Community capacity and climate change in the Laurentian Great Lakes Region: the importance of social, human, and political capital for community responses to climate-driven disturbances

Eco-emotions and Psychoterratic Syndromes: Reshaping Mental Health Assessment Under Climate Change

“…Societies are facing this challenge through different responses: structured (identification of critical issues with the development of an action plan and an active intervention), indifferent (lack of interest and low priority), concerned (risk perception followed by an alarm reaction with uncoordinated responses), paralyzed (unfocused alert and terror inducing a state of inaction). The differences in social responses are based on social cohesion, leadership, and information, and reflect the community capacity to adapt to critical situations, ie, to promote a change towards a more resilient society to climate-driven disturbances [17,67]. Therefore, we are witnessing an exponential increase in research and papers focusing on climate change and its threat on human health, in the effort to understand this extremely complex phenomenon, untangle the association between climate change and mental health, and propose proper interventions.…”

“…They are sequential natural disasters in the same specific area, and they create conditions that alter the effects of subsequent disasters (eg, fires in the US, floods in Europe). Each new disaster can reshape the psychological experience of past and future ones being a repeated and often similar disturbance, thus, causing symptoms more quickly and more severely on the subsequent exposure [15,16]; therefore, resulting in a repeated trauma, especially if there has not been enough time between events to recover or to prepare to face a new disaster, with effects also on a community and social level (inevitability, resignation, loss of trust) [17,18]. This kind of trauma is usually endured by the populations living in those areas most frequently exposed to extreme climate events, nevertheless, it can also affect those who did not have direct experiences of natural disasters but are particularly sensitive to climate change and hence tend to be influenced by the news and the worsening trends.…”

“…Nonetheless, there is not a univocal consensus on the development of these mental states and syndromes. From a psychological and psychiatric perspective, a possible explanation is that an occasional and temporary emotional distress related to climate crisis issues (mainly characterized by worry, feeling of powerlessness, frustration) may deteriorate if an appropriate reassurance or coping strategy are not found, such as in the absence of community capacity [17] and cultural changes [32] that support adaptation and promote social change; eventually leading to a sense of loss, grief, and anxiety especially in case of exposure to repeated discrete events or to a slowly progressive one. At this point, the condition is likely to be more complex and multifaceted, as described in the ecological grief and eco-anxiety conditions.…”

“…Seen from this perspective, younger generations should not be excluded from policy dialogues in order for their mental resilience to thrive. On the contrary, their knowledge and life experience should be considered, and they should be incorporated in addressing emerging challenges; thus, empowering and allowing them to develop knowledge for the future [17,41].…”

“…Therapists need first of all to be aware and educate themselves about climate crisis, in order to familiarize themselves with this kind of grief and trauma, to engage in reflexivity regarding their own handling of related existential issues, and to be adequately trained: treatment for eco-anxiety should be democratic, much like pro-environmental actions require from every member of the collectivity to share responsibility [20,55]. Mental health consequences of climate change are such a relevant issue that therapists must have an appropriate expertise, like it is expected from leaders for the common good [17]. In our societies therapists are entitled to take care of these kind of deep psychological and existential dimensions [25] and they premacy, where each person feels committed to pursue personal achievement and realization, as long as they become overwhelmed by the growing expectation along with exhaustion and breakdown [24].…”