Indirect vs. Direct Climate Impact, Which Category Are You In?

Climate change affects us more than ever right now. Endangerment of species, biodiversity loss, wildfires, drought, crop depletion, the list of influence goes on. Thinking about these elements that deplete our planet’s precious resources can have a serious affect on our mental health too. After all, there is no Planet “B” and our situation is indeed an existential threat to us all.

There are 3 psychological impacts of global climate change that are associated to mental health related stress: 1. direct, 2. indirect and 3. psychosocial. The first one- direct, refers to the traumatic after-effects of extreme weather scenarios, these are things like hurricanes, tsunamis or floods that would devastate an area and consequentially cause mental and emotional grief in the aftermath. The second is indirect and refers to impacts of emotional threats due to uncertainty around the future and general security. This is similar to the what people are experiencing now during the COVID-19 pandemic; many people are have added stress, depression and anxiety because of the uncertainty the virus brings and implications it might have of their health or livelihood. The final quality of impact- psychosocial, refers to chronic societal stress, effects of heat, drought, migration, instability and weather related conflicts like post-disaster adjustment of a society or group.
The detrimental quality of environmental effects inherently erodes the process of well-being and thus impacts community as a whole, even conveying possible increase in suicide mortality as a result.
Now, we all know that getting physical and emotional care after something as traumatic as a massive hurricane or a tornado is necessary for the people involved in order to recover; their houses, their entire lives were turned upside down and destroyed.

What about the people who’ve never been in a natural disaster but are still feeling ecological grief?

These people fall into the indirect category.
Being able to mentally process the possibilities & probabilities of how climate change might impact our way of life in the near term in critical. We shouldn’t be taking on more than we can handle though it’s a heavy conversation regardless. I believe in being prepared. Part of what I advocate for as a climate-informed counselor is the act of intentionally exposing ourselves to these possibilities, as difficult as it may be.
Educating ourselves, asking tough questions — this allows us to face the truth of what is happening and to actively process our fears on our own time, in our own way. Climate science is a politically charged concept. We can not talk about climate change without breaching the subject of our economic system. It’s a broad topic to say the least. There are a lot of unknowns and it can surface feelings of anger, despair, anxiety, hopelessness, and this is all without having been in a weather event.

Learning more about it can help us meet ourselves where we are, so that we can in turn become empowered by this knowledge, feel more connected with each other and be more in touch with reality — rather than feeling afraid.

So if you are someone indirectly affected by climate change (which is everyone at this point), you have the opportunity to integrate an understanding of it — before you are directly affected and have little time to process much less, prepare for what’s going on around you.
I would rather know what to expect so I can anticipate something mentally as opposed to being caught off guard and further devastated by an event. There is power in knowing the facts, there is power in knowing yourself. It’s a survival mechanism in some sense. If society were to totally destabilize wouldn’t it be helpful to at least know you’ve mentally and emotionally prepared at least minimally for anticipating what’s to come? You would carry less stress because you’ve already processed what was happening to some extent.

I’m not saying that we should expect worse case scenarios. I am however suggesting the major value in fully realizing our climate crisis. The environmental repercussions associated with climate change are uncertain and disturbing. Indirect climate change or climate-grief can be viewed as an opportunity. It’s asking us to come to terms with our own existence, to look at our life and choose how we want live. It’s asking us to transform our grief into light so we can be inspired to appreciate our life each and everyday as we should — as a gift.