I remember reading about people moving to sunnier, drier climates for their health.
- But I think that was more about respiratory health than it was about emotional health.
For me, I moved to improve my mental health. Living inside a house with a gas furnace running for like 5 months in a row played havoc with my emotions. But at the time, I didn’t realize that it was the climate and the lack of sunshine that played such a big role in how I was feeling. I finally started seeing a therapist and the more work I did, the more it became clear that I needed to get myself to the sunshine. So I ditched the gas furnace in favor of a heat pump and I’m so very glad that I did. It’s hard for a lot of people to open up about emotional well being. To often we relate emotional struggles with some sort of failure. I felt so unworthy for so long before I started doing things for me. Again, that’s a big part of this whole thing. Being willing to trade all that heating for all this air conditioning was a huge step because I was doing it for me. I wasn’t appeasing anyone or trying to just get along. These days, I make sure that I get my face in the sunshine every day that it’s shining. And that’s most days around here. Even when it’s broiling hot outside, I get out of the central air conditioning of my home to get that injection of sun goodness. It’s still so nice outside that I can even slip out of the commercial HVAC of the office for time in the sun during my lunch hour. It’s made all the difference in my life.