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Asked by anon-239177 to James, Hannah, Claire, Chris, binuraj, Alice on 9 Mar 2020.
Question: please do you believe climate change and affects society and mental health as a whole
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Hannah Blyth answered on 9 Mar 2020:
Climate change is likely to affect every aspect of our lives from where we can live, to the food we eat, to the water we drink, our energy supply and all other life on Earth. I want to be careful here because what some call “eco-anxiety” I think is a normal reaction to the possible effects of climate change, however, a lot of the ‘evidence’ *is* anecdotal (based on personal accounts). What I am about to say is an opinion, and not necessarily true fact. I do believe that climate change could put a burden on the mental health and wellbeing particularly on today’s youths who know they are going to grow up and live in a world where they are dealing with the consequences of actions they couldn’t control. I think that Greta Thunberg has said that climate change has affected her mental health. So what can we do to help ourselves and our planet? I found an article in New Scientist that I hope you are able to read
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2220561-stressed-about-climate-change-eight-tips-for-managing-eco-anxiety/
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Binuraj Menon answered on 9 Mar 2020: last edited 9 Mar 2020 6:45 pm
Dear Hawk389tea,
Yes climate change can affect people’s mental health in a number of ways, both directly and indirectly.
A recent declaration of The Australian Medical Association (AMA) indicated that experiencing extreme weather events is a risk factor for mental illness. And many thousands of people around the world are displaced from their homes as a result of climate events, putting them at perhaps even higher risk of mental illness. People are feeling distressed about the current state of our eco system and it is termed as “eco-anxiety”.
You could read more about this fro0m the following link
Comments
Hannah commented on :
Thanks for the additional info Binuraj 🙂