Climate change can make some people feel hopeless. Here's what can be done about it

Given the existential stakes of climate change, it makes sense to feel afraid or depressed about the future of the environment. In this case, the researchers included 57 peer reviewed studies based on whether they "investigated the effects of slow-onset climate change on a range of mental health indicators." In addition, the scientists determined that the most commonly studied mental health conditions included "cases and symptoms of anxiety and depression, suicide, non-specific psychological distress and negative emotions, such as fear, grief and general concern." Yet as the authors explain in the study, "it is important to note that a true null association between soil changes or atmospheric conditions and mental health outcomes would not call into question the abundant literature regarding the effects of climate change on global populations; rather, it may indicate that, unlike other chronic climate changes, changes in soil and radiation may not be readily observable in people’s daily lives." "The psychosocial demands of the climate crisis also call for an examination of how our clinical formulations and treatments can reinforce counterproductive extracting, hyper individuation, monetizing, producing, consuming, and commodifying self-identities and values," Gary Belkin, the former executive deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, wrote in an editorial for the American Psychiatric Association's newsletter Psychiatric News.