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Climate Change and Mental HealthClimate change, severe weather events, heat waves, droughts, and floods, can have a negative impact on our mental health. Mental health clinicians are seeing more patients come in with symptoms of climate change anxiety—also referred to as eco-anxiety, eco-grief, or climate doom. 10% of Americans report feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge about global warming at least several days per week according to the Yale Program on Climate Communication. The acute and chronic mental health effects of climate change include the following:
When we think of extreme heat events, there is evidence that higher average temperatures are associated with increased use of emergency mental health services. Rising temperatures and extreme heat may have a negative impact on people suffering from depression and other mental illnesses. Psychiatric medications can increase individuals’ sensitivity to heat or sun, making it difficult for them to regulate their body temperature. Additionally, suicide rates fluctuate with weather, increasing in high temperatures. Warmer weather may also increase aggression and violence due to the impacts of heat on arousal, which decrease self-regulation and increase hostile thoughts in individuals. Stress and aggression can also put strains on social relationships and even have impacts on physical health, such as memory loss, sleep disorders, immune suppression, and changes in digestion. In general, climate change can be considered an additional source of stress to our everyday concerns, which may be tolerable for someone with many sources of support, but can be enough to serve as a tipping point for those who have fewer resources or who are already experiencing other stressors. Climate Anxiety Climate anxiety is fundamentally distress about climate change and its impacts on the landscape, and human existence. There is a physiological component that would include heart racing and shortness of breath, and a behavioral component. People with more severe forms of climate anxiety cannot be reassured or consoled about the future of the planet, and their anxiety can negatively affect their lives — such as their ability to go to school or work — and relationships. Additionally, climate anxiety is highly correlated with generalized anxiety, so it tends to affect people who are already anxious about other things. Anxiety and distress, whether in response to climate change or other factors, can also cause physical symptoms. Research on eco-anxiety has highlighted several, including feelings of nausea, weakness, fatigue, and numbness. Engaging in Collective Action to Support Mental Health Engaging in collective action can have a multitude of benefits including social connectedness with people who share similar goals and values. We know from a large body of literature that social support is one of the strongest predictors of mental well-being. We also thought that individuals who engaged in collective action—particularly if they saw those actions as having an impact—could have a stronger sense of self-efficacy and hope for the future. Stay Safe For more information on Climate Change and Mental Health, visit these resources: Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs and Attitudes, December 2022 CDC’s Climate and Health Page: Mental Health and Stress-Related Disorders Eco Anxious Stories |
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