CHC Radio

An Environmental Psychiatrist Explains Earth Anxiety As We Celebrate Earth Day

As we mark Earth Day, we have just experienced the hottest March on record. But climate change’s impact isn’t stopping with the weather; it’s also affecting our mental health, says Dr. Gary Belkin, director of the Billion Minds Project at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Climate anxiety, which refers to having distressing feelings related to climate change impacts, is increasingly prevalent in communities where the impact is the most severe.  

And the problem is only getting worse. 

Dr. Belkin says it is important to ask, “What happens when there is mass hopelessness?” From individuals to politicians to society as a whole, feelings of hopelessness can hamper people’s ability to problem solve and result in people giving up and retreating from the issue.

A solution? Start small in communities, Dr. Belkin says. 

He’s putting this idea into practice through his work as chair of COP², an organization that curates coalitions of experts, advocates, care providers, decision-makers and funders to support projects that are co-created with local communities living on the front lines of the climate crisis. 

“What I think is really exciting,” he tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter, “is that the climate pressures have generated some powerful forms of local organizing and intersecting actions.”

Conversations on Health Care

Share
Published by
Conversations on Health Care

Recent Posts

‘If Ryan Reynolds doesn’t get you to do it…’: Colorectal Cancer Alliance CEO talks screening

Originally broadcast April 3, 2025 Roughly 85% of respondents to a survey cited by Michael…

19 hours ago

Food is Medicine: How Young Changemakers are Transforming Healthcare

Originally broadcast March 27, 2025 Two young innovators are leading a movement that proves food…

1 week ago

Hon. Mary Bono, Mothers for Awareness and Prevention of Drug Abuse

Originally broadcast March 20, 2025 Mary Bono has left the halls of Congress, but she’s…

2 weeks ago

Michael J. Fox’s Foundation Makes Parkinson’s Breakthrough

Originally broadcast March 13, 2025 Emmy award-winning actor Michael J. Fox shocked the world when…

3 weeks ago

Colorectal Cancer Rising for Millennials & Gen Z: How to Reverse the Trend

Originally broadcast February 15, 2024 About 1 in 5 colorectal patients are now under the…

4 weeks ago

Alzheimer’s Researchers Under Fire: Acclaimed Journalist Explains Why

Originally broadcast February 27, 2025. How reliable is the current research into the cause of…

1 month ago