It was 95 degrees on Wednesday when I began to write this column, and the humidity above 65. I was walking on Court Street in Cincinnati. The heat and the humidity made me miserable. But apparently not as miserable as the guy walking in front of me screaming “BULL S_ _ T, BULL S_ _ T, BULL S_ _ T,” three times in a row, punctuated by a pause then another three bursts of profanity.
At first I did not know if he was shouting at someone nearby (hoping it was not me), on a cell phone I did not see, or talking to a voice inside his head. As I cautiously observed him spewing his apparent disgust over something from a distance, he then gyrated his head from side to side. All of a sudden I realized what was happening. Any guesses?
At first it was not so obvious to me, but as I searched my memory bank for reasons why someone would have this strange combination of verbal bursts of profanity followed by body tics (according to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 TR, body tics are fast, repetitive muscle movements that result in sudden and difficult to control body jolts), I came to a surprising but familiar diagnosis.
He did not seem upset or angry as you might expect someone who was shouting at the top of his lungs, and he definitely was not trying to get a bug off his head from the body tics he was displaying. He would just blurt out his curse and then twist his upper body as he strolled along the sidewalk, not interacting with anyone.
Tourette’s
My guess is he has Tourette’s. The American Psychological Association (APA) dictionary defines Tourette’s as a tic disorder characterized by many motor tics and one or more vocal tics, such as grunts, yelps, barks, sniffs, or (rarely) coprolalia. The tics occur many times a day; any period free of tics is never longer than 3 months. The age of onset for the disorder is before 18 years; in most cases, it starts during childhood or early adolescence. The APA dictionary defines coprolalia as “spontaneous, unprovoked, and uncontrollable use of obscene or profane words and expressions, particularly those related to feces.” The condition is also referred to as Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome and was first described in 1885 by Georges Gilles de la Tourette (1857–1904) a French physician.
But this column, you may have guessed by its title, is not about Tourette’s (By the way, if you want to see an excellent movie which features a lead with Tourette’s, look up “Motherless Brooklyn” starring Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alec Baldwin, which came out in 2019).
This past Wednesday was one of several days that hit 90 degrees or more in Cincinnati. Time for a dunk in the pool, an extra shower, and not wearing a tie or jacket. But, according to the National Weather Service, the heat wave is a global trend as 2023 was the hottest record ever!
Although the climate has been politicized, this column is not a political statement about who or what is causing the unrelenting heat. We know it is hot. Although we can debate if its manmade or not, we cannot deny the heat is here and will continue through the summer and the other seasons as well. If 2024 is like 2023, we are in for some doozy days ahead.
Climate change is not a myth
According to a Newsweek online article by Sophie Clark, last week (June 2024) Mexico’s Sonoran Desert hit an amazing 125 Fahrenheit! The article goes on to cite some terrible statistics: “These extraordinary temperatures, measured by Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at Climate Central, were part of a deadly heat wave that has swept across Mexico, Central America and the Southwestern United States, killing 125 people.”
Extreme heat events are serious challenges for us humans as well as the other animals that inhabit the earth. The heat is causing adverse health issues for the young and old, those who are physically frail as well as those who have mental illness.
These higher temperatures are terrible, and like the man I saw on the street in Cincinnati, the temperatures only make things worse for those with underlying psychological issues.
Dr. Austin Perimutter, in his Psychology Today article “Brain Under Fire: The Consequences of Excess Heat Exposure,” (August 2023) said, “high temperatures may harm the brain.”
Perimutter went on to suggest some dire consequences: “Higher temperatures may also pose significant risks to our brain health — including higher chances of mental health problems and (may) even increase the odds of violent behavior.”
As humans, we are vulnerable to excessive heat
Hospital admissions for mental health conditions are higher during heat waves too. According to Perimutter, “Exposure to extremes of heat is associated with more cognitive decline in socially vulnerable populations. Higher temperatures are linked to a higher rate of violent crime, especially in young men. Higher temperatures correlate with higher risk for mood disorders, especially during heatwaves of 3 or more days.”
Perimutter also commented about the elderly: “The elderly and those with underlying dementia are also vulnerable as higher temperatures are linked to an increased risk of dementia hospitalization.”
It is not easy to avoid the heat besides going inside where there is air conditioning. But cities have hotter days than the suburbs and the country.
According to Sarah Chapman, James Watson, Alvaro Salazar et.al., 2017 in their article “The impact of urbanization and climate change on urban temperatures: a systematic review” in Landscape Ecology, the difference is due to Urban Heat Islands (UHIs).
Urban and suburban ecosystems
“These UHIs occur because cities experience significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.” The article describes some of the reasons, including “the buildings and roads that absorb and re-emit heat more effectively than natural landscapes like forests, and water bodies. Ecologically, during the day, unshaded roads and buildings accumulate heat, which radiates into the surrounding air. At night, the temperature difference remains pronounced, especially under weak wind conditions.”
The examples of the ill-effects of heat seem endless at times. There have been reports like those from the journal Nature and their article “The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States,” authored by The US Global Change Research Program, which state that the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves can lead to heat exhaustion, heatstroke and even death. The same article points to the increase of respiratory and cardiovascular disease brought on by poor air quality due to the heating up of the atmosphere.
All is not lost
We can reduce negative climate affects, but the job is daunting. Acceptance is not the answer but is part of the problem. Reducing pollution, supporting the greening of vacant lots and conserving green areas when buildings have fallen into disuse are all readily available options without the excessive burden of new financial investments.
Niklas Hagelberg, the United Nation’s Environmental Programme’s Climate Change coordinator recommends the following,
• Encourage others by doing your part and support those who reduce their carbon footprint.
• Keep up the political pressure for politicians to take the necessary actions supported by the scientific community.
• Reduce your drive and fly time.
• Reduce your home heating and increase your temperature in the summertime by two degrees in both directions.
• Stop food waste and eat a more plant-based diet.
Hope is not a plan, but when we make personal changes, we can affect significant improvement.
Be well. Stay safe. Thanks for reading the column. Please go to the AI website (americanisraelite.com) and post a comment.
Questions? Suggestions? Send me an email at psychology@americanisraelite.com. See you here next month.
