Climate change can make some people feel hopeless. Here's what can be done about it

Given the existential stakes of climate change, it makes sense to feel afraid or depressed about the future of the environment. And it can be easy to feel alone when experiencing climate change-related depression. If a person is suffering through a drought, noticing temperatures are warmer than normal and observing the loss of local animal life, that individual can easily succumb to despair. Most humans do not have the ability to single-handedly eliminate humanity's dependence on fossil fuels, which are the primary cause of climate change. They are literally powerless — and feel that way.

But many people feel this way. You are not alone. Although your eco-anxiety is all too real, the medical literature still has large gaps in the knowledge needed to provide adequate help.

These are some of the main conclusions of a recent systematic review published in the journal Nature Mental Health and performed by researchers from Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Chicago and the University of Oxford. A systematic review is a study which analyzes a number of studies that contain primary research, which are analyzed for data relevant to the question posed by the scientists.

In this case, the researchers included 57 peer reviewed studies based on whether they "investigated the effects of slow-onset climate change on a range of mental health indicators." The scientists determined that there were three "key findings." First, they determined that there is far less literature on chronic climate change — that is, how people react to events which occur incrementally — than there is literature on reactions to acute climate change-related disasters. This means that people who struggle with their mental health due to developments like droughts or rising temperatures (both common sources of anxiety among patients profiled in medical literature) may not receive as much attention as those who survived tropical storms or wildfires.

In addition, the scientists determined that the most commonly studied mental health conditions included "cases and symptoms of anxiety and depression, suicide, non-specific psychological distress and negative emotions, such as fear, grief and general concern." By contrast, "trauma-related conditions (for example, PTSD or acute stress disorder) were notably absent from most studies."

In this respect, the researchers explored the limitations involved in conducting scientific research: They noted that "the type of mental health outcome studied varied depending on the study design," with quantitative studies focusing on "anxiety and depression symptoms, suicidality and non-specific psychological distress" while disaster mental health literature focused on PTSD.

Qualitative and mixed-methods studies, by contrast, included participants who ultimately did not identify PTSD as a major symptom resulting from climate change. One specific advantage from the qualitative studies is that, because they captured mental health experiences outside of clinical settings, they heard about emotions such as sadness, worry and grief related to climate change that were not considered in the qualitative studies.

Finally, they determined that some aspects of climate change elicited mixed or null responses from participants. This was certainly not true for all aspects of climate change; rising ambient temperatures were linked to a number of serious mental health issues, particularly suicidality. Yet as the authors explain in the study, "it is important to note that a true null association between soil changes or atmospheric conditions and mental health outcomes would not call into question the abundant literature regarding the effects of climate change on global populations; rather, it may indicate that, unlike other chronic climate changes (such as rising temperatures), changes in soil and radiation may not be readily observable in people’s daily lives."

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For those who deal with the stress of the observable changes, there is hope — at least, when it comes to being able to better manage in your own life. Salon reached out to Dr. Christy Denckla from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the corresponding author of the study, and asked about mental health advice for people who are struggling due to climate change.

"Policies that strengthen the social safety net are critical to alleviating compounded stressors that worsen mental health," Denckla told Salon by email. "Despite contributing the least to climate change, vulnerable communities are poised to bear a disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of climate change. Policies that reduce health disparities and ensure equitable access to healthcare and material resources are essential. For example, policies that support affordable, safe housing with access to indoor cooling are critical. Finally, policies that expand mental health care by ensuring access for all, regardless of ability to pay, are critical."

When Denckla was asked for advice that applies to people who cannot afford quality mental health care, the scientists was direct about the fact that the mental health care system is "overburdened" and many underprivileged people simply do not have access to the resources that they need.

"But help is out there," Denckla reassured Salon. "Many states have behavioral health telephone helplines to help identify treatment options, including telehealth options. Many cities also have funded behavioral health centers that provide a range of services. Community-based organizations also provide free or low-cost supportive counseling. Affordable care can also be found in educational training centers, where students learning to provide mental health care provide treatment under supervision at low or no cost."

This study is the latest in a long series that chronicle the mental health toll caused by climate change. In addition to prompting the creation of a field of mental health service known as eco-therapy, it has also spawned the term "eco-anxiety" to refer to those who feel a sense of chronic doom due to environmental issues.

Even for people who would not describe themselves as having eco-anxiety (which is not an officially diagnosable condition), climate change can still be a burden. In 2021 The Lancet Planetary Health published a study which found that out of more than 10,000 16-to-25-year-olds surveyed in 10 countries, more than 45 percent felt their daily lives were negatively affected by climate change distress. Three out of four described themselves as "frightened" about the future, with half dealing with feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and guilt.

"The psychosocial demands of the climate crisis also call for an examination of how our clinical formulations and treatments can reinforce counterproductive extracting, hyper individuation, monetizing, producing, consuming, and commodifying self-identities and values," Gary Belkin, the former executive deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, wrote in an editorial for the American Psychiatric Association's newsletter Psychiatric News.