By Christel Broederlow
Please note: If you recognize any of these symptoms, please consult your Physician and/or Health Professional if you have any concerns. These are my personal observations and are not factual evidence linking weather hypersensitivity to being empathic. What may occur in one empath can be completely unseen in another. Circumstances vary from person to person, place to place. It is of note that A. Schienle in a 1998 article “Biological Effects of Very Low Frequency Atmospherics in Humans: a Review” in the Journal of Scientific Exploration indicated that a large percentage of the population is weather sensitive and unaware of the physiological effects.
It is not uncommon for empaths to experience some level of sensitivity to weather in one form or another. The type of sensitivity can vary from headaches/migraines, allergies to rheumatic pains in the joints, etc. Hence, there is the need to seek and pursue medical and/or professional advice and increase understanding in that regard.
The understanding I have personally gained in researching Weather Hypersensitivities has helped me tremendously. I have learned what causes my body to react to the weather changes and to appreciate how I will respond prior to, during and after each occurrence, as well as what methods I can use immediately in making it more bearable/tolerable and less painful.
The hypersensitivities I experience are not one-time occurrences. They are a regular day-to-day part of my life though extreme and unusual to most. In a nutshell, many empaths don’t experience to the degree that I do and vice versa. Common sense and your personal observations of yourself are of the utmost importance, as well as regular contact with your health professional.
WEATHER HYPERSENSITIVITY
From a very young age, I had a form of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in the knees. As I became an adult, I would experience the pains in my elbows and, occasionally, in the wrists. I became adept at connecting this pain to weather/climatic changes. My ability to forecast weather came with an accuracy that never failed. In my growing awareness of RA effects on my physical body, I could also accurately distinguish what kinds of weather changes would occur. I came to be able to predict different kinds of weather: frosts, rain, the intensity of the rain, approaching storms, the velocity of storms, even accurately predicting the storm’s arrival over our house.
The RA in the knees was barely tolerable and I had tried various forms of medication over the years, along with other techniques, to help ease the pain. I found heated wheat packs somewhat comfortable and tolerable. Though they did not heal the RA completely, they were enough to take the edge off. At times, the RA would spread up the leg (without a doubt I could/can feel it traveling internally) and into the hip joint. This would cause the greatest of pain and make walking unbearably painful.
My family and I moved to Queensland five years ago. During this time I noticed a hypersensitivity to weather like never before. I could feel physically the climatic changes and approaching storms at a speed that would often take my breath away (literally speaking). The pressure would build up in my chest almost feeling like anxiety, yet different. At first, I thought it was just occasional. I started to record my weather predictions, along with the temperature for the day and humidity based on what I felt it to be.
I was accustomed by now to tuning in to the manner in which my physical body responded to the weather and recording weather readings of temperature, humidity, cloud formation, storm approaching, estimated time of arrival, etc. I would also support my findings by going outdoors and record what I could visually see, hear, smell, taste and at times touch.
My accuracy was “spot on” every time and this was not an act of random guessing. Ideal confirmation of my personal weather sensitivities would come through the actual Weather Report of the evening News. I would also make a habit of journaling this against my daily findings. When there was a shift in the weather felt by my physical body earlier in the day, the News Report would support my personal findings with their apologies to not being able to broadcast the actual changes more accurately.
In time, I came to forgive the inaccuracies sometimes reported in the media and trust my own body. My family quickly learned to take my word when I said, “A storm is approaching, time to batten down the hatches!”
One particular day I had a strong intuitive pull, yet the pull felt different from what I was accustomed to. Throughout the day, I would mention this to my husband. He too could feel “something in the air”. It was one of those moments that made you feel on edge–knowing something big was going to happen. It was a fine clear, sunny day. Around 1 p.m., I was standing in the lounge room looking out the window over the back yard. I went into a dazed state suddenly and a clear vision of our backyard being completely underwater appeared. I shrugged it off foolishly and didn’t even bother to mention it to my husband.
The feeling of “something in the air” intensified and within a couple of hours, the rains came heavily. Within five hours our backyard and house was being completely washed out. The storm drains just could not tolerate the deluge of rain. The night skies became as light as day with continuous lightening. A freak 1-in-100-years storm hit our area. We lost 95% of our belongings from that storm, though most importantly saved our lives! This event showed an increase, not only in my knowing actual physical weather patterns, but also in my psychically seeing them beforehand. I would listen in the future to such signs!
I have physical effects of fatigue, energy increase/decrease, nausea, RA, increased heart rate (a racing feeling), headaches, migraines, loss of appetite, irregular sleep patterns (sensing the weather when asleep and being awakened prior to weather changing over house)—all related to the weather.
Some people may consider moving to areas where the weather is steadier. That is not an option I choose in this present moment. However, the weather’s adverse effects on the RA, were part of our choice of moving from New Zealand’s (homeland) cold and extreme climate to Australia’s Queensland with the warmer, tropical one. The RA is less frequent here in Australia, although I am much more sensitive in other aspects now. Though I love the sunshine here, it is the winter period that is my favorite–sunny clear skies, and mild pleasant temperatures.
It is well documented the weather can physically and psychologically affect peoples emotions. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is another form of weather affecting humans, though it differs from my personal sensitivities. In New Zealand’s winter period of 2002, there were 40 days of consistent rain. The News reported the overall gloomy feeling of the people in the areas most affected. SAD was most noticeable in the increased hospital visitations, varying degrees of depressive states and the wish for the rain to clear up. If you often feel depressed during the winter months, it is worthwhile looking into SAD and consulting your Health Professional.
As I research intently Weather (WS), Electronic (EHS/EMF) and Chemical (CHS) Hypersensitivities, I find a fine line connecting these for myself personally. This appears rather a broad and unrelated area, yet I have been able to record specific connections between these sensitivities or possible direct links. My studies continue.
Copyright © 2002 Christel Broederlow