Siri Krishnamurthy Krishnamurthy 1 Professor Silano English 201 28 October 2022 Alternate Summary Response In the article, “How climate change affects mental health” by Samantha Harrington argues that climate change can affect an individual’s mental health in two ways: one way is direct exposure, and the other way is indirect exposure. In short, “[p]eople do not have to live through a natural disaster to suffer the mental health consequences of climate change” (Harrington). Disasters can affect individuals’ mental health differently. Extreme weather is also linked to more subtle psychological effects. Children and people with pre-existing psychological conditions, may be more at risk of experiencing negative mental health outcomes in response to extreme weather events. Even those who spend a lot of time thinking about climate change are also at risk. Harrington argues that people have limited ways to process psychological reactions to the changing climate such as anxiety and fear, and there are steps we can take to process these emotions in healthy ways. According to Harrington, “up to 54% of adults and 45% of children suffer depression after a natural disaster.” This is both directly and indirectly. I think that is very alarming and that’s something that needs to be addressed. If the mental health impacts of climate change are not addressed, then we won’t know how to process these emotions in a healthy way. I think that it is very important for youth, especially to learn to process the emotions they feel about the climate crisis. Therefore, the mental health impacts of climate change must be addressed. If the public is more aware of this, then it will be easier for us to find healthy coping mechanisms to process these difficult emotions. According to Harrington, “Buzzell says an important first step is acknowledging that anxiety or fear is a perfectly normal response to climate change.” Acknowledging these complicated emotions will help us cope with these complicated feelings. I have had anxiety over climate change, and I like to talk to my friends about it. I know that they are also feeling the exact same emotions, so I’m not alone in this crisis. When we acknowledge these emotions, it will enable us to think more positively about the situation. I used to think that everything would end in doom within 20-30 years, but after acknowledging that these emotions are normal, I’ve completely changed my thinking. Now, I believe that if we contribute by doing simple things such as recycling, turning off the lights at a certain time to save energy, then maybe we won’t be doomed within 20-30 years. By acknowledging these difficult emotions, it will be easier for us to cope with them as well as changing our thinking. Throughout the article, Harrington continually emphasizes how climate change can impact our mental health significantly, both directly and indirectly. It is very alarming that 54% of adults and 45% of children suffer from depression because of a natural disaster. The mental health impacts of climate change must be addressed as a result. The first step is to acknowledge that the anxiety or fear we feel are normal. In this way, it will be easier to cope, as well as changing our thoughts about the crisis. Krishnamurthy 2 Works Cited Harrington, Samantha. “How Climate Change Affects Mental Health " Yale Climate Connections.” Yale Climate Connections, 29 Mar. 2022, https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/02/how-climate-change-affects-mental-health/.
