Earth Day, first celebrated on April 22, 1970, was created in order to raise awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations and now includes a wide range of events across the globe. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the work of several members of our department who are working to better understand the consequences of climate change on our mental health and how to mitigate these effects.
Over the last decade we have witnessed an increasing number of climate-related disasters, including extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and flooding. Many studies have shown that these events can have profound and long-lasting effects on those directly exposed to these traumatic events; however, there is increasing evidence to indicate that climate change is having an impact on the mental health of people who haven’t personally experienced climate-related disasters.
While we are well aware of the significant mental health effects of weather-related disasters, far less is known about the effect of chronic, slow-onset climate change. In a recent review, a team of researchers, including Karestan Koenan, PhD, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Faculty Member of the Psychiatric Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at Mass General, systematically reviewed a total of 57 qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies investigating the effects of slow-onset climate change on a range of mental health indicators.
Quantitative studies noted adverse mental health outcomes associated with exposure to climate, including depression and anxiety symptoms, suicide and non-specific psychological distress. Qualitative studies further elucidated negative emotions related to chronic climate change, including worry, grief and frustration. This review indicates that future research should more holistically consider individual, community and societal factors that shape the mental health consequences of slow-onset climate change. By better understanding how climate change causes changes in our mental ehatlh, we can begin to consider interventions that mitigate this risk.
Climate Change and Young Adults
According to a global survey published in Lancet Planetary Health in 2021 including an international cohort of more than 10,000 adolescents and young adults (aged 16–25 years), 59% of the participants described feeling very or extremely worried about the climate. Nearly half of the participants reported that climate anxiety affected their daily functioning.
And this is exactly what clinicians are seeing in their younger patients. In an interview with WGBH, James McKowen, PhD, a clinical psychologist and Clinical Director of he Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS), notes that, “You’ll see just a lot of existential anxiety, worry, difficulty focusing at times, being preoccupied with news, doom scrolling, really getting stuck in disasters and wildfires.”
As a pediatrician and a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Elizabeth Pinsky, MD notes that climate change must be considered as a social determinant of health and understanding the impact of climate change on each individual patient has important ramifications for health outcomes.
In this podcast from Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, Dr. Pinsky discusses how we can better support children to address their anxieties regarding climate change and provides some resources for kids and parents.
The Climate Psychiatry Alliance has a searchable directory of “climate aware” mental health professionals on its website. Another professional group, the Climate Psychology Alliance, provides a similar directory and lists support programs and resources for young people, parents, and teachers.
Opportunities for Advocacy
“Many people interpret anxiety as a pathological response that needs to be treated and solved,” Pinsky says. “But it’s also a constructive emotion that gives us time to react in the face of danger. And anxiety in the face of climate change is a healthy response to a real threat.”
