How to avoid depression in heat?

Uncomfortable hot weather can provoke an exacerbation of depression, so during such a period it is especially important to take care of your mental health, Anastasia Ponomarenko, a psychologist and teacher at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, told the Moscow City News Agency.

“Of course, the heat can provoke a seasonal disorder. During the heat, a person begins to feel uncomfortable, that is, his body, as a functional system, begins to receive internal signals that there is some kind of discomfort, something does not suit him. And, of course, the psyche, as part of this functional system, cannot but react,” Anastasia Ponomarenko explained.

As the psychologist noted, the condition can worsen in people who have already experienced depression or are predisposed to it. With symptoms of depression, it is better to contact a specialist who will prescribe drugs. However, not every condition that occurs in a person due to heat can be called depression.

“If this is really depression, then you need to go to a psychotherapist and prescribe antidepressants. If it's just blues or sadness, then you need to write a list of at least 10 pleasures and perform at least three pieces every day according to the plan.

Pleasures should be easy to do, affordable and inexpensive, these are such trifles - for example, go to the cinema to see an interesting film, have coffee with a girlfriend, for men - play football. Then this is a very good "fuse" against depression. Pleasure should be as planned as work.

This is the main and very effective way to prevent the development of a pre-depressive state or melancholy into the stage of depression,” she noted.

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