# Do cold winter temperatures make you more anxious?



## lily2000 (Sep 13, 2002)

I wonder if I'm alone in this, or does being cold make anyone else anxious?I feel very, very tense when I go outdoors in the winter and I feel the frosty chill in the air. (I live in Michigan, so it's really cold from the end of October to the end of March.) My muscles all over my body shiver and my abdominal muscles become especially tense (not good feeling when my belly already bothers me from my IBS). If I'm out in the cold long enough, then my tummy starts to ache and I feel like an IBS attack is inevitable unless I reach the warmth and comfort indoors.Is this totally weird, or has anyone else experienced anything similar?


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## Engine23 (Nov 19, 2002)

I am with you on this one. It doesnt get to cold in Texas but just a chill can cause my body to tense to stay warm which plays havoc with my tummy. Generally spring and summer are my most symtom free times except of course for the crawfish boils and such we have down here.


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## Integrity (Jun 19, 2000)

I've read studies that suggest many people suffer from depression in the winter months. They say it is because we don't receive as much vitamin D from the sun. I live in Toronto and I get anxious and down every January/February.


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## AntonioRI (Sep 30, 2002)

Dont' forget that cold is a stressor. Extreme cold can kill us, so I'm sure the 'fight or flight' response is triggered. I've found that if I concentrate on the cold and the pretty, white surroundings that it helps. I also take deep breaths.Good luck and Spring is coming!!


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2003)

Cold weather is the perfect opportunity to cuddle up with your loved one under a nice, warm quilt. I like warm weather better than cold weather, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on IBS for me. However, it DOES have an impact on pain levels such as that caused by fibromyalgia and the lack of daylight depresses me... as well as leaves me more fatigued than what I feel in the summertime. Do you get those lake-effect snows up there? It's bad enough here in Wisconsin.Evie


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## gineeva (Oct 8, 2002)

lily2000I have the exact same problem. I get so cold that I shiver all over and it's like my stomach is a rock it's so tense. I know exactly how you feel. I am only comfortable in warm weather. Cold weather makes me very anxious, and would do just about anything to avoid it. So you are definately not alone. When I get really cold and can't warm up, I drink a cup of tea and it relaxes everything.You should try that if you need to.


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## rosamunde (Feb 17, 2003)

definitely not weird! while I don't think the cold actually causes any symptoms for me, it does seem to make the existing ones worse. Since having ibs and losing weight, I've definitely become more sensitive to the cold. I feel like I can barely speak when I'm outside in the winter sometimes! cheers to the tea idea, especially ginger, which always warms me up and seems to help with the unclenching in the abdominal area, too. a cat in your lap doesn't hurt either.


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## nursey (Apr 17, 2002)

Sorry guys but the cold weather doesn't affect my ibs because where I live in Australia it's hardly ever cold. It is the hot weather that seems to make my ibs worse imagine getting into your car after work and the steering wheel is too hot to touch its as hot as an oven door the temperature in summer is often 40deg c or 100deg f


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## mel (Jan 5, 1999)

I can relate to gineeva about shivering and your stomach feeling like a rock. I walk to work and if I wake up and see it cold and windy outside my anxiety seems to get worse. When it's cold outside I walk so fast to get to a warm place (home, car) that I don't care who's walking with me, I walk as fast as I can and I leave them behind if they can't keep up!


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## crosseyedkitty77 (Mar 20, 2003)

the cold doesn't make me more anxious, but more depressed which can make me more anxious. i am looking so forward to this summer (which is pretty much already here since i'm in texas







) because last summer i was outside more than i have been since i was a little kid and i was so happy! i had so much energy and i felt so alive. i think the staying active part is the key and that's so hard to do when it's cold.


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## Mrs Bear (Apr 9, 2003)

Once I got soaked through on my post round and was very very cold. I had very bad D over the next few days, and a colleague of mine who does some nursing work said you can get a chill on your stomach which can upset it, and that is in people without IBS, so I can well imagine that the cold can trigger worse symptoms.


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