Are you Weather Sensitive? How Barometric Sensitivity is a real thing…

We're Part of Nature... Not Apart from it.....

We’ve had quite the howler of weather days here in the UK this weekend. Unbelievably windy! And one of the biggest things I've noticed since developing M.E. and MCAS is how much the weather affects me.

Not just extreme heat. Or the freezing cold. All of it.

Wind. Humidity. Storms. Pressure changes. Damp days. Drizzly days. Those strange days when the weather can't seem to make its mind up.

A few months ago, I walked along the seafront to meet my mum for coffee on Mother’s Day. I live on the beachfront and so walked for about 20 minutes along the promenade to meet her…

The only thing was - it was REALLY windy.

Not a gentle breeze. The kind of wind that makes you lean sideways when you're walking and feel like with one gust it might turn you into Mary Poppins and have you flying over those rooftops in a nano second!

By the time I got to the De La Warr, I already felt rattled. Not tired exactly. More spaced out and dizzy, as though somebody had grabbed me and given me a good shake. Then we sat outside for an hour drinking coffee in the wind and by the time I got home I felt completely weather-beaten and drained. As though somebody had spent the afternoon smacking me around the face.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that many people with sensitive systems (and therefore superpowers.... ) seem to have an almost uncanny ability to predict a storm before it arrives. They'll tell you that their pain has increased, they're feeling headachy, dizzy, exhausted or inflamed, and then a few hours later the weather forecast catches up with what their body already knew.

And then in the midst of extreme weather, they'll get a flare of symptoms. If you have MCAS or M.E then you'll know this to be true.

For years I thought that my body just needed to stop being so delicate. Now I think there may be more to it than we realise.

Barometric Sensitivity is a real phenomenon. Barometric pressure refers to the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on us. When weather systems move in, particularly before storms, atmospheric pressure can change quite rapidly. Researchers believe these changes may influence blood vessels, inflammation, fluid balance, pain perception and nervous system function. This may explain why some people notice headaches, joint pain, fatigue, dizziness or changes in symptoms when the weather shifts.

But I don't think it's just about barometric pressure.

Weather isn't simply weather.

Weather changes humidity. It changes temperature. It changes mould growth. It changes pollen counts. It changes air quality. It changes how much sunlight we receive. It changes how much time we spend outdoors. It changes the environment around us in hundreds of subtle ways.

And here's where things get really interesting.

Mast cells are not simply histamine-producing cells. They are environmental sensing cells. They sit at the body's interfaces with the outside world — the skin, the respiratory tract, the gut and connective tissues — constantly gathering information about what's happening around us. Their job is to monitor the environment and respond when they perceive a threat.

When you think about mast cells in that way, it becomes much easier to understand why changing weather conditions might influence symptoms in some people.

Changes in temperature. Changes in humidity. Changes in pollen.

Changes in mould spores. Changes in air quality. Changes in atmospheric pressure.

All of these things represent changes in the environment that mast cells are constantly monitoring.

Then there's the microbiome.

One of the things I find fascinating is that we like to think of ourselves as separate individuals wandering around independently of nature. In reality, we're carrying around trillions of microorganisms that play a huge role in our health. Bacteria and human cells exist in a near 1:1 ratio. A typical adult body has about 30 trillion human cells and roughly 39 trillion bacterial cells. This means you only have about 1.3 times more bacteria than human cells so we're very much walking ecosystems.

And ecosystems respond to their environment.

Think about what happens during a prolonged damp spell. Fungi love those conditions. Mould loves those conditions. Microbial activity changes. The things we're exposed to change. The air we breathe changes. For somebody with allergies, asthma, MCAS or a highly reactive immune system, that may matter a great deal.

Then there are the indirect effects. When the weather is cold, wet and miserable, most of us spend less time outdoors. We get less sunlight. Less fresh air. Less exposure to nature. We spend more time inside with windows closed. The environment changes and our behaviour changes with it.

The more I've learnt about health, the more I've realised that we've got the relationship backwards.

We readily accept that weather affects trees.

We accept that it affects flowers.

We accept that it affects fungi.

We accept that it affects mould.

We accept that it affects animals.

Yet somehow we're surprised when it affects us.

Why? We're nature too. We're not separate from nature. We're part of it.

I think that's why so many sensitive people notice these things. We notice foods. We notice chemicals. We notice fragrances. We notice stress. We notice lack of sleep. We notice changes in light, sound and weather. Sometimes that level of sensitivity can feel exhausting.

But perhaps there's another way of looking at it.

Perhaps sensitivity isn't always a weakness.

It's information. It's awareness.

I can't change the weather. Trust me, I've looked into it. And have now stopped shouting at the sky so much when it’s weather my body isn’t loving….

But I can understand my patterns. I now know that walking along a very windy seafront and then sitting outside in it for an hour probably isn't going to be particularly supportive for my nervous system or my mast cells!

That's not a weakness. That's useful information.

Information that helps me make better decisions and work with my body rather than constantly fighting against it.

The downside is that a windy day, a storm front or a humid week can sometimes knock us sideways.

For me, my hypersensitive body and brain also goes into an autopilot fearful mode (ie. the wind scares me!) and I can therefore apply the same principles I do to make my body feel safe and know it is safe when other perceived threats come around....

The upside of all this is that we become deeply aware of our connection to the world around us.

And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

After all, we're part of nature, not apart from it.

I’d love to know your experiences of this. Does it resonate? Let me know in the comments below.

Peace, love and health 💚

Jo