Heat waves, climate change, and your mental well-being

A couple looks at the Bay Bridge as wildfire smoke turns the sky orange, September 2020. (Photo by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash)

By Leah Harris

It is widely known that the extreme heat being driven by climate change is impacting mental health and well-being in a variety of ways. Climate change is understood to worsen depression, anxiety, and can lead to a higher incidence of extreme states/psychosis. Research has shown an increase in distress, suicidality, aggression against others, and visits to emergency departments as the temperature rises. The most vulnerable and marginalized communities including unhoused neighbors, people living in environments long-impacted by racist urban planning policies, as well as those who must work outdoors, are at greatest risk.

In addition, extreme heat can increase health risks of people taking medications for mental health conditions, in the form of thermoregulation challenges, or the body’s ability to regulate temperature. For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants may cause increased sweating, which can hasten dehydration. Neuroleptic, or antipsychotic medications can lead to hyperthermia, or increased body heat, at the same time that they decrease sensations of thirst. It’s vital to educate ourselves and others on how these medications act on the body during periods of extreme heat, and steps to take to recognize and prevent heatstroke and other dangers.

Various individual coping strategies have been recommended to counter the negative mental health impacts of climate change, such as meditation and mindfulness. But the scale of the problem is such that individualistic suggestions are unlikely to make much of a mental health difference in the long term. “Coping skills are always valuable, but what we ultimately need are more adaptive and resilient systems that help shield everyone from the physical, emotional, and psychological toll of extreme heat,” writes Rebecca Ruiz in Mashable.

Here are a few collectively-minded strategies for working with the mental health impacts of climate change and focusing on actions that are within your control. 

• Join or host a Climate Café. These are a form of peer-to-peer support for people feeling distressed about climate change. The focus is on holding space for one another to share about climate concerns in a non-judgmental environment.
• Support local mutual aid efforts, particularly in areas of highest heat vulnerability.
• Share this heat awareness pocket guide in multiple languages, and know where your local cooling centers are.
• Support and advocate for tree-planting programs with a focus on equity and addressing racial and economic disparities in access to green space.

Resources for further exploration: 

• Alameda County Public Health Department: Heat and Health 
• Racism is magnifying the deadly impact of rising city heat (Nature)
• 7 Important Ways You Can Help Relieve Extreme Heat Caused by Climate Change (Global Citizen)
• How to Prevent Your Brain From Melting During a Heat Wave (The Daily Beast)
• Heat waves aren’t just physically harmful – research shows they can harm mental health, too (Grid)
• Heatwaves worsen mental health conditions (The Conversation)
• Extreme heat will bring worse mental health. People shouldn’t have to cope alone. (Mashable)​

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Leah Harris is a non-binary, queer, neurodivergent, disabled Jewish writer, facilitator, and organizer working in the service of truth-telling, justice-doing, and liberation. They’ve had work published in the New York Times, CNN, and Pacific Standard. You can learn more about their work at their website and follow them on Instagram.