SAINT LUCIA, Sep 25 (IPS) – Climate change is fuelling a mental health crisis and accelerating eco-anxiety. Dr Emma Lawrance leads Climate Cares, Imperial College London, a centre dedicated to researching climate change in mental health. The researcher spoke to IPS about the need to address this growing concern. “Young people today are growing up with huge uncertainty about their future. Climate change is a major driver of that uncertainty, but we haven’t talked enough about how the climate crisis is affecting mental health,” researcher Dr Emma Lawrance told IPS from her family home in Australia.
With gloomy news at every moment climate report and an era marked by rising eco-anxiety, Lawrence leads research into a pressing but under-researched area: the intersection of climate change and mental health. As Mental Health Lead at the Institute for Global Health InnovationImperial College London, Lawrence’s unique career path – from physics and neuroscience to mental health advocate – highlights the intimate interconnectedness of human well-being and the health of the planet.
“I’ve always had a deep connection to nature,” Lawrence told IPS, recalling her upbringing in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. “I grew up with trees, koalas and birds, and it was always clear to me that we are not separate from nature. Our health and wellbeing are intimately linked to the wellbeing of the planet.”
Lawrence also worked in science communication and was part of a science circus, travelling around Australia, performing in schools and taking the opportunity to visit remote indigenous communities.
Her early love of the natural world led to her academic interests in physics and chemistry, where she came to understand the dangers of burning fossil fuels and their catastrophic effects on the climate. But her journey didn’t stop at environmental science; she wound through the complexities of mental health, a field shaped by both personal experience and her academic research.
In her teenage years she was directly confronted with mental illness, a period that profoundly shaped her worldview and motivated her to co-found It’s getting lightera youth mental health charity. This initiative, she explains, was designed to provide a platform for young people to share and hear stories of hope, to let those struggling know that they are not alone.
“I found that mental health and social connection were crucial, especially during periods of uncertainty, which my neuroscience research later confirmed,” she says. During her graduate studies at Oxford, Lawrence’s work examined how the brain processes uncertainty and how mental health conditions, such as anxiety, can alter decision-making. “When we miss crucial information, it changes the way we make decisions, and anxiety often exacerbates those effects.”
At Imperial College London, her work increasingly focused on the growing mental health crisis among young people. As emotional distress, anxiety and depression rates rose, Lawrence saw a glaring gap in the conversation: climate anxiety.
Lawrence’s research highlights a vicious circle: the climate crisis is exacerbating mental health issues, and people struggling with mental health issues may find it harder to take climate action. “People need psychological resilience to deal with these challenges. But the stress and anxiety that come with climate change, such as the trauma of witnessing environmental destruction, can undermine that same resilience.”
Her work came to the forefront during the Connecting Climate Spirits global event in Barbados this year. It was a landmark event that brought together experts, activists and policymakers from around the world to discuss the intersection of climate change and mental health. One of the key takeaways from the event, according to Lawrence, is the need to invest in community-based mental health support, particularly in areas most affected by climate change.
“What often determines whether someone thrives or struggles under climate-related stress is the strength of their community. Building resilient communities not only helps individuals cope, but also equips them to take action.”
Policy action
Lawrence calls on lawmakers to focus on creating systems that address the nexus of climate and mental health. “There needs to be greater awareness of the connections between people’s health and the health of the planet. Policymakers need to recognize that promoting environmental sustainability and mental health resilience go hand in hand.”
A striking example of this is the growing problem of extreme heatwhich not only affects physical health, but can also have profound psychological consequences, particularly for people with pre-existing mental health conditions. “In many parts of the world, people are essentially confined to their homes due to extreme heat, which places a huge burden on their mental health,” she explains. “Policymakers need to factor this into their public health responses, and ensure that communities are equipped with the tools and information to manage both the physical and mental health impacts.”
As Lawrence looks to the future, she remains hopeful. The connections she forged at the event in Barbados and through her ongoing work at Imperial College London offer a blueprint for tackling the twin crises of climate change and mental health.
“We need to invest in connectivity, across policies, communities and regions. There are so many great initiatives happening already, but they need to be scaled up and taken out of their silos. The solutions are there, but we need to bring people together to make them happen.”
Lawrence is at the forefront of this important conversation, and as climate anxiety grows, her work offers both a warning and a call to action: mental health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet. The conversation must be amplified.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service