With climate change posing an existential threat to many cultures and communities, it’s time to take the mental health fallout a lot more seriously

Eco-anxiety is a relatively new term in the lexicon of psychology, but it’s gaining more attention. In a world facing an existential threat from climate change — and many communities already facing tremendous upheaval — the mental health impacts of climate change are impossible to ignore. People who rely on farming, fishing, or whose cultures are connected to natural cycles, are being deeply affected. Livelihoods are drying up, or being washed away, and in many places, suicide rates are rising. Psychologist and Red Cross volunteer Ana Ana Mejía unpacks what’s happening and explains what we need to do, collectively and individually, to help people cope.