There are countless good reasons to take care of the climate. And to do so now, with the seriousness and dedication it deserves. The future of ecosystems, the economy, food security, and also people's mental health all depend on the climate. This is a link that is now demonstrated by numerous scientific studies.

Climate is a bigger concern than Covid-19

What is the main threat to national security? When a question like this was posed in September 2021, in the middle of a pandemic that still seemed far from over, one might have expected to hear about the coronavirus. Instead, 89 per cent of Italians surveyed by the Istituto affari internazionali and the University of Siena named the climate emergency, cutting across age groups and political persuasions. Pandemics came in second place, at 85 per cent.

On the other side of the world, in Australia, citizens have an even clearer view: Covid-19 is considered "a major problem" by 25.3 per cent of the more than 5,000 people surveyed, while climate change is considered so by 66.3 per cent — fully three times as many. Anxiety is spreading not only among the very young of the Greta generation, but also among women and adults aged between 35 and 55, whose thoughts turn to their children's future. These results are predictable, the study's authors argue, but no less worrying for that. Because this "burden on mental health" can only worsen, alongside the condition of the planet. And very few people seek the support of a therapist.

The trauma of extreme weather events

When a fire devours hectares of forest or a hurricane strikes a city, what is usually published is the toll of deaths, injuries and displaced people, followed by an estimate of the economic damage caused by destroyed homes and infrastructure. It is far rarer to hear about the consequences in terms of mental health. And yet they exist, very much so. Among citizens exposed to flooding in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2014, there was a recorded increase in cases of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The 2011 floods in Thailand, according to some studies, increased the risk of severe anxiety and depressive symptoms by 50 per cent.

It must be borne in mind that natural disasters often affect people's life choices, drawing a dividing line between before and after. Following Hurricane Maria in September 2017, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans were forced to relocate to Florida. Their rates of post-traumatic stress disorder were higher than those of people who had been able to remain in their homeland.

The consequences of Hurricane Katrina on mental health

One of the first occasions on which the mental health consequences were studied thoroughly was Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and leaving 400,000 without a home. The experience was made all the more painful by the serious failings in the relief effort, which left the population feeling abandoned by the federal government.

Researchers from three American universities surveyed 386 people who had lived through dramatic moments first-hand — for example, they had been separated from their families, had witnessed looting or other crimes, or had seen people injured. More than half of this sample showed one or more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. These symptoms diminish over time, but for one in six people they persist as many as twelve years after the event. Even in the absence of genuine PTSD symptoms, survivors scored lower in tests on mental flexibility, cognitive processing and sustained attention — factors that further undermined their ability to recover.

What we can do to protect our mental health

Does all this mean we must resign ourselves to a greyer future, even in terms of emotional wellbeing? Not necessarily. Indeed, being aware of these potential difficulties helps us to face them head on. So says Sarah Lowe, clinical psychologist and professor of behavioural sciences at Yale, in an interview with CNBC.

The first step, Lowe suggests, is to be prepared. At an individual level, this means buying generators, pumps or other equipment capable of limiting damage in the event of floods, fires or hurricanes. At a higher, institutional level, this same foresight translates into the various adaptation policies, evacuation plans, smart urban planning that avoids coastal areas and river basins, and training programmes.

All of this not only limits future damage, but also strengthens the sense of cohesion and trust within the community. Lowe invites us to reflect on how interconnected everything is: a company that makes itself resilient will be able to continue operating even after an extreme weather event, allowing its employees to keep their jobs and the peace of mind that goes with them.

Solastalgia, the anxiety caused by climate change

Not all of us, fortunately, are forced to leave our homes or to migrate due to waves of drought, flooding or other disasters of this magnitude. But climate change can still touch us deeply. There is even a neologism for this condition: solastalgia. It describes "the homesickness one feels while still at home," because one feels powerless in the face of sudden, negative changes — caused by external factors — that permanently alter the face of an environment that once seemed so familiar.

The term was coined in 2003 by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht and derives from the Latin solacium (comfort) and the Greek algia (pain). To explain this concept, Albrecht refers to one particular case: that of the Upper Hunter region in Australia. Since the 1980s, he recounts, the local population has experienced first-hand the negative impact of open-cast coal mines and severe drought, to the point of losing that sense of deep connection to their own land.

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Activism born of emotion

In such cases it is not appropriate to speak of trauma, Sarah Lowe emphasises, but that does not make it any less important to validate other people's emotions. And "to recognise that it is fine, and entirely valid, to feel sad about the loss of ecosystems, to feel anxious about the future of humanity, to experience these feelings," she urges. "It is sad to see a landscape changing. It is objectively sad to watch the beauty of nature disappear. It is frightening to think that one day the Earth could become unsuitable for human life."

As long as these emotions remain within manageable levels, they can also have a positive side, because they motivate action. Activism frequently springs from this very source. And it is the best way to prevent these feelings from spiralling into a generalised anxiety disorder or a depressive state. When one plays one's part in changing things, when one feels able to make a difference, this impulse is channelled in a positive direction — for oneself and for others.