Can weather affect my mood?

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I’m feeling jittery, restless, and on edge with these intense wind storms coming through Los Angeles. I have a hard time sleeping and have a sense of dread. Am I just being “overly sensitive” or is this real?

 

Answer: This is real! The National Institutes of Health has documented the reality of weather-related symptoms from pain to Seasonal Affective Disorder (depression that is related to a decrease in light in the fall and winter seasons). People with high sensitivity are often more susceptible to weather-related mood changes such as agitation from the wind. Meteorpathy or “Meteorosensitivity” is a newly recognized condition that reveals how weather affects mental and physical health.

During times of wild winds or any intense weather, meditate more, practice grounding exercises, and don’t let the wind take your grounding away. But also enjoy the wildness of the wind and let it recharge you. The wind can be mild or it can wreak destruction, as with the recent LA fires. I have a lot of respect for the strength of the wind.

Please take a look at chapter 9 in my book The Power of Surrender, which describes this weather phenomenon and the energetic aspects of the natural world.

Thank you for asking this very important question,

Judith
 
Reference: Hoxha, M., & Zappacosta, B. (2023). Meteoropathy: a review on the current state of knowledge. Journal of medicine and life, 16(6), 837–841. https://doi.org/10.25122/jml-2023-0097
 

Judith Orloff, MD is a New York Times bestselling author whose books include The Genius of Empathy: Practical Tools to Heal Yourself, Your Relationships and the World, The Empath’s Survival Guide, and Thriving as an Empath, which presents daily self-care tools for sensitive people. Her upcoming children’s book The Highly Sensitive Rabbit is about a caring rabbit who learns to embrace her gifts of sensitivity through the love and support of other animals. A UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Member, she blends the pearls of conventional medicine with cutting-edge knowledge of intuition, empathy, and energy. Dr. Orloff specializes in treating highly sensitive people in her private practice and online internationally. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, and USA Today. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA and TEDx. Explore more at www.drjudithorloff.com

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