Wednesday, June 11, 2014

APA: Americans Are Fragile Flowers Who Will Be Psychologically Distraught Due To Climate Change

Headline:
Climate change have significant negative impacts on health and psychological well-being

"Climate change will have significant negative impacts on Americans' health and psychological well-being, due to an increase in the frequency and severity of climate-related natural disasters and other climate-related changes in the environment and weather. Likely effects, which will increase as climate change's physical impacts accelerate, include stress, anxiety, depression and a loss of community identity, says a new report from the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica.

Climate change is also likely to result in an increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions because of the rise in the number and severity of natural disasters, according to the report. Climate change could also lead to increased feelings of loss and helplessness if individuals and communities are forced to relocate.

"The striking thing is how these effects will permeate so many aspects of our daily lives," said Norman B. Anderson, PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association. "The effects we are likely to see aren't just trauma from experiencing natural disasters. We can also expect increases in long-term stress and anxiety from the aftermath of disasters, as well as increases in violence and crime rates as a result of higher temperatures or competition for scarce resources."
Unlike say, WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, The Civil War, The Great Depression, etc., of course, which had no effect at all and were easily assimilated.

5 comments:

Robert Coble said...

"We can also expect increases in long-term stress and anxiety from the aftermath of disasters, as well as increases in violence and crime rates as a result of higher temperatures or competition for scarce resources.

I love the way that totally unrelated conditionals are added, with the SCARY "WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!" item listed first, so that the psychological basket cases will stop reading, and immediately clamor for some politician to "DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS N-O-W!"

Correlation between increases in violence and crime rates and EITHER higher temperatures OR competition for scarce resources MIGHT be capable of being established, however tenuously. It should not require continuous repetition, but it apparently does for the psychologically impaired, especially those in the business of expanding the ever-increasing definition of those in need of the tender ministrations of their expert diagnoses: correlation does establish causation. Follow the money, Honey! It ain't about all of those shrinking violets in the American psych ward.

Robert Coble said...

Correction: That should read: "Correlation does NOT establish causation." Sorry about that missing little "not." It's so easy to overlook when discussing "NOT" [siic] heads.

Unknown said...

I think this falls into the "When all you've got is a hammer..." category. Carpenters fix everything with nails. Psychiatrists do it with diagnostic couches.

Actually, a lot of this I think falls under the "They needed a study to figure that out?!" rubric. Of course (assuming for the sake of argument global warming actually occurs) competition for increasingly scarce resources will lead to higher stress and crime rates. Wars will be fought. Pets will be shot for food. Neighbors will wall themselves off from neighbors. Under worst case scenarios governments will break down and Mel Gibson-style vigilantism will become the norm.

And psychiatric couches will be amongst the scarcest of commodities.

Unknown said...

I think this falls into the "When all you've got is a hammer..." category. Carpenters fix everything with nails. Psychiatrists do it with diagnostic couches.

Actually, a lot of this I think falls under the "They needed a study to figure that out?!" rubric. Of course (assuming for the sake of argument global warming actually occurs) competition for increasingly scarce resources will lead to higher stress and crime rates. Wars will be fought. Pets will be shot for food. Neighbors will wall themselves off from neighbors. Under worst case scenarios governments will break down and Mel Gibson-style vigilantism will become the norm.

And psychiatric couches will be amongst the scarcest of commodities.

Unknown said...

Sorry about the double post. The verification system said the letters I typed didn't match so I did it again.