Mental health effects should be part of the climate change conversation.As temperatures rise and stay high in many parts of the United States this summer, many people are feeling the effects—not just in their bodies, but in their moods and emotional states as well. From lowered energy and irritability to disrupted sleep and increased isolation at home, excessive heat can affect people's mental well-being in important ways.
In time, people tend to show a decreased ability to cope with stress, which can affect their interpersonal relationships and work performance, and make them less adaptable. Moreover, the physical discomfort that comes with excessive heat can cause a lack ofOn the more severe side, extreme heat and heat exhaustion may exacerbate existing mental health conditions.
As climate scientists work on planning for the effects of the changes to come, it's imperative that we don't look at this problem merely from an environmental or sociological lens. Individual psychological changes—like the ones you may very well be feeling if you've seen temperatures that are excessively hot or humid this summer—will likely get worse as well without adequate mitigation., is a clinical psychologist and speaker on the faculty of Georgetown University.