By Merav Harris, M.S.

For decades researchers have sought to confirm a relationship between weather and temperament. More specifically, the idea that high humidity and limited exposure to sunshine correlate with low mood and episodic depression, and conversely that spirits tend to rise with increased time in the sun. This is now being debated. A recent study conducted in Germany suggests that temperature, wind, and sunlight were found to have no significant effect on positive mood. New research suggests we can and should take proactive steps to strengthen our brain’s system against weather-driven mood changes. Certainly there are people who claim to be “summer lovers” or “rain haters” who report being in either a better or worse mood when the weather changes. But should we really allow such an external locus of control to dictate how we think and subsequently feel?

It sounds to me like if your attributing a grouchy mood to a humid or gloomy day, you may be less likely to assume that the bad mood is due to some sort of irrational belief you are currently holding onto. For example, there is a maladaptive belief that things are horrible when they are not the way they’d like them to be. Or the idea that human misery is invariably externally caused and is forced upon us by outside events. Determining a good or bad mood by weather alone allows us to escape responsibility for our feelings.

By examining our irrational beliefs, we can highlight that we often take unreasonably exaggerated viewpoints, such as awfulizing, when we tend to pessimistically generalize things being worse than they actually are. Holding such distorted irrational beliefs is the primary reason for experiencing negative emotions such as depression. Finding the rational alternative would lead to a healthy negative emotion. As cognitions, emotions, and behavior exist in a highly systemic relationship, we must claim responsibility for ourselves rather than blaming the weather. I challenge the readers here to listen to the song “Raindrops keep falling on my head” and find all the faulty assumptions…