Climate change awareness and mental health
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-12)

This section looks at climate change communication, its emotional impacts and the support options.

CCHS navigation menu: CCHS homepage (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-centre-for-climate-health-security)Topic: health impacts (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/health-impacts) Part of: Climate change and mental health (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/climate-change-and-mental-health)

Key resources for climate change awareness and mental health:

Climate change awareness and mental health

Overview of the climate change and mental health report (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/overview-of-the-climate-change-and-mental-health-report)

Climate change and mental health report (pdf) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-and-mental-health-report)

Communicating about climate change

The way climate change is communicated and framed can influence mental health outcomes. Catastrophising, or approaches which are overwhelming, can increase anxiety and distress. However, supportive, empowering communication that includes coping strategies and opportunities for action can help build resilience. Information should be age-appropriate, hopeful and action-orientated, helping people feel heard and capable of making a difference.

There is limited evidence on how best to communicate climate change in ways that support mental health, and therefore there is a need for more research in this area. According to the evidence gathered for the climate change and mental health report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-and-mental-health-report), few interventions are co-designed with young people or tailored to different developmental stages. Evidence also highlighted the need to support educators and parents to develop skills to be able to talk about climate change in ways that support children’s emotional wellbeing.

Top tips include:
- acknowledge and validate emotional responses to climate change
- avoid overwhelming or disempowering messages
- highlight and promote opportunities for climate-action
Climate change communication resources:

Climate education and mental health: Evidence and practical tools (https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk/resource/climate-education-and-mental-health-evidence-and-practical-tools) – National Education Nature Park in collaboration with Climate Cares Centre and Anna Freud

Effective climate change communication with children (https://globelegislators.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Effective%20climate%20change%20communication%20with%20children.pdf) (guidance) by Climate Psychology Alliance

Communicating on climate change and health: Toolkit for health professionals (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240090224) (2024) World Health Organisation

Climate stories that work: six ways to change hearts and minds about climate change (https://heard.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Heard_report_Climate-Stories-that-Work_Landscape_draft_v2.pdf) – a framing guide by Heard

Eco-anxiety

Eco-anxiety is the distress and worry that people may feel due to the threat of climate change. Although there is no standard definition for the term, ‘eco-anxiety’ tends to include related emotions such as eco-distress, eco-anger, eco-fear, and eco-grief. Direct experiences of extreme weather events, as well as indirect exposure, can lead people to experience eco-anxiety. It can lead to symptoms, including:
- sadness
- fear
- anger
- worry
- low mood
- sleep disorders
- panic attacks
- feelings of helplessness
Mental health professionals have observed a rise in people reporting experiences of eco-anxiety. Young people are thought to be most at risk. For example, 26% of young people responding to a UK survey reported that eco-anxiety affected their daily functioning (1 (#refs)). Eco-anxiety can also influence reproductive choices, 39% of UK survey respondents reported that climate change made them feel hesitant to have children due to concerns about quality of life in a future affected by climate change (1 (#refs)).

Some evidence suggests that women may experience higher levels of eco-anxiety than men, though findings are mixed. Socioeconomic factors may influence how eco-anxiety is experienced, but evidence remains inconclusive.

Eco-anxiety is considered by some to be an adaptive response to the climate crisis. It can motivate pro-environmental actions and community engagement, which may help buffer distress and promote wellbeing.

Eco-anxiety resources

Coco’s Fire: Changing Climate Anxiety into Climate Action (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyGZmd-kFoY) video and book to support children

Climate Grief Resources (https://www.climatementalhealth.net/grief-resources) – Climate Mental Health Network

Climate Café Listening Circle (https://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/index.php/component/content/article/climate-cafe-listening-circle?catid=16&Itemid=101) – Climate Psychology Alliance

Eco-Anxious Stories (https://ecoanxious.ca/)

Eco-anxiety in children and young people: What we can do to help (https://www.bps.org.uk/blog/eco-anxiety-children-and-young-people-what-we-can-do-help) -British Psychological Society

How to cope with climate anxiety – Young Minds (https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/how-to-cope-with-climate-anxiety/)

Anxiety, climate or eco anxiety - Ecopsychepedia (https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fecopsychepedia.org%2Fglossary%2Fclimate-anxiety%2F&data=05%7C02%7CCaroline.Tomes%40ukhsa.gov.uk%7Cfaa3d53a8ae84f951d0d08ddd980b179%7Cee4e14994a354b2ead475f3cf9de8666%7C0%7C0%7C638905868953791755%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=j%2BDnfroc1VJTJmXpNYSP2LGtAlKs8Z0cg0xw1Tmd9hc%3D&reserved=0)

Unthinkable - climate change and mental health resource hub (https://www.unthinkable.earth/resources)

Solastalgia

Solastalgia is the distress people may feel when their environment changes, possibly due to extreme weather associated with climate changes that negatively affects their home or sense of place. It’s a form of emotional or psychological pain linked to feeling disconnected from a familiar environment. It is associated with anxiety (https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/anxiety-fear-panic/), depression (https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-adults/overview/), and psychological distress.

Factors that contribute to solastalgia include:
- displacement or living in temporary housing after events like flooding
- changes to the physical environment, such as damaged landscapes or altered homes
- loss of routines or familiar places
- breakdown in community connections
Groups who are at greater risk include people affected by wildfires or floods, rural and farming communities, as well as communities experiencing displacement or loss of social cohesion. For example, one study found that after a wildfire 35% of people showed signs of depression or anxiety, and increased feelings of solastalgia were linked with increased psychological distress (2 (#refs)).

Solastalgia resources

Solastagia Zine (https://ecoanxious.ca/resources/solastagia-zine/) – Eco-Anxious Stories

Exploring the concept of solastalgia (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fzjsy8) - BBC Sounds

Solastalgia: Missing Home While Being Home (https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/major-topics-in-climate-psychiatry/solastalgia-missing-home-while-being-home) - Climate Psychiatry Alliance

Solastalgia (https://ecopsychepedia.org/glossary/solastalgia/) - Ecopsychepedia

Mental health support options

If you experience or witness a mental health emergency, call 999 or go to A&E immediately.

For urgent, non-emergency assistance use NHS 111 online (https://111.nhs.uk/triage/check-your-mental-health-symptoms) or call 111 and select the mental health option.

If you do not require support but are concerned about your mental health, contact your GP.

For non-urgent support (if you live in England and are registered with a GP):
- refer yourself for free to NHS talking therapies (https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/)
- call the Samaritans on 116 123 or text “SHOUT” to 85258
- call Papyrus’s HOPELINE247 on xx-xxxx-xxxx or text xx-xxxx-xxxx (if you are under 35 and need crisis support)
- call Childline on 0800 1111 if you are a child under 19
References

Hickman, C and others. ‘Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext)’ The Lancet Planetary Health 2021: Volume 5

To, P and others. ‘The impact of wildfires on mental health: a scoping review (https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/behavsci/behavsci-11-00126/article_deploy/behavsci-11-00126-v2.pdf?version=xx-xxxx-xxxx)’ Behavioural Sciences 2021: Volume 11