How climate change is affecting mental health

From eco-grief to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the human cost of climate change is significantly impacting mental health. Sub-Saharan Africa, as the most vulnerable region globally to climate change effects, is hard hit by the crisis. But understanding and intervention are limited. 

Acute climate-related events, like droughts, floods, and heat waves, have an immediate psychological impact on communities. Other events, like deforestation and overfishing, have a slower but still significant impact. Both categories are important, yet researchers generally differentiate whether the effects are direct or indirect. 

“Climate change can impact on mental health indirectly, through its impacts on the environment, for example, through food insecurity and insufficient water,” says Dr Darshnika Lakhoo, a research clinician at the Wits Planetary Health Research Division in conversation with The Green Economy Journal. “It can also impact on health indirectly through socioeconomic impacts through migration, conflict, violence, worsening inequalities, and loss of livelihood.”

These effects tend to include immediate distress, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the longer term, they may lead to substance abuse, strained social relationships, and even risk of suicide.

The effects are so significant that specific psychological terminology has emerged, including the new general term ‘psychoterratic syndromes’. For instance, eco-grief is the mourning of losing natural environments, while solastalgia is distress caused by environmental impacts on one’s home. Eco-anxiety means to fear ecological crises. Lakhoo says, “These conditions arise from witnessing environmental degradation and feeling powerless to effect meaningful change.”

We don’t know what we don’t know

While these issues are known, there is limited robust research, particularly in Africa. “I just want to state that these are not yet official terms within the mental health and psychiatric field. So [they] are not something you can be formally diagnosed with,” Professor Monika dos Santos from the Department of Psychology at the University of South Africa (UNISA) told us. 

The documented research that has been done is often on a small scale or with a particular focus, such as on child and adolescent mental health. Yet, it is clear that climate change can increase social tensions and violence.

While the full impact of the climate crisis on mental health may not yet be quantified, related research shows that the mental health burden of illness has a significant economic impact. For instance, the annual cost of common mental disorders is estimated at USD 1 trillion by the World Health Organisation (WHO), while only 2% of government budgets go towards the issue. A report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy 12 billion productive days yearly. 

While all people are susceptible, certain groups are more likely to experience mental health effects. These include those in rural and high-risk areas, like the coast, and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions. Many of these vulnerable populations, such as the poor, are particularly prevalent in Africa. 

“Women, including pregnant women, are disproportionately impacted by climate change, given their often overwhelming responsibility to care for others, vulnerability to violence, and pre-existing mental health challenges,” Lakhoo says. “For example, during extreme weather events, women can be constrained by their responsibility for the care of others, are more likely to die, and experience severe increases in violence. “

Not ready

Unfortunately, the Sub-Saharan African environment is badly equipped for this growing challenge. Lakhoo says, “Mental health services in many regions, including South Africa, are underfunded and insufficient to meet the growing demand. This gap between needs and available services further worsens the mental health impacts of climate change.”

The impacts need to be better researched and identified. Healthcare systems, particularly around mental health must be strengthened in general, and particularly in regard to psychoterratic syndromes. 

Dos Santos agrees. “What we still desperately need is a more robust evidence base, which can only be conducted really through longitudinal types of studies, [on] what factors make these effects worse.” Beyond this, action must happen in terms of healthcare infrastructure and resources, especially in rural areas:“We don’t have sufficient, firstly, human resources in health facilities; we don’t have sufficient psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, to serve this population that is in need.” 

Opportunities amongst the threats

Dos Santos adds that there are opportunities in upskilling lay counsellors, nurses, and social workers to support climate change-related mental health effects. She says that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the use of telemedicine can also be a valuable tool in increasing access to counselling services. 

Connecting Climate Minds’  Regional Agenda for Sub-Saharan Africa, a project led by Imperial College London and others, suggests that action needs to be taken across the board and in different ways by investors, policymakers, researchers, healthcare providers and community stakeholders. 

The WHO focuses on five key action approaches in this regard. It recommends that climate change considerations are integrated into existing mental health programmes, and vice versa. It emphasises building on existing global commitments and taking a multi-sectoral and community-based approach to implementations. Lastly, it mentions that there are large gaps in the funding for this issue that must be addressed. 

While the problem looms large, Lakhoo says there is hope: “It is important to recognize the many mental health co-benefits of both adaptation and mitigation efforts. By incorporating green and blue spaces in urban designs to reduce heat, these spaces are also known to enhance mental health and reduce stress.”

These interventions can reduce the psychological burden on communities, and build resilience, even as the crisis continues.