How can we prepare to deal with the psychological impacts of climate changes?

Young people may be particularly vulnerable to such feelings when they witness a lack of urgency by the world’s political leaders to address environmental dangers such as climate change, habitat loss, and species extinction.

In a recent Survey of 10,000 individuals aged 16–25 years in 10 countries, over 45% said their feelings about climate change had a negative impact on their daily lives and functioning.

Ratings of distress and anxiety were strongly associated with the perception that the government’s response to the climate emergency was inadequate.

One of the study’s authors, Caroline Hickman, Ph.D.An eco-anxiety specialist in children and young adults, he is a psychotherapist from the University of Bath.

“I’ve been listening for 10 years to children and young people telling me that they feel doomed, they feel abandoned, they feel betrayed,” she told a Recent webinar on eco-anxietyOrganised by Public Policy Projects.

She recalled an occasion when a 10-year-old boy got very angry trying to make her understand what it is like as a child growing up in today’s world: “[Y]ou grew up thinking that polar bears would be there forever, he said, I’m growing up knowing they will go extinct.”

Climate change is already having a direct impact on human health.

Scientists have accumulated a wealth evidence on the effects of climate change. Physical healthHowever, research on how it affects mental health has been less extensive.

But there is more. Recent reviewThere were 120 studies that examined extreme weather events over the past 20-years. These included droughts, heat, wildfires and floods.

• Psychological distress
• Worsening mental health, especially for those with psychiatric diagnoses
• Increased psychiatric hospitalizations
• Suicide rates are rising

The authors conclude that climate-related changes are likely to have a negative impact on mental health. This is not just through direct exposure to traumatic weather events, but also indirectly through their knock-on effects like poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and unemployment.

They also note that extreme weather events can have a disproportionately high impact on people who are already vulnerable such as older people and those with preexisting mental illnesses.

The American Psychiatric AssociationThe mental health effects of climate changes will have a range of mild stress to a rise in psychiatric diagnoses including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The APA warns that some people might resort to high-risk behaviors such as increased alcohol consumption to cope with the changing climate.

Research shows that extreme heat is associated with higher rates of heart disease. ViolenceAnd suicideThis could be due to Sleep disturbancesand agitation.

There are also Strong evidenceThere is a strong correlation between extreme heat and an increase in mental illness hospital admissions.

The Climate Psychiatry AllianceProvides practical tips for people who are at risk to stay cool during heatwaves.

Among its recommendations are:

• Ask a friend or neighbor for regular check-ups
• Knowing how to recognize heatstroke signs
• Consult your healthcare professional before you make any changes to your medication during the hotter months.

According to the APABeing prepared for extreme weather events not only makes sense but also helps people to manage their ongoing emotional responses in the face of climate change.

Be prepared for the worst

These are the recommendations of the organization:

• Making your household Emergency plansWhat will you do if you split?
• How to prepare an Kit for an emergency
• To help disaster planning and share resources and skills within the local community, it is important to build strong social networks

Lifestyle changes

Similarly, there is growing evidence that pro-environmental lifestyle changes, such as minimizing one’s carbon footprint and using less of the planet’s limited resources, can help improve psychological well-being in the face of climate threats.

A studyA study of 1,220 Canadians and 1,001 Americans found that people who took pro-environmental actions predicted higher levels of satisfaction with their lives, even when they were controlled for demographic characteristics like age, income, education, and gender.

This association with life satisfaction was found for 37 of the 39 pro-environmental behaviors that were surveyed. Among the beneficial activities were:

• Composting at home
• Grow your own food
• Organic food
• Talking to children about environmental topics
• Avoid excess packaging

The authors conclude that prosocial behavior, including random acts and kindness, is associated to greater subjective well being.

“[L]ifestyle changes that might be part of a sustainable society need not represent threats to well-being and might even provide a means of enhancing well-being,” they conclude.

Controlling your emotions

A studyThe psychological mechanism behind these positive effects may be revealed by the presence of over 9,000 households in the U.K.

The research found that pro-environmental behaviors — specifically, energy use and recycling — were associated with higher scores on measures of life satisfaction.

These types of behavior, similar to emergency plans for extreme weather events can help reestablish normalcy Controlling your emotions is a key component.It is believed that it promotes psychological well-being.

The researchers describe this as a “win-win” for public health and the environment.

The study also shows that householders with similar pro-environmental views to one another are associated with better mental and physical health.

But, the most important thing was that they found that Individual pro-environmental attitudes — independently of the attitudes of housemates — were linked to worse mental health and lower life satisfaction.

This could indicate higher levels of anxiety or a feeling of helplessness about the future. Good news is that you can reduce the negative effects of ecoanxiety on your mental well-being by taking pro-environmental measures.

Take a stand

Greta Thunberg was 11 years of age when she stopped eating and speaking. She was very depressed about the condition of the planet.

“One of the reasons was I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that people didn’t seem to care about anything, that everyone just cared about themselves rather than everything that was happening with the world,” she told The GuardianIn a recent interview.

Thunberg’s decisive decision at 15 to start a school strike outside of the Swedish Parliament every Friday led to the globalization of the movement. Fridays for the FutureClimate movement

“I know lots of people who have been depressed, and then they have joined the climate movement or Fridays for Future and have found a purpose in life and found friendship and a community that they are welcome in,” said Thunberg, now 19 years old and one of the world’s most famous climate activists.

Thunberg’s life was transformed by taking action and connecting to like-minded people.

The nonprofit was created in association with COP26 climate talks 2021. Force of NatureAn online forum was established where young people can vent their frustrations but also get the benefits of being a part of a community.

Website also has an additional feature. Call your Mother describes itself as “a space for you to open up and share your feelings about the climate crisis — anger, fear, grief, urgency, hope, motivation — and connect with others who feel the same.”

According to a report, there are two main misconceptions about eco-anxiety. Kalpana Arias, communications director at Force of Nature, which aims to channel young people’s anger and frustration into action.

The first misconception is that ecoanxiety is caused by the ecological crisis. In reality, it stems from our inaction.

“The second misconception is that we should try to fix eco-anxiety,” Arias told an Online workshop “Eco-anxiety to agency” organized by Force of Nature for the Festival of DiscoveryNovember 2021

“Eco-anxiety is a healthy response, and it shows you that you are awake to the world’s issues,” she insisted.

Force of Nature believes that in order to avoid anxiety, stress, or anger, it is important to combine these feelings with a sense of agency as well as community and vision.

The organization is designed to challenge the twin beliefs of being too small to make a real difference and that the system cannot be fixed.

Sacha Wright is a research coordinator at Force of Nature.

“These are beliefs that we hold that are incredibly destructive, both to our own mental health and also to our ability to show up in a way where our mindset can effect meaningful change for ourselves, for our planet, and for one another.”