The world continues to find a solution to the ravaging climate change crisis. Beyond losing your properties or homes, there is more to the effect of climate change on your mental health. Environment and weather play a significant role in your mood. On the other hand, they can profoundly affect one’s mood. We will explore how climate change can influence your emotions and mental state.

What is climate change?

This refers to significant and lasting changes in the earth’s weather events or conditions. Climate change happens due to human activity, including indiscriminate felling of trees, burning fossil fuels, and other illegal activities.

When any of these activities occur, greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere, which builds up and raises global temperatures. Some of its dangerous side effects include severe weather events, which impact your mood.

Extreme weather events and mental health

Extreme weather events frequently result from climate change, including floods and storms. When these events occur, people are exposed to many casualties, such as deaths or injuries. As such, these events pose higher psychological stress levels. Some people may develop a serious post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Substance use disorders or depression is another mental health associated with extreme weather events.

Climate change has also been connected to impacting social and economic activities. These events determine mental health that may lead an individual to become homeless, unemployed, and other mental health conditions.

How climate change affects your mood

Beyond causing natural disasters, climate change has been connected to significantly impacting mental health. As mentioned, extreme weather events, temperature increases, and other factors can impact your mood. Here are some ways climate change can affect your mood.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Patterns and season durations can change due to climate change. When this happens, it affects the amount of sunlight and temperature variations. This effect results in seasonal affective disorder. Sun and rain are the primary reasons responsible for these disorders. These may include feelings of sadness, fatigue, and low mood.

There is a correlation between sunshine and happiness. Sunshine triggers positive actions and thinking. People tend to be more optimistic and energetic, producing a positive mood. On a sunny day, the sun’s rays trigger the brain’s release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter connected to how we excitedly feel and our overall wellness. Most people love summertime, especially when the sun sets early.

On the contrary, rain has been connected to unhappiness and depression. Sunshine triggers positive reactions and thoughts on the release of serotonin, so the body produces less serotonin on a rainy day. When this happens, the body lacks enough serotonin, which results in sadness and lethargic feelings. Although the sound of rain can also leave people calm and positive, people can also feel dreary when it falls for an extended time.

Increased heat and heat-related illnesses

Heatwave increase has been connected to the rising global temperature due to climate change. Excessive heat can result in different illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke. When there is excess exposure to heat, it can increase irritation and fatigue and make it challenging for you to focus. This could affect your overall mood and mental well-being.

Environmental anxiety and eco-grief

People can develop anxiety and sadness and even feel helpless with climate change due to the perceived loss of natural landscapes, wildlife, and ecosystems. Eco-grief may also be a result of climate change. This form of grief and distress is connected to environmental damages and losses. When you witness ecosystems being destroyed or biodiversity loss, climate change may cause you long-term mental health issues.

Displacement and migration

Rising sea levels, droughts, and other environmental disasters can lead to communal displacement due to climate change. Leaving one’s comfortable and usual place of settlement due to climate change can trigger stress, anxiety, and depression. Migration from an environment you are used to can be challenging; getting used to a new environment may be burdensome and trigger emotional burdens.

Air pollution and mental health

Globally, there has been a decrease in air quality as climate change and rise in temperature trigger allergen levels and pollutants. According to some emerging evidence, your mental health may be at risk when there is poor air quality, which could result in depression and anxiety.

When exposed to pollution, it can lead to mental health issues, especially during one’s childhood or adolescence as one moves towards adulthood. Findings also suggested that these mental health conditions take place due to air pollution’s negative impact on the central nervous system’s normal development.

Infectious disease and mental health

Climate change is one of the primary factors responsible for infectious disease breakouts in most parts of the world. It is responsible for the outbreak of different infectious diseases, such as dengue, Zika, etc. When there is global heating, climate change influences the pathogen distribution and survival. This development influences the vectors and hosts that transmit these diseases.

There is an intrinsic connection between physical and mental health. When you are exposed to a higher infectious disease rate, it can significantly affect your mental health, especially upon admission to the hospital. You may also experience mental health issues if you have to live with severe infection consequences in the long run. Some people live with certain mental health conditions that may cause others to discriminate or stigmatize them. Experiencing this kind of situation may affect your mood and overall thinking.

Conclusion

It’s important to recognize these impacts and take steps to protect and support mental well-being in the face of climate change. This can include seeking support from friends, family, or mental health professionals, advocating for climate action, and engaging in self-care practices that promote resilience and coping strategies. People must understand that temperature affects emotions. Higher temperatures can lead to irritation, agitation, and motivation loss.

Therefore, you must learn how climate change can affect you and how you can effectively manage your mood. However, the best solution is to contact a mental health professional for support if you find it challenging to manage your mood due to climate change. Advocate for climate change action and take the right steps for mental health support and protection when climate change happens.

Reference

https://wellcome.org/news/explained-how-climate-change-affects-mental-health