By: Anita Goncharuk
How we treat our planet has a direct connection with human mental health. Our Earth has been deteriorating more and moreover the decades due to human activities, and with this deterioration follows a decline in mental health. Economic strain, extreme weather, migration, food insecurity, and more are all linked to climate change. Several mental disorders and a crumbling of mental stability can be attributed to these life-disrupting events. Climate change is not only a threat to our Earth but our emotional well-being too.
The rising global temperatures have been associated with a rise in psychological distress. According to an article “Mental Health Effects of Climate Change” published by the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the rising temperatures seem to be linked with an increase in aggressive behavior. Observations have been made that crime rates escalate in hot months. If global temperatures continue to rise, so could aggression. A link has also been revealed between hotter weather and suicide rates. An article posted in the Stanford News “The Effects of Climate Change on Suicide Rates” explained the research conducted by Economist Marshall Burke. Burke and his team examined decades' worth of temperatures and suicide rates in the U.S and Mexico. The conclusion was that when temperatures were hotter than normal, suicide rates climbed. This research team stated that if no alterations were made to slow climate change, 21,000 additional suicides will happen by 2050. Additionally, the CDC explains that people with intense mental disorders are at higher risk of the dangers of rising temperatures. This is because their medications make it difficult for their body to regulate temperature during hot weather. Climate change is exacerbating mental health issues with thousands of people. It is becoming just as damaging to our psychological health as it is towards our Earth.
Climate disasters are on the rise, leaving a plethora of psychiatric mental disorders in their wake. Tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, droughts, and more have been on the rise as climate change worsens. These extreme weather events are very traumatic and life-altering for the victims. According to the “Mental Health Effects of Climate Change” article, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a threat to people who have undergone such drastic affairs. Furthermore, this article states that acute stress reaction and adjustment disorder are also likely to be present in the victims. Depression is another mental disorder that sometimes grasps onto the survivors of climate disasters. This commonly occurs when an intense weather event costs people their houses, jobs, loved ones, etc. As climate change worsens, more people will experience its negative effects and more people will fall prey to the mental challenges it presents.
Climate change is often thought of and discussed as being a future threat. It’s not. It’s here right now and it’s ongoing. It’s worsening every year and affecting every part of the globe with soaring temperatures, severe drought, wildfires, rising sea levels, and more. These extreme weather affairs destroy not only the planet but our mental health as well. Aggressive behaviors, suicide rates, and mental illnesses have been climbing just as fast as climate change has been worsening. The primary solution to prevent more anguish from individuals would be to slow climate change so its consequences wouldn’t be as drastic. Furthermore, policies and programs should be implemented to help people prepare, cope with, and recover from the inevitable changes. It is important to understand that climate change poses a significantly dangerous threat to our emotional stability in addition to endangering the Earth.
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