Two-thirds of Italians are in a bad mood because of the severe heat wave that has plagued their country for several weeks – these are the results of the poll. They are confirmed by psychologists who say that with the heat, the level of irritation, rage and even aggression increases.
Italian meteorologists named the current wave of record temperatures Charon. He is a character known from mythology, but also from Dante’s Divine Comedy as the one who drove the damned to hell. This reference to a masterpiece of Italian literature was considered the most accurate, the more so as the media talks about infernal temperatures.
Specialists dealt with the mental well-being of the inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula in the days of the so-called the African anticyclone. They explained in the press that there is a chain reaction, mainly due to differences in melatonin and serotonin levels, which has a direct impact on mood and sleep problems. It also contributes to a change in metabolism, especially in the case of people who have problems with it. Increasing it disrupts the work of the liver, which in turn leads to the fact that more toxins circulate in the body, which is not indifferent to either the kidneys or the skin.
One-fifth of Italians suffer from insomnia these days and irritation is increasing. It is accompanied by general irritation and rage, trouble concentrating, loss of appetite. Therefore, one of the effects of heat exhaustion are, psychologists note, more frequent than usual attacks of fury, loss of control over oneself, violence. In some cases, the heat can even induce a state akin to depression.
As the temperature rises, the number of crimes also increases, according to police chronicles.
In the heat, a person loses his composure, and with him the ability to think rationally and make such decisions; it is replaced by rage – this is how the psychiatrist Michele Cucchi from Milan explains the phenomenon, quoted by the press.