Psychological Impacts of Climate Change and Recommendations

Although the harm to our physical health from the climate crisis is increasingly reported, still underrecognized is the harm the climate crisis is having on us psychologically. Yet it is the psychological impacts of global overheating—and the consequent cascading destabilization of ecosystems—that will carry the biggest burden and be the most difficult to remedy. It requires our utmost attention. Understanding the gravity of the mounting psychological harm underscores the urgent need for all those concerned, especially public officials, to take action. The devastating psychological and physical impacts of the tragedy of lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan, in microcosm, serves as a recent example to those who would downplay harm to our health in the face of ongoing warnings and pleas for action. The psychological aspects of the climate crisis are increasingly drawing the attention of mental health professionals. They are uniquely qualified and urgently needed to address the denial, discounting, or distancing that feed inaction, and to point out the deepening injustice of putting vulnerable populations at risk, especially our children and future generations. They are also needed to advocate for programs that address climate anxiety and trauma, and to design programs that build resilience. The mounting risk of an epidemic of fear, outrage and despair calls for mental health professionals to play a pivotal role in what has become a do-or-die effort to restore humanity and the rest of the natural world to safety. All of the losses associated with climate change—from extreme weather events and chronic climate conditions to the devastating physical injuries, illnesses, and deaths and the attendant displacement, disruptions and downstream indirect ripple effects—carry with them an emotional toll. The magnitude and relentlessness of the destruction, as well as the insinuation into every aspect of our lives—economic, personal, political—must be recognized as we consider the mental health and psychosocial impacts of the deepening crisis.