Climate trauma leaves us frozen in a state of dissociation
A recent study indicates that many people react to the overwhelming scope of the climate emergency by distancing themselves psychologically, instead of pursuing constructive climate measures.
This phenomenon – known as collective dissociation – functions as a trauma response, the researchers argue, impeding collaboration and perpetuating an inability to confront a daunting reality.
The researchers explored the psychology behind climate inaction, noting that the colossal scale and intricacy of the crisis can leave individuals feeling powerless.
Faced with this sense of helplessness, many turn to denial or dissociation, which offers temporary emotional relief but hampers coordinated efforts to address the root causes of global warming.
Climate trauma and dissociation
According to the study, climate-related disasters such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods not only cause immediate damage to communities but also create lasting mental health challenges.
People directly impacted may develop trauma responses that include avoidance and numbness. These subconscious coping strategies, although self-protective in the short term, can dilute public demand for robust climate measures.
When individuals and entire populations withdraw from acknowledging the true scale of the problem, it becomes harder to form coalitions that could press governments or industries to shift away from harmful practices like excessive fossil fuel extraction.
Collective climate dissociation thus magnifies the consequences of the crisis by slowing the societal response.
Linking mental health and climate action
The experts suggest that recognizing the emotional and psychological dimensions of climate change could lead to more impactful strategies.
Instead of framing the climate emergency purely in terms of environmental data, policymakers might benefit from emphasizing the human cost and mental toll of inaction.
This perspective could inspire a form of climate advocacy that is empathetic and more resonant with everyday experiences, promoting both community resilience and a sense of efficacy in the face of the climate threat.
Severe effects on vulnerable populations
The mental health fallout from climate impacts disproportionately affects vulnerable groups. People already at risk, such as those living in food-insecure areas or facing displacement, bear the brunt of escalating weather extremes.
Beyond the physical dangers, such threats bring heightened risks of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Study senior author Don-Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, a scientist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, noted that local moral support is vital for fostering sustainable adaptation strategies and community resilience to climate change, such as by organizing vulnerability assessments and developing tailored action plans.
“These plans should include measures for improving infrastructure, enhancing social cohesion, and providing mental health support, reducing vulnerability to climate-related stresses,” said Lucero-Prisno.
“Emphasizing community engagement reduces despair, providing essential solidarity for coping with climate trauma. Local leadership should support community-based climate action by providing resources and frameworks, facilitating engagement, and ensuring mental health support is accessible.”
According to this view, empowering communities to share knowledge and resources can ease the sense of isolation that emerges when climate pressures mount. Such efforts may also spark renewed urgency to address environmental hazards at local and regional levels.
Confronting structural inertia
Beyond focusing on individual and local community actions, the new study emphasizes systemic causes of climate inaction.
“To make meaningful progress, we need to move beyond rhetorical calls for citizen action and directly confront the systemic forces that perpetuate the climate emergency,” said lead author Deborah Shomuyiwa, from the University of Lagos Faculty of Pharmacy and Global Health Focus Africa.
“Corporate resistance, government paralysis, and prioritising profits over environmental sustainability all drive community inaction. The financial sector’s continued investment in coal and oil, alongside unchecked consumerism, greenwashing, and the war economy, accelerate the climate emergency.”
“Citizens see these decisions by those in power and are alienated by these, which can foster feelings of helplessness and dissociation from the emergency.”
In this context, the authors argue that citizen-led sustainability efforts alone cannot counter the scale of damage done by major polluters. Instead, they call for firmer oversight, accountability, and policy measures that take aim at corporate and governmental inactivity.
Combating climate dissociation
The paper outlines four main avenues that would help combat collective dissociation:
- Make political funding transparent and accountable so that climate solutions can be pursued with consistent public support.
- Ensure that leaders prioritize sustainable policy approaches and set up mechanisms for tracking outcomes, responding dynamically to new findings and technologies.
- Organize widespread educational campaigns to highlight how the climate emergency impacts mental well-being, thereby galvanizing stronger public backing and resilience.
- Direct support to at-risk communities, fostering inclusivity and community cohesion in tackling the climate crisis.
A path beyond climate dissociation
Ultimately, the study reveals that climate change is not only an environmental dilemma but also a profound mental challenge.
Without acknowledging and addressing the trauma-related aspects of such a sweeping threat, the authors believe that societies may stay locked in patterns of denial.
The concluding message is that progress calls for reframing the crisis in ways that emphasize empathy, collective responsibility, and structural reforms, so that people do not retreat from the reality of climate change – but instead come together to shape meaningful solutions.
The study is published in the journal Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health.
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