What are the psychological impacts of climate change?

1. What are the psychological impacts of climate change?

Research Question

1. What are the psychological impacts of climate change?

The Issue of Climate Change

Climate change is an expression that is used to describe the changes in atmospheric conditions over some time, due to natural variations or resulting from human activity. Climatic changes include fluctuationsin temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns over an elongated period, usually between months and millions of years (Clayton et al., n.p). The variations may occur in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, earth’s surface, and biosphere. Climate change is not a phenomenon that just happened overnight. The accelerated rate of the variation of the conditions over the past few decades is attributed to human activity/behavior. The main driver of climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) through human activities such as combustion of fossil fuels (Gifford, Robert, Karine, and Angel, 163). It is, therefore, undoubtful that the rate of climate change can be reduced by changing human behavior that leads to the effect. It is regrettable that many people still do not understand how human behavior contributes to climate change and the psychological impacts that climate change, in turn, has on human behavior.

According to the American psychological association (APA), psychological studies can play a crucial role in helping people grasp the behavioral causes and consequences of the accelerated rate of climate change in the world. Further, this discipline can help understand why people continue engaging in activities that contribute to climate change. Yet, they know they are already occurring and anticipated consequences (Clayton et al., n.p). APA further adds that psychologists need to collaborate with other disciplines to comprehend the various human behavior that causes the increased global warming and develop a framework that can be used to limit the activities to lessen the impacts on the climate..

Scientific research by international bodies has yielded that human activities are influencing climate change at a global scale, and that evidence is visible at all corners of the world. Doherty, Thomas, and Susan (265) point out that research has forecasted that further effects of global warming are inevitable and that there is a 67%-95% likelihood that climate change will result in the following occurrences:

• Elevated temperature levels may cause fire or heat-related fatalities and ailments. The high-temperature levels will affect livestock, wildlife, and crops negatively.
• High prevalence of pests and diseases as a result of high minimum temperatures.
• Increased humidity and precipitation are leading to floods, soil erosion, and landslides.
• Severe summers and droughts coupled with lack of water increased incidences of bush/forest fires and famine.
• Increased risk of health and epidemics of infectious diseases, compromise of the integrity of physical structures, and their probable destruction as a result of increased levels of precipitation that increases the rate of occurrence and intensity of cyclones.

Human Behavior as a Driver of Climate Change

The rate at which global warming is increasing has never been higher than in this decade. This is primarily attributed to the emission of GHGthrough human activities that have grown exponentially since the industrial revolution in the 19^th century. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, pollution by manufacturing and mining industry, deforestation, agriculture, etc. release toxic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) among other pollutants(Stern,303). These have the effect of changing the albedo of the earth and its ability to reflect energy from the sun.

Human beings tend to continue engaging in activities/behavior that has a high likelihood of affecting them in the future, despite being aware of them (Claytonet al., 643). Therefore, ignorance can be ruled out as the reason why people continue realizing toxic gases and other pollutants into the environment. Because most of the major pollutants are the big corporations headed by the elite in the society, one can conclude that people of a lower social, economic status are left on the receiving end of the consequences of the impacts of climate change.

Psychological Impacts of Climate Change

The issue of climate change and its potential impacts on the health and well being of humans has received considerable attention in this decade. However, the potential psychological and social effects of climatehave not been given much attention. Issues such as injuries or deaths resulting from stress caused by rough weather conditions/events that result from climate change have been highlighted in the past(Clayton et al., 643). Experts argue that the psychological effects of climate change are not immediate but cumulative, and those affected may not be able to link climate change to what could be affecting their minds. Just to mention a few, psychological effects may include violence, conflict over resources, the threat to the sanity of those affected, elevated levels of anxiety and despair (Swimet al., n.p). It is also arguable that the effects of climate change are more severe on people of low social and economic standing in society. This issue calls for consideration as it is associated with social justice implications like other environmental issues.

Biophysical events such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, forest fires, tsunamis, etc. that result from climate change are the main aspects that are considered when evaluating the psychological impacts of climate change. These events, usually referred to as disasters have prompted scholars to develop models and methodologies that borrows from research work from a different discipline to explain the whole issue better (Madrid and Roy, 86). Existing literature on the impacts of hurricane Katrina and the tsunami, both environmental disasters that hit North America and Asia, respectively, shows that scholars now appreciate the psychological health impacts of biophysical events that result from climate change.

Unsustainable use of resources and loss of biodiversity are known causes of climate change. Coupled with overpopulation and increased rate of environmental pollution, competition, and scramble for the remaining resources ensue. This competition for the minimal thriving natural resources also has negative psychological impacts. It is common knowledge that people get anxious when they discover that the availability of a particular support is declining. Chaos may erupt as people compete for the remaining resources, as it is unlikely that people would follow the proper channels of getting a better share. It gets worse when the beneficiaries of the minimal resources become reluctant to undertake activities that could reduce climate change, such as sustainable utilization of natural resources and reduction of levels of pollutants released into the environment. Some members of the community may be limited from accessing the resources due to the social, economic, or health status. This scenario is analogous to the ability of low-income earners to access the little help that is provided by donors and government agencies after an environmental disaster, making psychological impacts even worse.

The process of recovery from extreme biophysical environmental events can be used to gauge how climate change affects the psychological and mental health of victims. Research studies have shown that disasters have a high likelihood of imparting immediate effects on the mental health of the communities affected by disasters(Clayton et al., 643). Additionally, disruption of social and economic activities has negative implications on mental health services in the affected communities. The affected geographical regions are cut off from the other areas, deterring communication and transport, both crucial in facilitating mental health support mental health services. This makes the victims anxious and distressed about what lies ahead.

People who experience extreme weather disasters suffer from psychological and mental health issues as a result of the loss, disruption from typical day to day activities, and the mental health problems that accumulate as a result of repeated exposure to the disasters associated with climate change. The psychological and mental health issues may include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grief, drug and substance abuse, depression, and other stress derived problems (Gifford et al., 163). These issues are attributed as the main contributors to the increased suicide rates, child abuse, murder, and other crimes. The vulnerability of people with pre-existing mental health disorders increases as a result of the psychological health problems caused by environmental disasters.

A review of the guidelines used in the psychological treatment of people affected by environmental disasters shows that the response involves several stages, each with different symptoms that change over time. After the occurrence of an ecological catastrophe, the victims usually have mixed feelings of shock, anger, denial, or disbelief. Psychological support can help reduce the feelings and stabilize the mental status of the victims. This only helps the victims accept the outcome of the disaster, and should be done for as long as the affected community recovers. Psychologists note that the disillusionment stage is the longest and is characterized by symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, PTSD, fatigue, breathing, and heart-related issues(Swim et al., n.p). Secondary stress as a result of the disruption of the socio-economic networks may last for many years and because it may require the intervention of external bodies to restore the systems. The restoration or near restoration of the socio-economic networks in the affected communities could help reduce the levels of stress as the victims are distracted by the day to day activities.

Learning from Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina will always be remembered as one of the worst environmental disasters that affected the united states. The hurricane had devastating physical and mental health effects on the survivors. The disaster led to more than 2000 lives and the displacement of another 1.5 million New Orleans. Hurricane Rita followed Katrina, just a few months after, also affecting the survivors of Katrina. People of lower social-economic backgrounds were the most affected by the disaster(Gifford et al., 163).The hurricane disrupted the socio-economic network of the community and also destroyed necessary facilities such as health centers and learning institutions.

“What’s unique about this disaster is the magnitude of it,” said Joy Osofsky, who was working at the University of Louisiana as a clinician when Katrina struck. Osofsky witnessed the devastation of the hurricane first hand. He described how the clinic where he was working was flooded, like many others, forcing responders to set up medical centers on ships docked on the Mississippi River. He added that a psychological response center was set up at the New Orleans city’s command center to cater to the thousands of survivors who were undergoing a traumatizing time and those who were in shock.

Research by the center for disease control and prevention (CDC) showed that approximately 50% of the survivors needed mental health support to cope with the impacts of the environmental disaster(Gifford et al., 163). FEMA found out that high rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental disorders contributed to the high rate of mental disability among caregivers of children. This, in turn, was cited as the cause of the increased child abuse, drug and substance abuse, and crime rate in New Orleans. Further, the survey showed that the prevalence of chronic health conditions and psychological disorders was 34% and 50%, respectively, among children raised in the affected families(Clayton et al., 643). Other cross-sectional studies have proved that symptoms of mental health problems persist, more than a decade after the hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

Mental health experts note that the immediate provision of basic needs and mental health services is crucial, especially after the occurrence of an environmental disaster, towards the recovery of the affected community. The interventions after a disaster should be aimed at providing survivors with individual and functional needs(Swim et al., n.p). These interventions should help stabilize the victims, collect information from them, provide them with information on how to cope, and connect them with different service providers to help in their recovery process.

From the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, one can learn that race and socio-economic factors should be considered in response to a disaster, and in the efforts of preventing psychological effects on the community. The people most affected by the hurricane were black low-income earning residents of New Orleans’s ninth ward. The economic disparities characterized by low education standards, poor housing, high unemployment rate, and poor infrastructure as compared to neighboring communities is attributed as one of the reasons why the community has not been able to recover from the psychological impacts of the hurricane. Pre-existing living and working conditions of the evacuees was a determinant of whether they could be evacuated or not. Many elderly and disabledpeople lost their lives as it was difficult for the response team to evacuate them. The survivors of such victims had to live with the loss of loved ones as the loss of property and disruption of their socio-economic network.

Conclusion

It is important for people to understand the psychological impacts of climate change in order for them to desist from activities that cause global warming. Public awareness programs should be set up with the aim of educating the public on matters of coping with the mental health problems attributed to environmental disasterssuch as hurricane Katrina caused by climate change. It is worth mentioning that everyone should be involved in minimizing and mitigating the causes of climate change. Although not widely considered, psychology is at the center stage of the issue and should be the basis of the design of disaster response and management frameworks(Gifford et al., 163). It is worth mentioning that governments and other non-profitagencies should work together to reduce the socio-economic gap between communities to make it easier to manage the physical and psychological impacts of environmental disasters that are occurring at a higher frequency, now more than before.

Works Cited

Clayton, S., et al. “Psychology and global climate change: Addressing a multi-faceted phenomenon and set of challenges. A report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change.” (2016).

Clayton, Susan, et al. “Psychological research and global climate change.” Nature Climate Change 5.7 (2015): 640-646.

Doherty, Thomas J., and Susan Clayton. “The psychological impacts of global climate change.” American Psychologist 66.4 (2011): 265.

Gifford, Robert, Karine Lacroix, and Angel Chen. “Understanding responses to climate change: Psychological barriers to mitigation and a new theory of behavioral choice.” Psychology and Climate Change. Academic Press, 2018. 161-183.

Madrid, Paula A., and Roy Grant. “Meeting mental health needs following a natural disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina.” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 39.1 (2008): 86.

Stern, Paul C. “Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change.” American Psychologist 66.4 (2011): 303.

Swim, Janet, et al. “Psychology and global climate change: Addressing a multi-faceted phenomenon and set of challenges. A report by the American Psychological Association’s task force on the interface between psychology and global climate change.” American Psychological Association, Washington (2009).