Is the cold psychological? The psychologist answers

It is very common to hear that the cold is psychological. As this is a phrase that is said a lot – especially now in autumn and winter – I decided to answer a question present in several conversations. After all, is the cold really psychological?

Well, to answer this question we must first say what is psychological, right? Have you ever heard or know what psychological means?

Psychological comes from psyche, a Greek word that means soul. So, when we say that the cold is psychological, we are saying that the cold is psychic, the cold comes from the soul and not from the body.

Now, the question is whether the cold is psychological or whether the cold is bodily. Let’s see:

The cold is not psychological because we know that the external temperature affects the organism which will react to the environment in a certain way. For example, at high temperatures the body sweats to balance the temperature, and at low temperatures the body has its own protection mechanisms, such as hair standing on end, the body shrinks, etc.

So, the cold is not psychological because there is something objective with which we can be sure that people will react with typical responses, according to the temperature.

Just think of the number of people who will go to the beach when it’s 10 degrees Celsius. The number will, of course, be infinitely less than the number of people who will go out when it is 35-40 degrees.

However, even if we have an objective, physical measure, verifiable through instruments to know that cold – and heat – affect organisms, we also have to take into account that there are subjective and cultural factors in the way the environment is interpreted.

Here in my city, São Lourenço, south of Minas, the cold is relatively intense, easily reaching temperatures of 5 to 15 degrees at night in autumn and winter. Not long ago, an Englishman lived here who, on the coldest winter nights, when the temperature was close to zero degrees, would go out in shorts and a shirt. When we asked him if he wasn’t cold (and everyone was!) he would say that the temperature was like England in summer. For him, it was fine, it looked like a nice night, not cold at all.

In this case, the cultural factor is clear. As he was born in a much colder country than ours, he was already used to the cold. Winter temperatures were summer temperatures for him. I don’t know how accurate this is, but his subjective experience was unquestionable. He really didn’t need sweaters.

Another example, but the opposite, is that of our cousins ​​who live in Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte. When they came here, they wore sweaters when it was 20-25 degrees! That is, no one was feeling cold, but as they were not used to this weather, they felt that the air was freezing and that it was necessary to dress warmly.

Now, the most significant proof to say that the cold is, to a certain extent, psychological is to do the following: on a cold day, try, for example, getting out of the shower and singing a song, or listening to a song in your head. head. When we shift our focus from the kinesthetic, from bodily sensations, to the auditory, our attention shifts and it is certain that you will feel less cold, and you may not even notice that you are cold.

So the cold is indeed psychological, as it can be altered by the way we feel the cold, whether from our life story, influenced by culture, or by shifting our attention to another focus, such as being distracted by listening music, when we could be shaking.

Related