Climate Change Is Stressing Us
Climate change is definitely happening, but it not only warms the planet but also affects our well-being. A new report from the American Psychological Association explains how climate change is slowly affecting our mental health.
The ever-changing weather is a significant source of stress that many of us don’t think about, according to a report co-written with Climate for Health and ecoAmerica . As climate change affects our agriculture, economy and communities, stress-causing side effects are reaching us.
For those exposed to the chaos of natural disasters, things are even worse. They may experience fear, grief, anxiety, depression, and tend to revert to unhealthy behaviors, such as substance abuse, after such tragic events. Some even develop PTSD, which can take years of therapy to overcome. The report also found that people forced to migrate due to natural disasters or other climate change-related causes often experience tension in personal relationships, lose social support, and tend to miss work more often.
But even if you don’t experience natural disasters firsthand, you hear about them all the time, and this bombardment of depressing news may be enough to tip the scales of stress in your brain. And the consequences of climate change are reaching us in more subtle ways. For example, seasonal weather plays a much bigger role in your mood than you might think. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can occur during abnormally long winters, and it has been suggested that prolonged exposure to warmer weather, such as unusually hot summers, can make you more aggressive and reduce your cognitive function.
In general, a rapidly changing climate feels like a complete loss of control over the environment, and we struggle emotionally, feeling that we are not adapting well enough. It seems that the uncertainty of climate change is piling up on top of our normal day-to-day stresses, pushing us towards a potentially unhealthy threshold .
Dealing with such stress is about building and maintaining strong social bonds, the report says. Conversation helps people feel safer , and large social support systems make it easier to share vital information. Another key is awareness. Just knowing that climate change can affect your stress levels will give you a head start and find your own ways to deal with it. This is especially true for those who live in areas where their livelihoods depend on the environment. In places where agriculture, tourism, fishing, outdoor recreation, etc. are the lifeblood of society, special care must be taken when considering these issues. You can view the full report here .