Along with physical ailments, mental health has increasingly become an area of interest for health professionals interested in noting how it can be impacted by climate change. Climate depression, or eco-anxiety as it is sometimes known, whilst not a recognized condition, has been defined by the American Psychological Association as "a chronic fear of environmental doom.", and globally, the idea of climate depression has grown.
From locals’ fear of losing their ancestral lands to scientists grappling with the emotional toll of their findings to everyday people feeling powerless in the face of such widespread damage to the environment - climate change is having a marked effect on mental health. In recent years, several studies published in Nature have outlined how environmental grief has taken hold amongst a global population beginning to understand the impacts of climate change and witnessing its early impacts. Within the earth sciences community, climate depression has become a risk of the job, as scientists are asked to further investigate the potential impacts of climate change or report the latest findings. In areas facing the brunt of the environmental damage and its myriad of consequences, local populations are faced with the possibility of losing their natural heritage and abandoning their homes. At the same time, the public health sector is reporting more instances of climate-related depression coming from the population at large across all age groups.
However, while feelings of helplessness and anxiety surrounding the state of the planet are on the rise, it has also been leveraged to drive more public involvement into government decision-making into environmental policy, with more and more people also willing to live more sustainably in order to save the environment. Fellow scientists, biologists, and nature lovers, you are not alone.
While the news constantly cycles through the impacts of climate change, or as you read the latest publication describing the environmental damage being done across the world - there is also a lot of positive progress being made towards safeguarding the planet for future generations! It is always better to focus on the success stories and help build upon them. We have the power to choose the future we want, so let's all work together to make it happen and not let the negative stories weigh us down.
This article was originally posted on The Broke Biologists
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