Climate Matters
Climate Change and Mental Health
Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness. And a growing body of research suggests that climate change can worsen mental health and well-being.
Climate Change and Health: Mental Health
The impacts of climate change challenge not only our physical health, but our mental health as well. Large-scale studies link exposure to extreme weather events and increased temperatures to worse mental health outcomes.
Weather-related disasters can result in significant life upheavals that are challenging to quantify such as job loss, relocation, and rupturing of social networks. These impacts can in turn give rise to mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse.
Extreme weather catastrophes are becoming more frequent as the climate warms. That means the time to recover — physically and mentally — from the damage done by these billion-dollar disasters is shrinking.
