Creator resource: The Truth Behind Climate Grief
The Center for Health Communication works to create toolkits and briefings that help content creators spread evidence-based health information on social media. The information provided is meant to be educational and is not a substitute for medical advice. This page was last updated on 11/22/24.
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chc@hsph.harvard.edu
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Key statistics
- 3.3 million premature deaths each year are caused by outdoor air pollution
- 75% of Gen Zers in the US say the environment affects their mental health
- 16x higher risk of depression for children who experience natural disasters
- 10 warmest years on record all occurred in the past 10 years
Understand the research
Climate change exacerbates mental health issues
- Mental health consequences of climate change range from low level stress to clinical disorders, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidality.
- Having climate emotions is a valid and normal response to the climate crisis.
- Higher temperatures increase the rates of suicide. A study in Nature predicts that due to the effects of global warming, the United States and Mexico could experience anywhere between 9,000 to 40,000 additional suicides by the year 2050.
- Adverse Childhood Events, or ACEs, are traumatic events that can lead to social, emotional, and cognitive impairment on developing brains. Hurricanes, wildfires, and floods can be ACEs, especially when a child directly witnesses the loss of their home or the event results in the loss of a family member or friend.
- Children who were exposed to Hurricane Sandy in the womb had a 3x times higher risk of attention-deficit/disruptive behavioral disorders, 5x higher risk of anxiety disorders, and 16x higher risk of depressive disorders compared to children in the same region born before or after Sandy.
Content resources:
- Burke, M. et al | Higher temperatures increase suicide rates in the United States and Mexico | Nature Climate Change, 2018
- Nomura, Y., et al | Prenatal exposure to a natural disaster and early development of psychiatric disorders during the preschool years: stress in pregnancy study | The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022
- Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health: A Scientific Assessment
- WHO Mental Health ATLAS | Data on mental health care and support
Audience Call to Action:
- Share Climate Mental Health Network resources
- Share Harvard Chan C-Change fact sheet
- Watch Extrapolations
- Share Gen Z Climate Mental Health film clip | Climate Mental Health Network
- Become a member of Climate Psychiatry Alliance
Hashtags:
- #EcoAnxiety, #ClimateMentalHealth, #HSPHCreatorsSummit
Under-resourced, frontline communities are most at risk for the detrimental effects of climate on mental health
- Communities that rely on the natural environment for sustenance & livelihood, as well as populations living in areas most susceptible to specific climate change events, are at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes as a result of climate change.
- Under-resourced communities have the least access to mental health resources to help them, especially after a disaster.
- Children who grow up with the lowest levels of green space have up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder than kids with access to the highest levels of green space.
Content resources:
- Engemann, K., et al | Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood | PNAS, 2018
- Climate and Health Assessment | U.S. Global Change Research Program
- Project EMPOWER | Harvard Chan initiative to expand training for providers.
Audience Call to Action:
- Follow Queer Brown Vegan
- Sign up for Global Mental Health newsletter | Latest in efforts to transform mental health care
Hashtags:
- #ClimateAction, #MentalHealthSupport, #HSPHCreatorsSummit
The mental health impacts of high temperatures and extreme weather must be incorporated into plans for the public health response to high temperatures
- Climate change, climate anxiety, and inadequate government response are all chronic stressors that can threaten the mental health and well-being of young people around the world.
- Research suggests that an effective advocacy message should convey 1. The significant consequences of climate change 2. Actionable solutions 3. A clear call to action 4. Intergenerational collaboration.
- Increasing individual and community resilience, promoting connectedness to culture and community, helping people develop a sense of agency to take action, fostering courage, and increasing green space (+ access to it) can help alleviate the mental health consequences of climate change.
Content resources:
- Hickman, C., et al | Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey | The Lancet, 2021
Audience Call to Action:
- Listen to Brown Girl Green podcast
- Share Young People Climate Emotion resources | Climate Mental Health Network
- Share WHO policy recommendations
Hashtags:
- #CommunityResilience, #ClimateSolutions, #HSPHCreatorsSummit
Additional resources
- Support Group Guide | National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Best practices and recommendations for talking about suicide | Reporting on Suicide
- Find support for yourself or those who may be at risk for suicide | AFSP Suicide Prevention
- Find resources to improve your mental wellness | Project Healthy Minds for Harvard Chan School’s Creators Summit on Mental Health