Nerd Church - Self-Care Is Vitally Important In Hot Weather

...of course, Self-Care is vitally important generally, but you get what I mean.





If you're in the middle of a heatwave like we are in the UK, then your Self-Care game needs to be sharp.

Disclaimer time!:

I’m not a mental health, psychology, or medical professional — I’m a Welsh girl with a blog.

People with mental health problems - hi! - may find ourselves affected by the heat, and we and people with other disabilities need to be especially careful.

Just as an example: yours truly has increased Anxiety problems in the heat. I also get increased Depression problems when I'm hot for this long, mainly because the uncomfortableness just brings my mood down generally.

People can also get a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that's commonly known as the Summer Blues, or Summer Depression.






Wendy @ What the Log Had to Say wrote a cool (geddit?) post about the effect of summer on mental health, also including the pressures of socialising.

Of course, taking care of yourself in the heat is important regardless of what disabilities you do or do not have.

I'm just pointing out that it's especially important for those of us who may be affected the most.







Let's take a look at 3 basic but important things you can do to take care of yourself in the heat:




1. Hydration

This is THE most important one! Dehydration is not a joke. It's not a thing that happens to other people. IF YOU DON'T DRINK ENOUGH YOU WILL BE ILL.

Drinking water and clear pop like fizzy lemonade is the best. But drinking things like tea can help too - just don't rely solely on tea, coffee, etc., because they are less hydrating than water.

Nom nom nom! 😋

Via Giphy

If you're on meds, it can be super easy to dehydrate, so please make sure you drink enough!







2. Don't rush and over-exert

Everything takes longer in the heat. Everything is difficult in the heat. Everything takes more energy than you think it will.

Just let it take longer, k? Fighting in will just take up more energy. Heat stroke and/or exhaustion are no fun.

3. Protect your skin

OK, I know it's boring and annoying but you have to protect your skin from the sun. Skin cancer is bad. And it can and does happen. It's easier to protect yourself now than to suffer the effects later on.

And my fellow white people?

You need to be extra careful. We have less natural defence against sun damage. If you have very fair skin, you need to be more careful again.

Via Michelle Porucznik on Giphy

Tans are not worth the burning and the damage. Get fake tan if you're really that keen on it.

While People of Colour usually have more natural protection than us white people, you still need to protect yourself from the hidden damage.

Use sun cream. Cover your arms. Stay in the shade where possible.

If, like me, you have light-sensitivity problems - so your eyes and/or brain are especially sensitive to brightness - you'll probably also need some damn good sunglasses!

How do you handle the heat? Do you have to make special considerations due to disability? Talk to me! 😎💬

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Related Reading:

• Nerd Church - The Basics of Self-Care

• Nerd Church - 10 Self-Care Reminders For When You're Extra-Busy, or Working Extra-Hard

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Last updated: 27th July 2018