Is the heat fueling depressed feelings?

Day after day of unbearable heat, Jan Cox feels herself sinking more into a depression.

“There does not seem to be any relief,” said Cox, who has given up gardening and outside activity as the heat index climbs to record highs in the Sunshine State.

The 79-year-old Central Florida resident says she has lived in the state all her life, but the unrelenting heat this summer has affected her mental health.

“I try not to dwell on it, but the feeling is there,” she said.

While health officials issue warnings for physical danger from extreme heat, like heatstroke and heat exhaustion, just as concerning are the links between high temperatures and mental health issues. Research shows the high temperatures, combined with the thick humidity plaguing the state, can take a toll on everything from Floridians’ day-to-day moods to the potential for a mental health crisis or self-harm.

“It’s been proven that protracted hot weather can make people depressed,” said Dr. Charles Raison, who has done research on heat intolerance and summer-related depression.

“It seems as if the system that modulates body temp also modulates mood.”

Raison, professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said people with mental illness often have trouble with thermal regulation.

“From our data, we know that people with depression tend to run body temperatures higher than average, and they don’t sweat as much,” he said. “So being depressed could set you up to not be able to tolerate heat well.”

The correlation between heat and mental health is only

The city redacted many police officers’ comments, citing active investigations. Among the officers’ allegations in the survey remarks, within the records released:

„ The chief allegedly “blasts a PD-wide email bashing” employees “prior to getting with the person in question to hear their side and get all the facts.”

„ “The Chief is disconnected from his officers and police work in general.”

„ “The Chief takes professional criticism personally, so nobody can say anything that would reflect as negative without being cast as a disgruntled employee. Which in turn lowers the morale of the department.”

„ Another officer claims that if they “give an opinion that doesn’t align with his, (they) are criticized, chastised, and in some cases openly retaliated against. This method ensures that we operate in a vacuum where employees are often unwilling to be honest or open about their ideas for fear that the chief will use his platform to belittle them.”

Through his spokesman, Arenal said in an email statement Friday: “We’re treating the survey results and comments seriously and are committed to addressing all actionable and valid concerns. Patience is required as this process unfolds.”

The city further addressed the plans for the outside review. “Under the guidance of the City Commission, management initiated the staff survey project and is currently working to have the results evaluated by external consultants to address the feedback received,” said City Manager Karen Brooks.

The survey polled all departments within the city, including the fire department and parks and recreation.

Her office last week said 131 officers responded to the survey, or 86%. She wrote in a written statement that the overall results “shows that our employees strongly approve of our work environment and how well we are doing overall.”

She said while the majority of the feedback citywide was positive, “we recognize that there were some comments expressing areas for improvement. … As high priorities the city will be addressing health insurance, compensation and professional/leadership development.”

Arenal was hired in 2015 to lead the agency, after being hired to a job that had not been publicly posted.

At the time, the agency had been under intense scrutiny for high-profile cases, and Arenal was the man who the city wanted to clean it all up.

Those cases included keeping as a working police dog a K-9 with a history of biting non-suspects. The dog was finally pulled from the force after lunging out of a squad car and biting a doughnut shop employee. That same month, officers used a stun gun on an unarmed man, stunning him 10 times within 10 minutes. He died two days later and the Medical Examiner’s Office ruled it a homicide. The case was settled for $750,000 in 2017.

The former chief, Michael Mann, was forced to resign at the city manager’s request because of the stun-gun case.

In a memo to personnel, Mann wrote, “For the good of the department, I think it is time for a change in leadership.”