The impact of extreme heat and natural disasters on human psychological stability

The impact of extreme heat and natural disasters on human psychological stability

While discussions about climate change typically focus on rising temperatures, sea levels, and biodiversity loss, there is a human dimension that is gaining increasing traction in psychiatry and sociology: "eco-anxiety." This term refers to the chronic fear and anxiety associated with worry about the planet's environmental fate. Recent European studies show that this anxiety has become a health epidemic among young people and adolescents, affecting their future decisions, their desire to have children, and their life satisfaction. A psychoanalytic analysis of this phenomenon reveals that today's youth, or "Generation Z," feels angry and confused. This generation has grown up hearing about "tipping points" and sees daily news reports of forest fires, floods, and droughts. The difference between this generation and previous ones is that the danger is no longer theoretical or remote; it is visible in the climate of their cities. This certainty that t…