Why Heatwaves Can Make OCD Feel So Much Worse

If you've been finding your OCD noticeably harder to manage during this summer's heatwave, you're not imagining it.

Here in the UK, we've experienced periods of unusually high temperatures. Around the world, many countries are seeing hotter summers that last longer than they used to. In Britain, there's an added challenge: many of our homes, especially Victorian houses, were built to keep heat in during winter, not to keep it out during summer.

As an OCD therapist, I've noticed something interesting over recent weeks. I've had more clients reaching crisis point than I would normally expect. Clients who had previously been coping reasonably well suddenly report feeling overwhelmed, helpless, emotionally exhausted and unable to do the very things they know would help.

I can't help wondering how much of that is simply the extra burden that prolonged heat places on an already overloaded nervous system.

Heat doesn't create OCD.

It doesn't suddenly make someone develop intrusive thoughts or compulsions. But it does add another layer of stress.

When we're too hot, the body has to work much harder to regulate its temperature. Heart rate increases, we sweat more, sleep is often disrupted and, if we're not careful, dehydration can creep in. All of this requires energy from the body and the nervous system.

For someone already living with OCD, whose mind may already be spending hours every day dealing with anxiety, uncertainty, rumination and compulsions, that additional physiological load can be enough to push them beyond their usual coping capacity.

Entering the "Red Zone"

Many of my clients will recognise the language of the red zone.

The red zone isn't simply anxiety.

It's the point where the nervous system has become overwhelmed. Thinking clearly becomes difficult. Everything feels like hard work. Even simple decisions require enormous effort.

Clients often describe:

• Feeling constantly overwhelmed.

• Anxiety that seems impossible to settle.

• A sense of helplessness.

• Depersonalisation or derealisation.

• Difficulty concentrating.

• Everyday tasks feeling impossible.

• A dramatic increase in OCD urges and compulsions.

From a polyvagal perspective, many therapists describe this as moving beyond ordinary fight-or-flight into what is sometimes called dorsal vagal shutdown. While this is one clinical framework rather than an established scientific fact, many people find it captures their lived experience remarkably well.

It can also look very similar to depression, which may be one of several reasons why OCD and depression so often occur together.

It Doesn't Mean You've Lost Your Progress

One of the most discouraging experiences during a difficult period is feeling as though all the progress you've made has suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps resisting compulsions suddenly feels much harder.

Perhaps your medication seems less effective.

Perhaps the intrusive thoughts feel louder than they have for months.

In most cases, this doesn't mean you've suddenly gone backwards.

Think of it like hiking up a mountain. Imagine you've trained for months, your legs have become stronger and your fitness has improved. Then someone quietly adds another ten kilograms to your backpack.

Your muscles haven't suddenly become weaker.

The mountain hasn't become steeper.

You're simply carrying a much heavier load.

Heat, poor sleep, dehydration and the physical effort of regulating body temperature all add extra weight to the nervous system. The skills you've learned through therapy haven't disappeared. The progress you've made hasn't suddenly been erased.

You're simply having to access those skills while carrying a much heavier load than usual.

Reduce the Overall Load

This is why, during a heatwave, I encourage my clients to take self-care particularly seriously.

Cooling your body won't cure OCD.

But it can reduce one important source of stress, leaving your nervous system with more capacity to deal with everything else.

Simple things really do matter:

• Keep curtains and blinds closed during the hottest part of the day.

• Open windows when the outside air becomes cooler, especially overnight.

• Use fans to increase airflow.

• Take cool showers.

• Wear light, breathable clothing.

• Stay well hydrated.

• If possible, spend time in air-conditioned places such as libraries, cafés, shopping centres or offices if your home remains excessively hot.

Removing one source of stress doesn't eliminate OCD.

But it often makes life feel just that little bit more manageable.

Help Your Nervous System Carry the Load

Cooling the body is only one part of the picture.

I also encourage clients to reduce the overall load on their nervous system in whatever healthy ways they can.

That might include:

• Going for a walk, especially somewhere green and shaded.

• Spending time in nature.

• Connecting with supportive people who naturally take your attention away from rumination.

• Gentle stretching or exercise.

• Breathwork that helps settle the nervous system.

• EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) tapping or other approaches that help reduce physiological arousal.

• If faith is important to you, prayer or quietly placing your worries into G-d's/Gods'/Godess's hands, practising compassion towards yourself while allowing difficult thoughts and emotions to come and go without becoming caught up in them.

None of these techniques replaces good OCD therapy.

But together they can reduce the background level of overwhelm, making it easier for your brain to cope.

Why I Combine Cognitive and Somatic Approaches

CBT with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) remains the gold-standard psychological treatment for OCD and has helped countless people regain their lives.

In my clinical experience, however, some clients—particularly those who are highly overwhelmed or have significant trauma histories—struggle to make full use of ERP on its own. Before they can consistently engage in exposure work, they often benefit from approaches that help regulate their nervous system.

That's why, in my RIOT Method, I combine evidence-based CBT and ERP with somatic techniques such as breathwork, EFT tapping and other body-based strategies. The goal isn't to replace ERP—it's to help people become more able to engage with it and apply it consistently, particularly when life is placing extra demands on the nervous system, such as during prolonged periods of extreme heat.

Don't Wait Until You're in Crisis

One of the biggest mistakes I see is people waiting until OCD has completely taken over again before asking for help.

If you've had CBT or ERP in the past and you've noticed your OCD quietly beginning to creep back, that's often the ideal time to reach out.

Early intervention is almost always easier than trying to recover after OCD has once again become firmly established.

Likewise, if you're noticing a significant decline in your mental health—persistent inability to function, overwhelming anxiety, severe depression, inability to work or care for yourself, or thoughts of suicide—please seek professional help promptly. That may mean speaking to your GP, a psychiatrist or an OCD specialist who can help you stabilise before things deteriorate further.

You don't have to wait until everything falls apart.

A Final Thought

Heatwaves don't create OCD. But they can amplify it by placing additional strain on an already overworked nervous system. So during periods of extreme heat, stay cool. Be gentle with yourself. Reduce every unnecessary source of stress that you can. Give your nervous system the best chance to recover.

And if OCD is beginning to gain ground again, don't wait for it to reclaim its place in your life.

The earlier you seek support, the easier it usually is to regain control.

I believe that with the right combination of evidence-based psychological treatment, nervous system regulation and compassionate support, even difficult periods like these can become something you move through, rather than something that overwhelms you.