4 Steps to Cope With Climate Change in the College Years

Lonnie, a college sophomore, was bereft when she first came to my office. Her parents’ Florida home had been destroyed by winds from a Category 5 hurricane. Fortunately, they had evacuated, but they were in severe financial and emotional distress. Lonnie was already living with the memory of evacuating her home in Texas while in high school due to a tropical storm, only to return to find the home destroyed by floods. With her family facing this second catastrophe, Lonnie hesitated to turn to them when she was struggling.

Lonnie was very much alone emotionally and financially. The financial assistance her parents had been providing before the storm now stopped. She told me she had experienced minor episodes of down mood and anxiety during high school, which had subsided when she went to college. But with this recent loss, she was overwhelmed. She was sad and anxious much of the time, and most nights she had trouble falling asleep. She had tried therapy but did not find it helpful. I prescribed a medication that would treat both her depression and anxiety, and her symptoms lessened in a month.

Lonnie rose to the challenge of remaining in school in remarkable ways. She worked several hours a week to pay for school and majored in urban planning. Her goal was to help cities mitigate and survive increasing heat and floods. She had very little time for a social life but did not complain. She eventually tapered off her medication once her symptoms were remitted for an extended period. She did well in school and found a great job when she graduated.

The Impact of Climate Change and Natural Disasters

As a college psychiatrist for over 30 years, I have seen increasing numbers of students impacted by weather disasters related to climate change. And not all young adults are as resilient as Lonnie. A February NPR report described students leaving college after their families faced financial pain from losing their homes to storms or fires. A study found students whose families resided in zip codes where natural disasters took place ended up with lower GPAs and greater college debt than their peers. The rates of these natural disasters are only rising.

The summer of 2024 is beginning with extreme heat in the Northeast and fires in the West. ER visits in the northeast and mid-Atlantic for weather-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion have increased. Heat-related deaths are on the rise. According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the period from January through May 2024 was at its warmest since records were kept starting 175 years ago. A UN report highlights the increase in natural disasters such as floods, storms, and wildfires from 2000-2019, largely fueled by climate change.

There are concerning mental health effects associated with increasing heat in our climate. A large study of the United States and Mexico showed increased rates of suicide and more depressive language in social media posts during warmer months. It is predicted by 2050 there will be an additional 40,000 suicides due to the warming climate. Other studies have documented increases in anxiety and irritability with increasing temperatures. One source of irritability could be sleep difficulties in a too-warm environment.

More often, I am hearing college students describe general anxiety about climate change, wondering what weather disasters they may face. I validate these concerns and we explore ways they can take action to cope.

Steps College Students Can Take to Cope With Climate Change

1. Stay safe during periods of increased heat. Check both temperature and humidity, as humidity will always make you feel warmer. Carry water with you. Stay hydrated. Walk in the shade.
2. Be aware that many psychiatric medications as well as other medications make it harder to regulate your temperature when it is hot out. Ask your doctor how your medication impacts heat regulation. You may need to be especially careful during warm days.
3. Seek help for mental health issues related to climate change or natural disasters. Talk with a therapist about how your life is impacted. See a psychiatric provider if you are experiencing severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, or PTSD.
4. Take positive action. Many students take steps to address climate change. They major in environmental sciences to better understand our climate so they can make a difference. Students choose careers focused on mitigating the effects of climate change, becoming urban planners who work on making their communities safer in storms and engineers who retrofit buildings to make them more energy efficient. They are joining political groups and even running for office to have their voices heard.

I recently watched the 2023 series Extrapolations on Apple TV+ for a fictional glimpse of our future in 2037 and beyond in a world of warming temperatures and sea level rise. The characters are both physically and psychologically damaged by the increasing heat, flooding, and fires they face. At the same time, they discover new ways to cope and collaborate. It is heartening for me to see the young adults I know taking action to address these global concerns.

©2024 Marcia Morris, all rights reserved. Details have been altered to protect patient privacy.