Seven Ways To Cope Better Mentally in Very Hot Weather

7 Ways to Cope Better Mentally in Very Hot Weather

By John Warrington, Counselling Minds

It’s that time of year…a period that often we can long for in the middle of a challenging winter but when summer does arrive, we can end up complaining that it’s too hot!!

However, with this extreme heat and weather warnings, it imperative to keep physically safe but often the advice given, doesn’t focus on looking after our mental health in hot weather. 

The extreme heat can affect us more deeply than we sometimes admit.

People often speak about heat in practical terms - how to sleep, what to wear, how to stay cool, how much water to drink. All of that matters, of course. 

But hot weather can also affect how we feel in ourselves. 

It can leave us more tired than usual, more irritable, less patient, less focused, and not quite as able to cope with everyday pressures in the way we normally would.

I think that can be unsettling, partly because it is not always obvious at first what is happening. You may just notice that you feel more flat, more easily frustrated, or less able to think clearly. 

You may find yourself wondering why things that would usually be manageable suddenly feel more difficult.

For some people, summer brings lightness and energy. 

For others, especially when the heat becomes intense, it can feel oppressive, draining, and unexpectedly hard work. 

Even if you usually enjoy this time of year, there may still be days when the weather leaves you feeling unlike yourself.

If that is where you are, it is worth saying this plainly: there is nothing weak or strange about it. 

You are not failing to cope. 

You are being affected by conditions that can place real strain on both body and mind.

Here are seven gentle ways to cope better mentally when the weather is very hot.

1. Ease your expectations of yourself

One of the kindest things you can do in very hot weather is expect a little less of yourself for a while.

We can be very quick to measure ourselves against our normal pace and normal standards, even when the conditions are not normal at all. 

If you are sleeping badly, feeling physically uncomfortable, and using extra energy simply to get through the day, it makes sense that you may not have the same focus, motivation, or resilience.

That is not a personal failing. It is a human response.

There are times in life to push forward, and there are times to be a little more understanding of your own limits. 

Very hot weather is often one of those times. 

Doing a little less, slowing the pace, or leaving some things for another day may be not only reasonable, but wise.

2. Notice irritability early, and be gentle with it.

Heat has a way of making everything feel sharper.

Small delays can feel bigger. Noise can feel more intrusive. 

Other people can seem more demanding. Your patience may shorten without much warning, and you may find yourself reacting more strongly than you intended.

When that happens, it can help to pause before judging yourself too harshly. Simply noticing, I am more affected by this heat than I realised, can make a real difference. 

It creates a little space between what you are feeling and how you respond.

That space matters. It may help you speak more kindly, step away for a moment, or stop a difficult mood from gathering unnecessary force.

3. Protect your energy more carefully

In very hot weather, energy can disappear surprisingly quickly.

Even without doing anything especially demanding, you may feel more drained than usual. That is why this is a good time to become more protective of your energy, rather than assuming you can spend it as freely as you normally might.

That may mean keeping plans simpler, giving yourself more space between tasks, or being more careful about what you take on. 

It may mean recognising that not every conversation needs to happen today, not every task is equally urgent, and not every invitation has to be accepted.

There is something quietly powerful in learning to protect yourself without guilt. When your reserves are lower, being more selective is not selfish. It is sensible.

4. Stop criticising yourself for feeling flat

One of the hardest parts of summer for some people is the pressure to feel good because the season is supposed to feel up-lifting.

If the sun is shining, the days are longer, and other people seem to be enjoying themselves, it can be surprisingly easy to turn against yourself for not feeling the same. 

You may think you should be making more of the weather, enjoying it more, or feeling more grateful and cheerful than you do.

But summer does not feel easy for everyone. Heat does not energise everyone. Bright days do not automatically create emotional ease.

Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is stop arguing with your own experience. If you feel low in energy, mentally foggy, or a little out of sorts, try meeting that honestly instead of critically. You do not need to justify it. 

You only need to respond to it with some understanding.

5. Keep things simpler than usual

When the weather is very hot, ordinary life can start to feel that it requires more effort than it should.

Decision-making can feel slower. Concentration can drift. 

Small routines can begin to feel oddly tiring. In those moments, simplification can be a genuine form of self-care.

Try reducing the day to what really matters. Ask yourself what truly needs to be done, what can wait, and what can be made easier. 

There is often relief in letting go of the unnecessary for a while.

A simpler day can sometimes feel like a calmer mind. Not always, but often enough to be worth aiming for.

6. Remember that your body and mind are connected

We sometimes forget how closely our emotional wellbeing is tied to our physical state.

If you are too hot, sleeping badly, dehydrated, physically uncomfortable, or simply worn down by the weather, your mind will feel that too. 

You may be less patient, less steady, and less able to deal calmly with things that would normally be manageable.

So looking after your body is not separate from looking after your mental wellbeing. It is part of it.

Resting when you can, cooling down where possible, drinking enough, and taking physical discomfort seriously are not small things. 

They are part of how you care for yourself well in difficult conditions.

7. Let the heat remind you to be more human, not less

Difficult conditions often reveal the way we speak to ourselves.

When the weather is oppressive and we are not functioning at our best, many of us respond by becoming harder on ourselves. 

We tell ourselves to get on with it. We minimise what we are feeling. We push against our own limits as though kindness were a weakness.

But perhaps very hot weather can invite a different response.

Perhaps it can remind us that we are not machines. That our capacity changes. That our needs are real. That coping well does not always mean pushing on regardless. 

Sometimes it means adjusting, softening, and responding more wisely to what is actually true.

There is strength in that. Quiet strength, perhaps, but real strength all the same.

A final thought

If you have felt more tired, more emotionally frayed, more flat, or less able to cope during very hot weather, please do not be too quick to judge yourself.

Sometimes what we most need is not a better attitude or a harder push, but a kinder response. 

A little more patience. A little more honesty. A little more permission to slow down and take proper care of ourselves.

Very hot weather can affect us more than we realise. 

Meeting that reality with self-compassion is not indulgence. It is part of coping well.

And sometimes, especially in uncomfortable seasons, coping well begins with being a little gentler with yourself.

Easier said than done, I know! 

Keep safe! 

Thanks for reading, John, Counselling Minds