Heath/Climate Change Impact—
By Freda Ross, producer, Arkansas News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Deadly storms, heat waves, pollution, and other effects of climate change are affecting the mental health of Americans all over the country.
Research from Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health showed symptoms can range from depression and anxiety to increases in violence and suicide.
For example, Arkansas farmers have a suicide rate two times higher than the national average.
Derrick Sebree, a therapist and MA program director at the Michigan School of Psychology, said isolation in rural areas can make mental health symptoms worse.
“Communities don’t necessarily have the resources to turn around and particularly focus on advocacy, activism work sometimes, even in their own areas,” Sebree explained.
During May, Mental Health Awareness Month, the Arkansas Farm Bureau is promoting its Farm State of Mind campaign. The campaign aims to reduce stigma and provide access to information and resources that promote mental health awareness among farmers and ranchers.
Sebree pointed out climate change also affects the mental health of people who are food insecure or unhoused, especially in rural areas where services such as cooling centers may not be available during extreme heat. He stressed mental health professionals should closely monitor patients in these situations.
“Extreme heat tends to exacerbate mental health emergencies and tends to have an impact on people who take antidepressant medication, particularly,” Sebree cautioned.
Also, experts say the climate crisis is a threat multiplier, increasing health inequities for many demographic groups, including Black populations, children, Indigenous peoples, older adults, and people experiencing poverty.
