Feeling the cold

Warmth

Are women more sensitive to the cold than men? Are irish women particularly sensitive to the cold? So many of the females I know comment on the cold in the house, the restaurant, their workplace … the heat and having the heat on when they come in in the evening or get up in the morning etc is a major concerns. I rarely encounter the same emphasis on the temperature among men. It’s only when it’s icy cold that the males I know actually think about putting on the heat, they never return from a night at the pub or in a restaurant and comment on the heat; it just doesn’t seem to feature as dominantly on their radar!

I HATE being cold, it’s such an unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling. One of the reasons I’m so reluctant to embrace water sports, including swimming, skiing and any outdoor activities is my dislike of the cold. I’m a heat fiend. Perhaps that’s why it really upset me to hear of a homeless man dying in a doorway from hypothermia. I think of how dreadfully uncomfortable he may have been in the hours before his death, gradually getting colder and colder. To be homeless, for me is one of the worst possible situations a human could encounter. Whenever we have problems, difficulties, however dreadful they may be not having a bed to sleep in away from the elements surely must magnify them and deepen the distress. Feeling every minute of the cold, being so vulnerable to human unkindness and the elements, a hardship surely beyond human tolerance.

Whether an individual is an alcoholic or a drug addict, irrespective of what illnesses, addictions, and difficulties they have, no one should have to suffer like this.

What can I do? I have a couple of old warm winter coats I can donate to the Simon Community, I can probably gather some from others too and perhaps some hats and scarfs. Hopefully other donations and the cooperation of the government will come together to provide hostel accommodation, wet and dry and adequate supports for those who have found themselves in this position, or who have fallen into this way of life due to addiction.