How Is Climate Change Affecting Our Mental Health?
Provided by: The Climate Question |Published on: September 13, 2022
Podcasts
9101112AP
Synopsis
In this podcast episode, three experts join the host in discussing how climate change impacts mental health, the barriers to addressing this issue, and potential solutions for both climate change and mental health.
Listeners will also hear personal accounts from farmers in India and climate activists in the Philippines and Nigeria who have all experienced mental health challenges associated with climate change or environmental changes.
The podcast includes a variety of perspectives from experts, activists, and ordinary people around the world.
Some students may have their own experience with climate-related mental health issues and this podcast may help them feel seen and validated.
Additional Prerequisites
This episode discusses suicide, PTSD, anxiety, and depression. These are sensitive topics and teachers should use care and intentionality when incorporating these into the classroom.
Before listening to this podcast, students should have a solid understanding of climate change and its connection to extreme weather events like heat waves, droughts, floods, and storms.
Differentiation
This is a great resource for social-emotional learning and can help open a conversation about mental health, anxiety, depression, and stress.
After listening to the podcast, students can journal about their emotions and experiences with climate change and if comfortable share their thoughts with a peer or the class.
Students can draw inspiration from the activists highlighted in the podcast to brainstorm ways to address climate-related mental health concerns in their school or community.
Students can write letters to their local or national policymakers to push for more mental health support in their community or country.
Other helpful resources include this podcast on climate anxiety, this video about the emotions associated with climate change, and this youtube video about coping with climate anxiety.
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All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.