Climate Trauma: Part II
On September 20th, 2024 the OHPA hosted its first interdisciplinary workshop of the academic year on “Climate Trauma”, bringing together scholars from CEU, Zürich University, Ghent University, and Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau. The workshop focused on the political, psychological and cultural aspect of climate trauma.
The second part of the OHPA’s Climate Trauma workshop featured two talks, the first being given by Dr. Rachel Bachem, a clinical psychologist at Zürich University. Dr. Bachem’s talk was entitled “A future epidemic? The mental toll of climate anxiety.” Aptly named, Dr. Bachem explored how her research and personal expertise related to the concept of the Stress Response Continuum (SRC), and how this phenomenon is increasing in a new form directly causal to natural disasters caused by the climate crisis. Dr. Bachem explained how the SRC exists on one end of the spectrum whereas on the other exists a dynamic of awareness of threats, rather than a direct personal response, and is more common regarding climate change as most people who are concerned about it hasdfsfdsdfve yet to experience a traumatic event directly caused by it.
Dr. Bachem elucidated that this response to the climate crisis is widespread and growing: 20-40% of EU citizens surveyed are “very worried” about climate change, spiking to 84% when surveying young people. Of that, 75% said the “future is frightening” and 45% even reported this anxiety affecting their daily life and ability to function. Climate anxiety can make one physically sick and induce a higher rate of physiological issues, irritability, depression, and paralysis manifesting as apathy. The groups highest at risk of this skew younger, more commonly in women and individuals which are more connected to the natural world for personal or cultural reasons. Dr. Bachem’s observations of this data prompted her to question if this phenomena is pathological, and further revealed that in spite of this particular anxiety causing intense symptoms it seldom translates to affected individuals partaking in climate protectionist action. Dr. Bachem concluded that climate anxiety is on the rise and that threats related to such produce legitimate and substantial stressors. She posited that this particular type of anxiety may fit into the existing framework regarding adjustment disorder, stressing that more severe cases will continue to surface and questions of prevention and intervention must receive attention by the research community and broader public.
The second talk served as an appropriate follow up to Dr. Bachem’s, entitled “Climate Anxiety - occurrence, correlates and profiles of emotional responses to climate change” delivered by Dr. Gerhard Reese of Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau. Dr. Reese explored similar questions to Dr. Bachem, beginning with unpacking the existential question at the root of the climate crisis of are we doomed? Dr. Reese referenced the IPCC’s assessment from 2022 that risks to mental health and wellbeing can be induced by both direct and indirect exposure to climate change. He then cited similar statistics which revealed attitudes found in large swathes of the population, particularly that people found their security to be threatened. Young people in particular felt feelings of unfairness and apathy, manifesting in attitudes of feeling that earlier generations had far better opportunities and increased aversion to having children, typically citing the declining state of the world as a major deterrent to raising children of their own. Dr. Reese’s study found that there is an evidence correlation between climate anxiety and eventual impairment, as symptoms can increase over time and have tangible effects in people’s daily lives. He stressed that this is likely a global pervasive issue, due to the global and existential threat climate change represents. Dr. Reese concluded that affected individuals could invest their time in collective action activities as well as pursuing global citizenship education programs, insofar that action and activity can have profound effect in reducing symptoms and coping with such a condition.
The full talk as well as the subsequent discussion is available to view on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/VNAw0sWuiQc