{"id":3575,"date":"2023-10-30T16:06:48","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T16:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?p=3575"},"modified":"2024-10-23T10:02:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T10:02:14","slug":"climate-change-and-mental-health-insights-from-connecting-climate-minds-first-regional-dialogues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2023\/10\/30\/climate-change-and-mental-health-insights-from-connecting-climate-minds-first-regional-dialogues\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change and Mental Health: Insights from Connecting Climate Minds\u2019 First Regional Dialogues\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Villagers pray for their family members at a flooded public cemetery due to rising sea levels. Often, residents live with the seawater, as homes are commonly flooded. Sayung subdistrict, Demak, Central Java, Indonesia.
Photo credit: Aji Styawan \/ Getty Images Climate Visuals Grant recipient<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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As climate change continues to reshape our world, it’s not just landscapes that are transforming; the mental health of communities worldwide is also on the line. Over the past month, Connecting Climate Minds<\/a> has been uniting global experts, researchers, and stakeholders in the diverse fields relevant to climate change and\/or mental health from across the world. These discussions transcend borders, bringing together experts from seven regions of the world: Latin America and the Caribbean; Sub-Saharan Africa; Northern Africa and Western Asia; Central and South-Eas<\/span>tern Asia; Eastern and South-Eastern Asia; Oceania; and Europe and North America. The current field of mental health and climate change are disconnected and siloed, which reflects an urgent need to align research and action at the intersection of these two fields. The Connecting Climate Minds\u2019 project aims to address this gap, with the goal of creating an actionable research agenda informed by lived experiences, while also connecting communities of practice across the globe<\/a>. This agenda will capture the vast diversity of regions and groups of people that are affected by the climate crisis, allowing for an inclusive and comprehensive outline for future researchers, with investment and action from policymakers and relevant stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current field of mental health and climate change are disconnected and siloed, which reflects an urgent need to align research and action at the intersection of these two fields.<\/span><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The first dialogues proved to be a stunning success, with a total of 288<\/strong> attendees representing 42 different countries<\/strong> across the world. This impressive turnout reflects the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address climate change and the enthusiasm among experts to contribute their knowledge and skills to this global challenge. Each dialogue kicked off with a dynamic plenary session followed by breakout rooms, where lived experiences and on-ground stories were shared from attendees. <\/span>The breakout rooms consisted of a variety of different perspectives, including medical practitioners, public health and psychology researchers, climate experts, economists, anthropologists, clinical professionals, disaster management personnel, and beyond. A few groups represented at the dialogue include the president of the Jordanian Association of Psychiatrists, United Nation Youth Delegates, and senior leaders within the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/span><\/p>\n

Attendees shared personal stories and experiences related to climate change, underscoring the real-world impacts of the crisis on individuals and communities. One attendee from Afghanistan shared, \u201cPeople lose their assets, their livestock, and people are getting injured, killed, especially when flash floods occur at night. Just recently, a few months back, there were flash floods in nine or ten provinces. We had around 20, 29 people dead, and then more than a hundred injured. That caused a huge level of anxiety in the households that lost their relatives.\u201d\u00a0 Another attendee from South Africa shared,\u00a0 \u201cWe are all impacted by climate change. And people with money have insurance and can survive. But the rest of the population loses everything.\u201d These lived experiences served as a powerful reminder of the urgency of the interplay between climate change and mental health. From the diverse array of perspectives shared, a rich tapestry of themes and discussions emerged from the breakout sessions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the notable themes include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n