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On climate justice: Climate change and mental health

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If you need immediate medical assistance, call 911. 

Adult Crisis Line: 
651-266-7900

Children's Crisis Line: 
651-266-7878 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 
1-800-273-TALK (8255) 

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:
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Feeling worried is perfectly normal 

When we think of climate change, we may not immediately think of metal health. Still, these two are strongly linked. Reading the climate catastrophe headlines these days can be downright frightening! There’s a term for this kind of experience: climate anxiety, or ecoanxiety. It refers to a general anxiety, or even a sense of doom, about environmental catastrophe. Whether triggered by a particular event or general concern, anxiety can be exhausting. Yet, the stigma around discussing mental health can make it difficult to address.  

To be clear, climate anxiety is not a clinical diagnosis that requires medical care. In fact anxiety can be a healthy and appropriate response to danger. This doesn’t mean that we should have to suffer pain from climate anxiety! It only means that it makes good sense why someone would feel anxious in a changing world. No one is wrong, weak or hysterical just for feeling worried. When we acknowledge this discomfort, then we can begin to escape the doomscrolling, build towards a more peaceful mindset and develop a more proactive attitude. Human ingenuity is practically limitless and there are plenty of reasons for optimism.  

Anxiety is not the only way that our changing environment affects our mental health. More immediate experiences also alter our mindsets, such as an extreme weather event and the resulting loss of a home. Losing a home can push people out of their neighborhood, city or even their home countries altogether. This adds the trauma of emergency immigration on top of the trauma of disaster. The United Nations predicts that the number of migrant people forced from their homes due to climate change will only increase with storm frequency. Analysis has shown Minnesota to be a likely destination for climate migrants, and the trauma of this migration may cause illness in our new community members. 

Even in Minnesota, climate change is directly affecting well-being beyond climate anxiety. It affects the most vulnerable populations (the impoverished, the single mothers, etc.), and it is a matter of justice. Those who cannot protect themselves from climate will suffer both physically and mentally. However, discussing and addressing mental health can be challenging. In fact, some languages spoken in Ramsey County lack a way to describe “mental health." Still, each culture has its own collection of healing practices. The county uplifts these non-clinical methods alongside clinical care.

"For many who experience a decline in their mental wellbeing, knowing where to turn when starting the healing journey can produce its own levels of worry and anxiety," said Sophia Thompson, Mental Health and Adult Support Division Director for Ramsey County. "The Ramsey County Welcome Center is a great place to call and speak with a caring staff member to explore where you or someone you know can start their journey. The team will listen and connect individuals to services not only within the county system but to a vast array of culturally specific providers in the community also. Call us at 651-266-7890."

Ramsey County works to support services in communities

 

This article is featured in Green Ramsey, an environmental health newsletter from Ramsey County.  
Learn more about and subscribe to Green Ramsey. 

 

Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 - 1:11 p.m.