Crazy Weather Is Making Us All Crazy

Climate change can feel like a scary, unpredictable force, and President Trump's efforts to undo clean energy regulations and his proposed funding cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency aren't helping anyone with eco-agita. And if you've experienced a hurricane or tornado, you know firsthand how brutal Mother Nature can be. So it's not a total stretch to consider that climate change can be linked to stress, depression, and anxiety—that's exactly what a report from the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica says.

The report is an update of the groups' 2014 paper; it includes new research and an emphasis on inequity, and outlines the problem at hand: We see climate change for its potential burdens on physical health (for example, loss of your home after a flood, contaminated water after a storm, heatstroke after a heatwave, or poor air quality that contributes to allergies or asthma), but its effects are much more far-reaching than that. Climate change-induced severe weather or natural disasters that cause injuries, deaths, or damage to property can lead to anger, shock, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. This can all be extra hard on children, who are more likely to be distressed after climate events than adults and are affected by the mental health of or separation from their caregivers. They might also have to change schools, which is disruptive.

Aside from events like floods, storms, wildfires, and heatwaves, the longer-term effects of climate change can also impact people's lives. Changing temperatures, rising water levels, and droughts all affect agriculture, food insecurity, and livability which may lead to forced migration because people can no longer safely live in their homes or they lose their jobs. (Think of people who work in the farming, fishing, or tourism industries.) Stress from extreme weather or changing weather patterns can also affect sleep and immunity, and compromised physical health can lead to, you guessed it, more stress.

In 2016, residents of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, became the first climate refugees in the United States; most of its residents belong to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe and a $48 million federal grant has been allocated to relocate residents off their sinking island. Indigenous communities may be more vulnerable to the mental health effects of climate change because they often live in geographically risky areas and depend on natural resources for their livelihood. Communities of color are also at increased risk because of outdated infrastructure where they live, and possibly having higher rates of existing health issues and weaker social support networks.

"These are impacts that not many people are thinking about," says lead author Susan Clayton, a professor of psychology and environmental studies at The College of Wooster in Ohio. Not only can addressing this fact help mental health professionals prepare to provide support to their patients, but it resonates on a broader public scale, too.

"Climate change can often be seen as something that is very distant and [something] that will not affect them or the people they know," she says. "We hope that paying more attention to the impacts on psychological well-being will make it seem more personally relevant."

Why should you pay attention? Simply hearing about others experiencing it can drive up your own fear levels, and the resulting build-up of stress can be a drag on your psyche. The report points out: "Whether experienced indirectly or directly, stressors to our climate translate into impaired mental health that can result in depression and anxiety…People can be negatively affected by hearing about the negative experiences of others, and by fears—founded or unfounded—about their own potential vulnerability."

"One of the key characteristics of climate change is the uncertainty. We know that the climate is changing but we don't know exactly what the effects will be, when they will occur, and who will be affected," explains Clayton. Fear of the unknown can make things much worse. Your thoughts can range from everything will be okay to ideas that are more apocalyptic, she says.

But you can do things to buffer the stress, like coming up with a household emergency plan in case of a storm or natural disaster and maintaining strong relationships with loved ones to help build resilience, or the ability to overcome adversity. You can also aim to live in more eco-friendly ways. Walking, biking, or taking public transportation to work and using clean energy are two habits that will help you feel like you're doing your part.

"Doing something to address the problem rather than just waiting for it to happen makes you feel more in control," says Clayton. Even more impactful, she says: "It can provide people with a sense of meaning—a feeling that what they do matters. This is an important component of well-being."

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