“So What if I’m Not OK?” A Discussion on Meteorologists’ Emotional Wellbeing and Healthy Coping Mechanisms in the Face of Mental Health Challenges

Abstract

Meteorologists across the weather enterprise are faced with the daunting task of predicting future states of the atmosphere and communicating vital meteorological information to the public. This is an emotionally draining element of the job, at the forefront of many meteorologists’ minds and often a source of mental duress which may lead to such negative health outcomes as fatigue, burnout, depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome (which involves feelings of self-doubt and failure, and the perception that one is being negatively evaluated and judged). It has been our observation that the expectations and demands of the meteorological field contribute to and exacerbate these feelings, often contributing to one’s feeling as though he or she is drowning in shallow water. It is, therefore, our goal to discuss here what we have observed to be some of the main triggers for these outcomes–especially impostor syndrome–among meteorological professionals. Through an analysis of publicly-available tweets, in sharing an introspective examination of our own mental health experiences in meteorology, and in discussing anecdotal evidence from conversations had with other meteorological professionals, we aim to discuss the occurrence of anxiety, depression, and impostor syndrome across the weather enterprise. In closing, we will discuss empirically-driven methods and some of our personal psychological defense strategies, by which meteorologists may better cope with and counteract negative mental health outcomes.

Impostor Syndrome and its Association with Adolescent Experiences of Parenting Styles in General and Two Prototypically-High IS Populations

“…The discrepancy in meteorologists experiencing lower conditions of worth and intrusive parenting aside, meteorologists work within an intensely competitive field and face numerous stressors due to the ways in which they interact with the general public; they often not only engage in social comparison but also judge themselves (Bolton & DePodwin, 2019. Still, the lack of notable meteorological workplace subgroup differences suggests that, as with other individual differences (Bolton & Ault, 2020), weather professionals internalize these traits fairly uniformly on average in the context of their own in-group.…”

“…Had we been able to conduct statistical testing, our prediction that broadcast meteorologists socially-compare most often would have been rejected. This is surprising given the nature of the broadcast subsector especially (Bolton & DePodwin, 2019;Henson, 2010), suggesting that as with other individual differences (Bolton & Ault, 2020), meteorologists may be less differentiated than not.…”

“…While experiences of IS are common in the U.S. (Salkulku & Alexander, 2011), some populations experience it more than others (e. g., Ahmed et al, 2020;Bravata et al 2020;Gottlieb et al 2020). It is unclear whether their dispositions incline them to develop IS because of their attributional styles or tendencies for ruminative thinking (Clance & Imes, 1978), whether they are attracted to fields that are conducive to competition, upward and downward comparison, and other experiences likely to induce IS (e.g., Bolton & DePodwin, 2019;Giddens, 2021), or whether cut-throat interpersonal experience in particular fields fosters and reinforces feelings of IS (Jackson, 2018;Liu, 2020;Anderson-Zorn et al, 2021).…”

“…Imposter syndrome was first analyzed conceptually in meteorologists by Bolton andDePodwin (2019, 2020), who noted the psychologically unforgiving nature of the atmospheric science field. Intense university curricula (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, n.d.); fierce competition for field internships and regular job openings at the student as well as the professional level (Bolton & DePodwin, 2019); constant, gender-invariant public scrutiny for weather forecasters on television, from within the field as much as from outside (Connell, 2022;Cranford, 2018;Green Jr. et al, 2019;Strong, 2018); continual juggling of unstable shiftwork (Bolton & Ault, 2020); and ever-changing requirements for professional development (American Meteorological Society, 2022) are just a few stressors within the meteorological field. In light of all this, it's no wonder meteorologists would endure feelings of insecurity and self-perceived fraudulence, even in the face of opposing evidence of their competence (Clance, 1985).…”

An Integrationist, Meteorologist-oriented Perspective on Trauma and Mental Health Coping

“…ourselves or anyone else. " -Fred Rogers (1928-2003 Meteorologists are increasingly concerned with mental health, as evidenced by discussions in publications (Bolton, Ault, Greenberg, & Baron-Cohen, 2018;Bolton & Ault, 2020;Bolton & DePodwin, 2019;Gilford, Moser, DePodwin, Moulton, & Watson, 2019), presentations at weather and other conferences, and in postings on social media. However, discourse has been primarily anecdotal, while psychological concepts related to trauma have been only loosely-defined.…”