Roscrea's Emma Coonan - 'Let’s talk about wellbeing and the weather'
As we navigate warmer weather this week, we may not all feel sunny inside - writes Emma in her June column
As June draws to a close, we have enjoyed a mixed bag of sun, hail, and shine over the last few weeks. Like most reliable Irish summers, leaving the house with both sunglasses and a raincoat has been advisable, as we continue to navigate the changeable Irish weather.
Welcomed by some and dreaded by others, headlines this week report a heat wave to come, with Met Eireann signposting emergency warnings for many parts of the country.
Often the great divider and equaliser, it is not unusual for the same weather forecast to reach our ears, yet elicit very different responses.
What is more usual of course, is to talk about the weather nonetheless. So what are we really talking about when we talk about the weather?
A Safer Topic
Whether we find ourselves complaining about the rain or wishing for the sun, the Irish weather is often a talking point in many of our day to day conversations.
While the rain, hail, or shine is important, what is often more important is how we feel about it, as well as other events occurring in our lives.
When we run into a neighbour on the street, take that first sip of a pint or coffee with a friend, or answer a loved one when they ask ‘how are you?’ speaking about how we really feel can sometimes feel difficult.
Often we think the other person surely doesn’t want to know, or perhaps we just don’t know where to begin. And so we find ourselves chatting about how we feel about the sun, rain, wind, or shine surrounding us instead.
While weather can be a safer topic to have a conversation about, it usually shines some light on how we are feeling overall.
If we are feeling low, often we don’t welcome the invitation to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Likewise, the pouring rain may exacerbate feelings of gloom and sadness. Whatever is happening in our lives, the weather can often make or break our mood.
A Softer Landing
A great advocate for mental health and wellbeing, the actor and comedian Stephen Fry has spoken out about his own mental health, speaking openly in recent months about his battles with mood and his mental health struggles.
As we consider the platform the weather gives us to talk about how we feel, Stephen Fry similarly likens mental health to the weather, saying in a recent interview that how we are feeling is like the weather, and just like what’s happening for us, “the weather is real.”
He goes on to observe that we cannot pretend it is not happening, no more so than we can pretend it is not raining. In a simple yet eloquent observation, he says “it's not something in your control. It will eventually stop, it always has and it always will stop and the sun will come out at some point.”
In its simplicity, thinking about our feelings as being like the weather, can help us to understand them a little better, and also to remember that, like most things in life, this too shall pass.
Similarly, where we can’t yet find the words to talk about how we feel, talking about the weather can give us that softer landing we need to express ourselves and hopefully find the courage after that first weather related conversation starter to share a little more with a trusted friend or companion.
Learning to Lean Into the Weather, and Wellbeing
As those of us living in Ireland will have learned at this stage, learning to lean into the weather is the only way to navigate this Island’s changeable seasons and microclimates. Raging at the rain, or hating the heat is of course a losing battle which only brings us a fight we cannot win.
As we consider our own weather, mindfulness practices can help us to lean into our wellbeing, and find softer landings as we navigate the changeable seasons of our moods and feelings, as well as the ever changing and unpredictable events of our lives.
Like the weather, we cannot predict or control what’s to come, but we can take small steps to choose how we respond, with wellbeing in mind.
Simple practices like taking a pause before we judge ourselves or others, can help us to accept that for now this is what’s going on, but that it won’t last forever. This approach can help us to lead with compassion, to not beat ourselves up, and to see the sunlight at the end of the tunnel.
A final thought
As we navigate warmer weather this week, we may not all feel sunny inside. Taking simple steps to navigate both the weather and our mood can help us to lean into the weather, and our wellbeing.