a rainy season I mean

Tina (: 06:27

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 06:45

and hope it's not a rainy season.

Robb (: 06:52

My friend this morning was even telling me that that she you know the rain where she's at is also like kind of putting her Her body and her mind through a bunch of stuff like she said something that I thought was pretty interesting and see she said

Because rain makes me go introverted and start really self-reflecting on where I'm at spiritually, emotionally, and relationship wise. I think it's just, you know, a lot of that gray weather, it's like, yeah, I understand where, and if you are an over thinker at all, it'll cripple you. I mean, at least it does to me. Like, I'm already bad when it is, heaven forbid I have.

You know, like right now, you know, I'm not working still because of my shoulder. So I can, I can definitely put myself into a place that I shouldn't be. I found a webpage that was on Healthline. says, yes, weather can affect mood and energy. Here's the key takeaways. Weather conditions such as temperature, humidity and sunlight may influence your mood, energy, stress.

Tina (: 07:50

Yeah.

Tina (: 08:10

No kidding.

Robb (: 08:16

Extreme temperatures often lead to lower moods while moderate sunny conditions may improve moods. Hey, that's I think why most Californians are just kind of chill, right? Because mostly sunny conditions and moderate weather, hard to be hard to be down when they're like that.

Tina (: 08:36

Absolutely.

Robb (: 08:38

But this is probably why when the rain comes, we really kind of turtle up and like get into a shell.

Tina (: 08:45

Turtle turtle up

Robb (: 08:46

You know what mean? Like, turtle up, you know, because no one wants to be in that shit. Just walking my dog. was like, you know, because I've said it a million times on the pod that he doesn't care about the rain because he has a double coat. So that fool just walks around like, like slow. He'll stop. He'll shake the shit out of his face and get whatever's on him and then keep walking. And here I am, you know, got an umbrella and I'm freezing cold and I'm like, let's just hurry, just hurry.

I think a lot of that goes to, know, again, we live in moderately sunny weather, so it's easy. When I lived in Vegas, where the summer were brutal.

Tina (: 09:32

The summer's 12 months out of the year.

Robb (: 09:34

Yeah, mean, well, and here's the thing there. The summer is long. It's from about May to October-ish, sometimes later. Where, but then when the winter in Vegas, people like don't get it that it's a desert. So it's cold. Like, I mean, and it's windy. So your conditions change. Anyone who lives in a desert, I think ends up.

with these kind of things. even says, says, if you live in a desert climate, a chilly, breezy day could offer a nice change of pace. Likewise, the hot, humid days of summer could feel downright miserable. yeah, and look, I've been in the desert when I lived there, and the highest I was ever in was 116. And it's pretty damn warm.

Tina (: 10:13

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 10:25

Mmm.

Robb (: 10:29

And I know people who live in Arizona where it's 122, 123. Those are just difficult days to live in. The sun is so extreme. Yeah, well, and here's the thing, even the pool is great, but the pool ends up being 85 degrees. 90 degrees where, and then the sun is just so brutal. I remember being out

Tina (: 10:35

Yep.

Tina (: 10:39

Yeah, you have to have a pool if you're going to be outside. You have to.

Tina (: 10:51

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 10:58

with my kid and he was young then he was like seven and you know we'd be in the pool in Vegas and it was just like the sun was just beating down on us and you have to protect yourself. But the flip side of it is that you know most places that are like that have air conditioning everywhere. you're correct. So like you really don't have an issue with that kind of

Tina (: 11:18

yeah, it's built around air conditioning.

Robb (: 11:27

problem right where you're going you know we're going to go somewhere and just bake because you really don't.

Tina (: 11:32

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 11:36

I remember one day this last summer, I was in the pool on a raft and it was so bloody hot. I couldn't get cool and I was in water, but anything that was out of water was just blazing. That was a hard day, but it didn't affect my mood. I was in a great mood. I was like, I'm going to get tan and I don't care that it's this hot and I'll just keep dunking and didn't affect me like the rain does.

Robb (: 11:59

you

Robb (: 12:06

Yeah, I look, because I think that, you know, although people argue, you can argue either side of this where the heat you can only take off so much and the cold you can put so much on. So you can you can really be better in the cold because you can get warm and it's hard to get cold in the summertime.

Tina (: 12:21

Yeah.

Robb (: 12:30

I kind of agree with that, but on the flip side of it, think when it's warm, even if it's hot, hot, hot, you know, once the sun goes down, you can still be outside barbecuing. You can still hang out with your friends. You can still be drinking outside. There is good parts of that where in the winter time, you're not hanging out outside.

Tina (: 12:55

No, and even barbecuing, nobody wants to be out there barbecuing in the cold or especially the rain. Nobody wants to do that.

Robb (: 12:57

No, no one wants to, I mean, unless you have a covered patio, if you have a covered patio, it's nice. I will say, cause, and I'm a, I was a big time barbecuer in the winter time, you know, when I lived in my condo, because it was, I mean, I could step down, you you step down on the patio and it's right there. So it makes it easier. I think if things are,

Tina (: 13:06

Yeah.

Tina (: 13:14

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 13:22

Right.

Robb (: 13:26

are close, it makes it much better for you. Where I live now, there's barbecues all through the apartment, but you have to walk to them. And in the rain, it's not the greatest. Here's another stat for you. It says certain people, including older adults and those with mood disorders, may be more sensitive to weather changes, potentially experiencing symptoms.

Tina (: 13:39

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 13:53

like irritability, migraines, and insomnia. I could... the heat makes everyone irritable. That's why in a lot of places back east or the Midwest where they don't have the greatest air conditioning, like Chicago, it's people get angry and fight and shoot each other and crazy stuff happens. Because it is difficult, right? I mean...

Tina (: 13:58

Hmm.

Tina (: 14:19

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 14:23

You can you can only do so much and then people lose their shit Migraines I've heard of I don't get them like that because of the heat but I have heard of people doing it and I think insomnia is just rough because yeah, if you're if you're in a bed at night and you can't get Cool it's you're miserable So that I that I get

Tina (: 14:28

you

Tina (: 14:49

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 14:53

Again, in the wintertime, you should just throw an extra 17 blankets on, you should be okay. Of course.

Tina (: 14:57

my gosh, last night I needed to do that. My toes never. I broke a broke my shoe yesterday. Also, I didn't tell you that. And it was during like the hardest part of the rain where it was just it was coming down in sheets and people were standing at the grocery store, not even wanting to go to their cars because they were like, everything's going to be soaked. And here I go, I just wanted to get home and I broke my shoe, got my stuff in the car. I was so wet.

that when I got out, the seat was wet. Like you could see the imprint of where I was, because I was all wet and made the seat wet. then I'm having to get to the house. I live on a busy street, so I had to get out of the car with people whizzing by and the water's coming up and I don't have a shoe on. I had to go up. The gutter went almost to the middle of the street, so I had to walk through water.

Robb (: 15:31

Right.

you

Tina (: 15:55

And then I had to get my groceries. It sucked yesterday. It just sucked. And when I got in, I was done with people. I was done with life. was done with, I just wanted to go to bed and sleep until the rain stopped. And that's kind of what I did actually. Yeah. And then I didn't get up until like nine o'clock this morning. just, when I say I want to, I want to.

Robb (: 16:12

That's pretty nice, right?

Tina (: 16:22

Completely escape reality I could do that with sleeping and I did because I just couldn't you heard I in the last year I know you've heard me like cry probably three times but in my whole life how many times have you heard me cry like four?

Robb (: 16:26

Right. Yeah, maybe. And I think one of them is because your wisdom teeth came out.

Tina (: 16:41

Yeah, and my boyfriend was being a dick. Yeah, wasn't even... I was complaining. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 16:42

You know what I mean? Like it wasn't, yeah, it wasn't even because it was like life altering. Yeah, you were just like, this sucks. Yeah, I mean, like, I'm gonna read this next statement, which I think is pretty spot on for a lot of people. It says extreme weather events may negatively affect mental health, increasing stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD addressing

So it's basically like weather related trauma, which I get to a degree. mean, depression, like my mom lived up in Washington for like three years or four years because her husband was in the military. And she hated it because, you know, here's someone who did a lot of their adult life in Southern California.

and now had to live literally in the rain for 90 % of her time there. You could tell what it did to my mom. And it's funny, near the end of her life, she lived in Idaho, which it also isn't the greatest.

Tina (: 17:39

I don't I don't think I would ever marry somebody that said they want to live in climates like that because it just Yeah, they wouldn't like me

Robb (: 18:02

for weather, even though they did get sun. You know what I mean? It's just, it's cold up there. So, but the rain, she said it was miserable. It's just gray all the time. And look, the sun is something we need. You gotta have the sun. Vitamin D is so important. And I have a major deficiency. So I have to take the highest amount.

Tina (: 18:06

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 18:15

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 18:21

I

Tina (: 18:31

You know that most people even in California have a very low vitamin D rate. There's something that I don't know. It's probably because we don't eat right of course, but everybody suffers from vitamin D deficiency. Every single person that I talk to, yeah, I have that problem. yeah, but vitamin D is what helps your body take in any other nourishment, any other vitamins, any other anything.

and when you don't have it you're depleting yourself even though you're eating. That's kind of scary.

Robb (: 19:04

Yeah, I think a lot of it too has to do mostly in Southern California, even though we have a lot of sun here is that we all work indoors. So your sun exposure isn't as much as it should be. And I think that's the bigger problem. And look, I mean, it affects me both sides.

Tina (: 19:13

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 19:21

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 19:30

I would say the rain definitely affects me. think that it's just easy to... Now here's the different thing though. I'll give you the example of like how the rain can also be a good thing. least like for me, if and when I'm with somebody, I enjoy the rain if you can both hang out at home. Because I think there's nothing like snuggling up on the couch eating popcorn and watching a movie. Right?

Tina (: 19:54

Well, yeah, if you only get one day of weather, that's great. But after that, there's no more snuggling up. I'm starting to be pissed off having to sit and look at this person, not get dressed. That drives me crazy, too. Like I, even in the rain, I'll still get up, do my hair and do my makeup, even if I have to go outside. And even if I know as soon as I go out, my hair is going to look like shit. I think for me, just getting up and getting ready, I have to do that for my mental health.

Robb (: 19:57

Yeah, one or two days is great.

Robb (: 20:05

Right. you

Tina (: 20:22

And to see somebody that doesn't... my god, it drives me nuts. It really does.

Robb (: 20:28

Yeah, mean, it's when you're stuck in a look, look what COVID did to us. When you're stuck in a place for a long period of time, no matter whether it's sunny out or not is shitty. The rain can can definitely after like more than two days, I'm over the rain, which is

Tina (: 20:35

Mmm.

Tina (: 20:41

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 20:50

like why this past week is just crazy. You know what I mean? It's just like, son of a bitch. then like, thankfully we're going to get today with sun, tomorrow with sun. And then again, Thursday, Friday, we're supposed to get rain. And then I believe after that, we're going to have sun for quite a while, which is awesome. Now I think our temperatures are going to be low.

Tina (: 20:55

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 21:11

Thank God.

Tina (: 21:16

And I'm cool with that, because I just bought new sweatshirts, so I'm okay with that, but I don't want the rain. I just don't want the rain.

Robb (: 21:24

Right. So here's one for you. This is off the website here that I'll put a link in the description. It says the following weather conditions are associated with low and high moods for most people. Low mood, low temperatures, below 50 or high temperatures above 70. So.

Tina (: 21:46

That's high.

Robb (: 21:48

I mean look across the country. Yeah, it can be kind of crazy mid-range So a high mood is usually between 50 and 70 degrees. So inside that little You know Small group that 20 degree group you can will make your mood better which kind of makes sense like look between 50 and 70 is like I Hate to say perfect California weather, but it's pretty California weather

Tina (: 21:50

In most of the world, yeah.

Tina (: 22:09

Hmm.

Tina (: 22:14

tolerable.

Robb (: 22:18

So here you go, low mood, high humidity, and that is a hundred percent. High humidity is rough.

Tina (: 22:18

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 22:26

yeah. We've had humidity like that where you can't even get dry. That's just disgusting and I want to take off all my clothes and just be alone.

Robb (: 22:37

Now, and here's the thing, when we get it, it's rare. The South gets it every year. It's always humid down there. Let's see, high mood is high atmospheric pressure and clear skies, which is pretty much here. You know, very low humidity and barely anything in the sky. Low mood, precipitation and fog. Yes, that is 100 % true. I think that's just...

Tina (: 22:41

Yeah. All the

Robb (: 23:07

It's just a downer not seeing the sun and high mood is sunlight because sunlight's bitchin. Who doesn't like to have the sun out? You know, it's pretty pretty easy let's see. Let's see. What else is on this fun little page here? ba ba. here you go energy

Typically cold weather gives your body the signal to settle down and hibernate, resulting in less energy during the winter months. Warmer temperatures can boost your energy along with your mood, but only 270 degrees threshold. After that, you may grow tired and feel the urge to escape the heat. Sunlight also impacts energy. Light tells your inner clock to stay awake.

And darkness tells your brain it's time to rest. other words, long bright days can energize you, but the short cloudy days with less light encourage you to go to sleep. I agree. The last couple of days in this shit, I've been I've been tired again. I'm not working, so it's and I can't really take my dog anywhere. So I can't tell you how many times I would just pass out for 30 minutes and wake back up all. shit, I missed.

Tina (: 23:52

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 24:00

I'm there.

You

Robb (: 24:21

I was either watching a movie or I missed the of the show. was like, son of a gun. part of this is I think if it is cold, maybe not rainy, but cold, you still have to find a way to get out and move. Right. Because we do want to hibernate where it's just easy to, again, you get comfortable on the couch, put a big old blankie over you and the next thing you know.

Tina (: 24:21

I miss the end of the show.

Tina (: 24:35

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 24:48

And heaven forbid you fall asleep, easy. Like, my goodness. Stress, here's one for you. If you've ever gotten an uneasy feeling before a storm, that was most likely your body sensing a drop in pressure. Suggests pressure can activate the superior nucleus, part of your brain that controls balance and precipitation.

This study involves mice, but humans can also have it. Okay. So your body goes into a, when a storm is coming, it goes in like a stress system. It makes you feel on edge. Circulating stress hormones, that's what we all need. Can also make your nerve endings very sensitive, which is why some people get chronic pain flare ups when the pressure is low.

Tina (: 25:31

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 25:41

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 25:41

Does that do anything to you, your body? Does the storm?

Tina (: 25:44

Not normally, not normally, because I don't normally have aches and pains, but I gotta tell you that since this car accident I had, when it's been about a month, the rain just made me achy and cold and it settled in my back and I couldn't, I was just stiff. I couldn't move like I normally move. And I did not like that at all.

Robb (: 25:55

It's absolutely shit, actually. I'm not a fan because the cold I am, you know, I have lots of little nagging injuries from

Tina (: 26:11

Yeah.

Tina (: 26:20

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 26:20

20 years of wanting to kill myself. you know, the wrestling just did a number on me. So, like my knees are better that I've lost weight, but the cold still messes with them. And then my kid, has a plate in his elbow from his little soiree with a doctor. And even though now

Tina (: 26:23

You did not. Right.

Robb (: 26:50

he doesn't complain about it, they've told him no matter what happens, he's definitely gonna get it later on. Because if he ever gets arthritis and that kind of thing, it just affects how we are. And then again, you start stressing over it and then here comes your stress hormone. So the next thing you know, now your mind and body are stressed. Yep. So.

Tina (: 26:57

Mmm.

Tina (: 27:12

anxious and stressed out.

Robb (: 27:17

And it says high temperatures also can do the same thing where it tends people get irritable and aggressive during the hotter months, which again, I've seen it across this country, the summer months in places that have lots of maybe not as many air conditioners where it's just like inner cities there, the violence just.

Really, really jumps. So it's it's horrible. mean, Again, we live in a really good spot for weather. But we also live in a place that will stress us out over a bunch of other shit. you know, then you add the weather to it, it just gets worse. I think that, like we all

Tina (: 27:47

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 28:03

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 28:15

Have a place to pick where we go, right? Most of the time if you're gonna move you're gonna move to you're gonna check out the weather first You know, my kid is thinking of moving to Texas and thankfully he went to visit during the summertime Because I wanted him to make sure that he understood that it's humid right and It was kind of funny because he was like, it's a big deal. He goes I'm gonna have a job where I don't leave the house. Okay. Well, you're right you

Tina (: 28:21

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 28:33

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 28:44

That's a great way of looking at it. Until yeah, that's very true. But I'm sure the air conditioning guys in Texas probably make a fortune and if you live in an apartment, they're gonna take care of it. So it just matters how long it takes to get them done. So here's something that I didn't know, but it says your ability to think clearly and make informative decisions. Warm sunny weather may affect brain power.

Tina (: 28:48

until the air goes out.

Tina (: 29:02

Absolutely.

Robb (: 29:13

by boosting your memory, helping you feel more open to new information and improving attendance. Mostly if you have ADHD. Warm weather also tends to make people more tolerant of financial risk. So don't buy a car in the summertime. If you find yourself making more impulsive investments or purchases during hotter months, the weather may be one of the reasons why. That's, I had no idea. It's worth mentioning these effects.

only occur if you actually go outside. Simply looking out the window on a sunny day probably won't have much impact. So it's great if you are a Amazon shopper, you probably will be okay. But if you ever leave the house, don't go to a car dealership in the summertime. And to tell you the truth, I think I've actually bought most of my cars in the summertime. Matter of fact, I will go out on a limb and say I bought them all in the summertime.

Tina (: 30:02

And I did that.

Tina (: 30:12

I couldn't tell you, but I know I have. The last one I did.

Robb (: 30:14

Yeah, that's. things you just don't think of this one. 100 % and it's I want to say that there's probably statistics somewhere, but suicide risk. Evidence suggests people are more likely to accept suicide in the spring or early summer than any other season. Researchers don't exactly know why this pattern occurs, although.

Although they have a few theories. More sunlight exposure and solar radiation may prompt a shift in your narrow transmitting levels. Rapid rising temperatures could trigger a mood episode, particularly for people with bipolar disorder. And high pollen count may prompt inflammation in the brain or worsen mental health systems. Wow. I know that up north, you know, there's

There's a lot of issues with that where it just rains all the time. Just because if you're, could you imagine being in the rain for three months straight? You

Tina (: 31:16

Not my favorite.

Tina (: 31:25

No. The only good thing about places like that is they have really pretty waterfalls. But-

Other than that, I have no use for it. It's it's bad. I've been in San Antonio when it's raining and raining in San Antonio. There's nowhere for the water to to go, really. It's just it's just on the street and it's all in. And, know, it's flatter there. So it wasn't my favorite rainy place to be. But when I went to visit my cousin in Washington, the one time that I was actually I did that on purpose and not because I had to. I sat with her on her

Robb (: 32:00

you

Tina (: 32:00

rooftop and she had a ledge so we weren't getting wet and from where she lived we could watch the rain go in you know down a waterfall that was great for a day.

And then I was like, okay, when's this rain gonna stop? And it didn't stop the whole time I was there and I came home so sick. And I remember even laying down in the airport on the ground because I was so sick. I'm surprised they let me on the plane. And I just kept thinking this freaking rain is miserable. I'm going to die here. I got to go home. It never stopped. But again, beautiful waterfalls.

Robb (: 32:42

Right. I get it. It says right here, says, well, weather changes alone likely won't prompt someone to attempt suicide. It gets sever.

Tina (: 32:44

crappy weather, but I didn't want to be out to see them.

Robb (: 33:00

So it could act as a trigger. Somebody don't want to get risk. And just say no, I'll say what it says right here, because I think it's pretty point. It says if you're having thoughts, you're not alone. And you can get free support 24 seven from trained counselors by dialing 988. I did not know that. So that's good. It's a suicide crisis lifeline. good, good.

Tina (: 33:05

Definitely.

Tina (: 33:20

Really? I did not either.

Tina (: 33:26

Hmm.

Robb (: 33:26

Who's most vulnerable to changes in weather? Let's Yeah. Plenty of people, it says. Weather can only a trivial effect on mental and physical health. However, for 30 % of the people who shifts in weather can cause symptoms like irritability, migraine, insomnia, trouble concentrating, pain around old scars and injuries. I will tell you that like

Tina (: 33:31

Me.

Robb (: 33:54

The scars that I have in my arms definitely have been having some issues from my surgery. So yeah, like soreness. Mediomediopathy. M-E-T-E-R-O-P-H-A-T-H-Y. says most commonly effects. Women. So yes, is older adults. Yay.

Tina (: 34:00

Really?

Tina (: 34:21

Yay. Yay.

Robb (: 34:25

People with high levels of personality trait. Now that's probably if you have some kind of personality disorder. People who have been diagnosed with a mood disorder, we're good there. So yeah, older and women. yeah, that's, so the weather is gonna affect you more.

Tina (: 34:44

Well, I remember even as a kid, I was told that I had...

I can't remember seasonal depression is how they referred to it with me and their way of dealing with it was giving me full spectrum light bulbs and I had to plug them in and lay under them in like minimal amount of clothes for at least 20 minutes to a half hour every day. And believe it or not, that actually helped because you were getting the full spectrum light on you and it felt, you know, it felt sunny and your brain

Robb (: 35:17

You You

Tina (: 35:20

could process that better. And I'm telling you, I know that sounds crazy, but it did help. So I remember my mom would come into the room and I'd be in my bathing suit. She's like, what the hell are you doing? It's like 50 degrees outside. like, I'm getting a tan, mom. Leave me alone. I'm under the lights. And she would be like, enjoy that. And when I come out, she'd be are you feeling all right? And it would give me a boost.

I've always had this issue, always hating the rain.

Robb (: 35:51

Well, I will tell you where like things that will affect you is like I went to the tanning bed at the gym and I came out and I felt also better. Yeah, so where

Tina (: 36:07

Better, yeah.

Robb (: 36:10

You know, it's probably similar to a sauna as well, where like you're sweating this stuff out. You're getting all these things out of you. But that tanning bed light and I would only go for 10 minutes. And I would come out and I would feel so much more energetic. So there is something to that. Here's the next thing on our little list here, seasonal depression. Right. Basically, people who it happens when the seasons start.

Tina (: 36:25

Yeah.

Tina (: 36:33

There you go.

Robb (: 36:39

Most people with this type of depression experience symptoms like sadness, sleepiness, and increased appetite during the fall and winter months, but no symptoms in the spring and summer. Which kind of makes sense because the winter months are depressing. I mean, a lot of them are. You know, I would say close to us, probably not Nevada.

Tina (: 36:51

Yep, that's about it.

Tina (: 36:59

They are. They are. I'm with you.

Robb (: 37:08

California, New Mexico, Arizona, where you still get a lot of sunlight, even though it might be chilly. But once you get to like the Midwest, I have a friend who lives in Iowa and she sent me pictures just from the other day. It was snowing. Yeah, already. So like. Yeah, it's got to be rough, although there's there's definitely there's snow on the mountains here. So.

Tina (: 37:14

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 37:25

Hmm.

That's gotta suck.

Tina (: 37:35

Yeah, for sure. It is cold here.

Robb (: 37:37

You know, and we're probably... I mean, this morning when I walked the dog it was 46 degrees. So, which means the mountaintop was, you know, under freezing, I'm sure. yeah, let's see. So, there are people who have seasonal depression in the warm sunny weather of spring. Summer triggers depression systems.

Tina (: 37:52

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 38:07

Symptoms and the cold or winter must bring relief. there is there is something to that summer depression says it's mostly agitation insomnia and poor appetite along with low mood Major depression. Yeah, here we go. Now now we got it and occur at any time of year that said symptoms may show up more during chillier months

Tina (: 38:24

Makes sense.

Robb (: 38:36

during November and December when the temperature falls below freezing when the wind speeds are higher than on previous days and if it snowed within the last two days. So for sure this is a European study but even so November December are very weird months for depression I think because of family and what people are going through.

You know, like if you don't see your family enough or if you've lost somebody, you know, in the last couple of years, the first time you start thinking about that kind of thing. So, you know, it's definitely showing that the weather has an impact on us as people. And I've seen it with lots of other people. It's not just, you know,

Tina (: 39:12

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 39:26

Absolutely.

Robb (: 39:33

a few close friends. I've seen it with multiple people. The funny thing is is that I hate to say it, but a lot of them are women. So maybe there's something, there is something to that that, you know, how you guys are built is just different than us. You know, definitely different hormones. So maybe when that,

those depression hormones start really really going that's how we know you know and look I know plenty of guys as well that just don't that don't like it like I said I'm not a fan the I can do the rain for a couple days and then I go into I mean the best way of putting it would probably be depression I guess that's the best word I would use

because I just get down and it's hard to get out of it. Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 40:36

Yeah, I call it an UGG attitude. like, ugh. I just don't want to be in it, around it. I don't know. And again, hibernate, that's exactly what I do. I just want to sleep through it and be as minimally.

Robb (: 40:58

Right. Yeah.

Tina (: 40:58

depressed as I can by sleeping through it and then move on when it gets sunny again. Like right now the sun is coming in through my bedroom window and I could feel the heat and I was like, yes, you're back. You came back. But it's been so dark and gloomy the last few days. It's and I you get so depressed or I get so depressed. I don't even turn on the light.

Robb (: 41:26

Exactly. you're in for me, I would open up the blinds that just try to get any kind of light in. And then you realize, damn, it's dark in here. And then you end up turning on a lamp because you're like, I can't see anything in here. It it ends up just being, you know, a hard thing to deal with. One of the things on here is how to cope. Right.

Tina (: 41:31

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 41:39

Yeah.

Robb (: 41:55

It says you can't change the weather, but you can take a few steps to ease its effects on your well-being. If you suspect you might be sensitive to weather changes, consider these tips. Keep a mood journal so you can track how different weather patterns affect you. That's actually a pretty good thing. If you have an iPhone, you can download... I forgot where it's at.

Tina (: 42:13

Mmm.

Robb (: 42:24

But it's on here. It's basically part of your health app where it'll ask you during the day like how you're feeling. Yeah, it's pretty cool. And then you can look back on it. You know, if you do a journal, you can do it in your journal app or you can do it in the health app. And then you can go by and it'll ask you kind of like.

Tina (: 42:33

Interesting.

Robb (: 42:49

why you're feeling that way. And it has like some very interesting things because it'll have like, if your mood's low, why is it low? And you can say, you know, whatever weather, relationship, job, it asks you all these different things. So then you can go back and look at your health or your journals and see like, I was feeling down this day. And it was probably because I was dealing with, you know, my girlfriend or I was dealing with rain, you know, or combo of the two.

Monitor the weather forecast so you can prepare low stress schedules for difficult days. I totally agree with that. I did my best over these last couple of days because I do have an animal that I need to get out and about. And he has been really kind of jumping off the walls. So as soon as the rain stops, I put a leash on him and I get outside.

as soon as it stops and I've taken him out multiple times but I can tell that he's getting a little wound up because he'll start like doing circles or chasing or biting the leash so hopefully tomorrow I'm just gonna take him to the dog park whether it's yucky and soaking wet outside or not just so I can get him out and let him run

Tina (: 44:05

Yeah.

I know even the cat was acting different and she's normally an inside cat, but she loves the two windows that we have in the living room and she'll sit there because the sun goes in and she'll sleep in it. You know, she's all upside down in it and that's like her, her happy time. And she was going crazy just running around was she was restless. She, she even was biting. I'm like, you don't normally do this. Even her and even the cat in the rain was acting crazy. So I let her out and she sat.

Robb (: 44:17

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 44:37

at the back door kind of like I do when it's raining just to try to get some sort of light and she just looked pissed off and I was like I totally feel you so today she got up and she was like okay you're gonna get up and you're gonna let me outside she was outside an hour and a half we don't normally let her out for more than like 10 minutes because we just want her to sit in the backyard and chill we don't want her gallivanting around the neighborhood but this morning when she came in it looked like she was like

Robb (: 44:55

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 45:07

She was in the sun. She looked like she was warm and content. And I was like, wow, even an, even an animal is affected by it. And not because, not because of anything other than it was just, it affected her. don't know. It didn't change who she is or what we do with her, but it did affect her.

Robb (: 45:24

Yeah, same with mine. Yeah, mine was mine looked depressed, like he looked bombed. So yes, although he you know, he has such a thick coat.

Tina (: 45:34

Yes.

Robb (: 45:40

I opened up my back slider and I froze to death in the living room and let him just go outside so he could sit on the concrete. He would just lay on the concrete, whether it was freezing cold or not. yeah. Yeah, just not in the rain. He would just sit under the eve and and just but he doesn't care because again, he's probably super duper warm and he likes the fresh air. So he was just sitting out there like getting a smell on. But here's the funny thing. Walking him in the morning is

Tina (: 45:46

Mm-hmm.

while it was raining? jeez.

Okay.

Tina (: 46:06

Yeah.

Robb (: 46:09

Extremely difficult now because there's so many smells coming up out of the grass He does I mean he takes his fucking time Like and I'm like dude, it's 46. Can we go inside and he's like doop doop doop doop doop like I think this morning I took like a 30 or 40 minute walk Crazy it does say right here stay inside during harsh weather

Tina (: 46:14

yeah.

Tina (: 46:17

Hehehehe

Tina (: 46:25

Yeah.

Tina (: 46:31

That's crazy.

Robb (: 46:35

If your home doesn't have heating or air conditioning, you may want to visit your nearest emergency warming or cooling center. Like again, some places in this country have things like that. If not, I would say find a close friend and go hang out. To me, people is what helps me out. If I have to be in the weather, I would rather have somebody here with me. And you know, I mean, we're both talkers. So I think that that probably

Tina (: 46:45

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 46:51

Yep.

Tina (: 47:01

I

Robb (: 47:05

helps the situation. But if you don't have a significant other, obviously you have to find your friends. And if not, thankfully we have, you know, FaceTime and other ways of communicating with people where at least you can say, hey, I'm having a day. You know, don't go too far. So, I mean, at the end of the day, teen, it's pretty obvious that

Tina (: 47:28

Yeah.

Robb (: 47:35

that weather is an effective part of who we are and it and or can put you down a road that is probably bad. look, I've at least with me, it'll make you make bad decisions. And it will. I mean, I like making bad decisions that have a happy ending, but you can't have bad decisions that have a bad ending.

Tina (: 47:52

I love making bad decisions. I don't mind that part

Tina (: 48:02

Yay. Right.

Robb (: 48:04

It's like, you know, and and if you're one like me, that's an over thinker and the weather just drags you down with it. I think you have to have someone with positive feedback to you and to keep telling you that like, hey, don't don't go down that highway of of depression and everything's going to be all right. Look, it's just the rain and the situation in hand will get better. And.

And if you are a person that is affected to where it just puts you into La La Land, you know, get some rest, I guess, and hope for the sun. Yeah, if you live in Southern California, it probably won't. I guarantee you this will be like one week of shit and we won't get rain the rest of the year. You know, our rainy season will be...

Tina (: 48:44

Yeah. And just hope that the rainy season only lasts a few days.

Tina (: 48:58

Yeah. I don't know. I think we got a lot of rain coming. To me, it feels like this year it's gonna be a wet one for the end of it.

Robb (: 49:01

It could be, but you how we are. Like we could have this crazy ass storm and then we'll, we know we'll be in the summertime. No, in the summertime they'll be saying that we're, you know, we have no water. Yeah, so. Anything else you'd like to say?

Tina (: 49:15

We'll be at the beach.

Tina (: 49:21

that's that's a given. Yeah.

Tina (: 49:29

If you're like me and the rain really bothers you, do whatever you gotta do to just be as happy as you can and get through it. do your grocery shopping before you have to be stuck in the middle of a storm. That would be a smart idea. And remember, it's not gonna last forever. And stay out of your cars, because nobody knows how to drive. Just stay out of the car.

Robb (: 49:52

Yeah, and I would say lean on the people that are the closest to you that mean the most.

If you're one who is as very bad, depressional type issues like that, just just lean on people. They're generally here for you. It can get rough. mean, and like I said, these days it's it's easy that if you're already having some issues and the weather's coming, like it says, just be ready, have a little journal going, make sure you can kind of see where you're at and then go from there.

All righty, so yeah, check us out on all social medias. You can hear this podcast pretty much anywhere. Having a good month again, please keep sharing because we're getting new listeners all over the place. And yeah, it's an opinion show. Don't get it twisted. Keep coming back every Wednesday. That's Tina. I'm Rob. We will see in a week.

Tina (: 50:30

Absolutely.

Tina (: 50:53

See ya.