The Impact of Environmental Changes on Mental Health in Vulnerable Populations Focusing on Depression and Anxiety in Humans and Animals

Abstract

The climate crisis is a major contributor to environmental change, which is a rapidly rising global health challenge with intense mental health effects. Most vulnerable groups are characterized by socioeconomic status, as well as geographical exposure and pre-existing health status, and the latter results in disproportionately high psychological burden that is most often expressed in an increased number of signs of depression and anxiety symptoms. The mechanisms of how environmental stressors (both acute events (natural disasters) and chronic changes (rise in temperature, limited resource availability, etc.) directly and indirectly worsen these mental health disorders are under study in this study. Through an integrative review of international research, the study summarizes the information that proves that intermediate variables like livelihood loss, displacement, and food insecurity are the primary interaction channels between environmental changes and psychological distress. This research also highlights the emerging mental health challenges in animal populations, particularly in species experiencing habitat loss, food insecurity, and other environmental stressors. The major conclusions are that not only acute traumas but also the chronic concern of eco-anxiety have a considerable adverse effect on the well-being of the exposed communities, both human and animal, and therefore, there is a need to respond to it on a special public health level. Our conclusion is that the only way of properly managing this crisis is to urgently incorporate mental health assistance in climate change adaptation policies, with the primary focus on resilience-building and equal resource distribution to curb the growing psychological cost of a shifting climate.