Climate change’s impact on mental health of vulnerable populations

I know that climate change, particularly the lack of action on climate change, affects my mental health. Therefore, an article about the impact of climate change on the mental health of vulnerable populations caught my eye. The research, done by Fahrudin and colleagues (2024), conducted a review of published research between 2000 and 2023.

I’m not surprised that they found that climate change contributes to mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. But, what I find interesting is the why. They found that vulnerable populations, including Indigenous groups and low-income communities, experienced distress because they have limited adaptive capacity and are exposed to climate-related hazards. This is different from my experience which focuses on the lack of action.

The authors mention solastalgia which is “the distress we feel when home becomes unfamiliar” (Bailey, n.d.). I understand this, but I also know that if I need to I can move and I can create a new home. I also live in a place where I’m seeing change but it won’t become unlivable in my lifespan. This reflects two parts of my identity. First, I am more connected to the land than many settlers, but I don’t have the same relationship with the land as is common for many members of the First Nations community. Therefore, if I need to move, I’m not going to lose a piece of my identity. I also have the means to move if I need. I have enough skills that I could find a job in a new community and I have the base resources that would allow me to move if I had to. This is something that many individuals experiencing low-income situations would not necessarily have.

I think this is an important consideration. We need to remember that even if we have similar responses to climate change in terms of increasing mental health concerns. The reasons why may be different. These differences may impact how we treat the challenges and how we inspire action to create change. Our positionality plays a role in why we respond the way we do, even if we end up at the same endpoint as someone else.