Because of climate change, extreme weather becomes globally more common and natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, are increasing. They cause significant economic and physical damage but also psychological stress and trauma. Exposure to natural disasters can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder including depression, distress and a high suicide risk.

In Finland, the most significant climate change impacts on mental health are related to darker winters with less snow. The amount of sunlight decreases and cloudy weather becomes more common, particularly in winter, which may have negative impacts on an individual’s mood. Moreover, a craving for sugary foods and reduced exercise possibilities might also affect physical health.

Individuals who have not experienced direct physical impacts of climate change might still suffer from it mentally. Concern about climate change is a normal reaction to a potential threat, but sometimes it can lead to anxiety disorder. In addition to pathological conditions, climate change may cause a wide range of negative emotions, such as insecurity, hopelessness, paralysis, apathy and guilt.

However, the impacts to climate change are not only negative. Those who are taking action against climate change often experience increasing coping skills and personal relevance.

Responses to climate change vary greatly. They can be classified roughly in three categories:

1. Unconscious denial that may result in increased consuming and compulsive hoarding.
2. Green consumption. Climate change has an impact on consumer behaviour to a certain extent, but generally speaking, consumers do not strongly feel compelled to adjust their behaviour in the direction of a greener lifestyle.
3. Believing that humans are part of nature, feeling a moral duty towards a greener lifestyle and aiming to inspire others to take responsibility.

It is estimated that climate change could have at least the following social impacts:

• Violence and violent deaths will increase due to hot temperatures and heat waves.
• Conflicts between different interest groups over resources will increase.
• Negative mental health impacts of forced migration create emotional distress, anxiety and grief.
• Socio-economic inequality within and between nations and ethnic groups will increase.
• Inequality due to uneven changes across the planet will increase.
• Concern about climate change overshadows daily life and causes insecurity, which may seem absurd in a world where well off people have better access to food and health care than ever before.

We easily belittle future risks. Our brain was designed to detect immediate danger and to respond instantly – the fight or flight mechanism. It was not designed to respond to statistics. Because it is impossible to directly perceive the immediate consequences of climate change, unlike, for example, water eutrophication, we hope there will be a miraculous solution to the devastation we have brought upon the earth.

The causes of climate change are deeply embedded in our social structures and tackling them requires many small and large continuous steps in the long run. However, the large scale of the problem may feel overwhelming. Individual choices do not seem to matter much in the end. Non-stop news about climate change may cause emotional numbness and tiredness. At the same time, we are not normally afraid of things we consider ordinary, such as rare disasters.

Certain factors support taking action against climate change and certain factors prevent it. The latter include ignorance, inability to see the connection between climate change and one’s own life, scepticism about the effectiveness of responding to climate change, unwillingness to give up an unsustainable lifestyle, general resistance to change, fear of sticking out, mistrust towards scientific methods and not being ready to take large enough steps towards a greener lifestyle. Climate-friendly action requires exactly opposite.

Schools typically aim to raise awareness. However, it is not enough, since it mostly benefits those who already agree about the main principles of the topic and those who do not yet have fixed ideas about it.

In the long run, it would be sensible to make environmentally friendly choices available to all – for example, to present renewable electricity as the default option. Individuals would have to choose if they would prefer electricity from non-renewable sources. Positive peer pressure is an even more effective tool to change behaviour, since most of us want to be like everyone else. In addition, climate change heroes are important to inspire people to act against global warming, and because we are all different, we need role models from all walks of life: mothers, engineers, trendy vegans, farmers, young and old, city dwellers, country people, Pekingese and Parisians.

Social change requires that negative emotions highlight the necessity of change. Although processing loss and disappointment is always important in a time of crisis, it is also crucial to find hope and opportunities. Hope opens up constructive thinking and dialogue.

Immediate positive feedback – happy emoji or a thumbs-up on social media – or doing something positive for the environment, is a surprisingly powerful motivating force for adults, too. The greater the motivation, the more effective the action.

Appreciation of the environment, humans and other species is an important factor in the fight against climate change. An emotional connection to nature correlates with environmentally friendly action. Additionally, expanding an empathetic reach from our own lives to those of the entire world helps us to understand causal effects on a wider scale. It also motivates us to help the planet.

Psychological adaptation refers to an individual’s psychological state and social processes through which they adjust to environmental changes. The term is being used in various contexts such as evolutionary and sensory adaptation and coping mechanisms through which we adapt to challenging situations.

The word “resilience” is often mentioned when talking about climate change. It refers to empowering vulnerable societies and communities facing climate change challenges. Psychological resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to successfully adapt to life challenges in the face of highly adverse conditions. A resilient individual has the ability to bounce back from a negative experience with competence. She/he has a feeling of control over her/his life and the interpretations of negative experiences. She/he is actively shaping her/his life instead of being a passive victim.

Individual adaptation to climate change depends on an individual’s characteristics (sensitivity, optimism, perseverance etc.), nature of the situation and physical environment (severity, magnitude) and community (social networks, the role of media, cultural norms). These form a complex and ever-changing web of interconnected factors. Psychological tools can’t really change the physical environment, but they play a key role in the adaptation of individuals and communities.