Research: Anxiety, depression and trauma in the main consequences of climate change

Anxiety, depression and trauma are the main consequences of climate change on people’s mental health, as psychiatrist and psychotherapist Spyros Kalimeris explains to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

With climate change running at breakneck speed and its daily effects being more than visible, scientists are sounding the alarm bells not only for what it brings to the physical health but also to the mental health of people.

According to Mr. Kalimeri, climate change creates threatening conditions, with the result that this situation causes stress to most people.

“It is normal to be stressed in the face of a danger and it is even desirable because we will mobilize to face the danger. However, this often goes beyond what is desired. The stress reaction becomes more intense, with duration, and eventually we find it difficult to manage it, resulting in it turning into a mental health problem. There are three central mental health issues that can arise, anxiety, depression and trauma,” he notes to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

In fact, a recent survey designed and implemented by Focus Bari / YouGov showed that over 70% of respondents believe that climate change significantly affects people’s mental health and well-being. At the same time, according to the survey, around 70% feel psychological discomfort with extreme weather events while a large proportion of respondents feel that the effects of climate change add further stress to our daily lives.

Those who have directly experienced the effects of natural disasters and have been at the scene where they have occurred have a particular burden on their mental health.

“Those who have directly experienced the consequences of a natural disaster, a fire, for example, or a flood or an earthquake may suffer, especially the most vulnerable groups, an intense stress reaction that slowly leads them to trauma. On the other hand, some may experience depression, especially if they have experienced any kind of loss, or if they have been forced to leave the place where they live or work. Some, even, may not deal with it properly by resorting to the use of alcohol or drugs”, says Mr. Kalimeris to APE-MPE.

According to Mr. Kalimeris, what has been observed, mainly abroad, is “eco-anxiety”, which is essentially the fear of what will happen in the future due to climate change. “A feeling of fear has developed about what will happen in the future, how things will develop and whether we will be able to live on the planet smoothly. All this creates another insecurity, a concern, which abroad is called “eco-anxiety””, notes Mr. Kalimeris.

At the same time, even elevated temperatures can be a stressful factor, while physical effects, such as heatstroke, asthma, allergies, and respiratory diseases in general can indirectly cause a burden on people’s mental health.

In order to mitigate the effects of climate change on mental health, actions at a collective and individual level are needed, according to Mr. Kalimeris.

“It is good that there has now been an increased recognition of the problem. The next step is to recognize the mental toll that climate change can cause. To be accepted by the world that mental health can be affected by this and to ask for help if needed. That is, people who have suffered trauma, have developed anxiety or are depressed, it would be good to turn to the experts so that they can slowly get help to manage the problem better. But there is also the collective level related to the community. A situation of danger and threat makes people come closer and ask each other for help. In other words, the increase in social contacts is something that helps them, as it is different to feel alone and different to feel that you are part of a group”, underlines Mr. Kalimeris, adding that although the governments have recognized the problem, it still exists. still a long way to go. “The scientific community has given some data so governments should step up the problem and do more,” he emphasizes.

Finally, quite exposed are those people who during natural disasters, due to their profession, need to be in the areas where they occur. “Certainly they have adapted to the dangerousness of their profession and the increased needs of their work, but this does not mean that they are not affected. At the time of threat we are in a state of combat so this makes us at that time react correctly as we do everything we can to avoid the danger. But then we can start to think differently, create anxiety or thoughts about what could happen if something had gone wrong and in the end we feel fear even for our lives”, says Mr. Kalimeris

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.