(NaturalNews) According to some leading mental health experts, the negative health effects associated with climate change will be most experienced by those with mental illnesses. Drs. Lisa Page and Louise Howard from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) published an article in Psychological Medicine that examined research on the subject and came to their own conclusion that not only will climate change negatively affect the mentally ill but it will also cause more mental illness.
Study authors claim that
climate change will lead to increased
natural disasters like major storms, droughts, and hurricanes. As a result, people will become more depressed and experience various disorders and mental problems if they don't have them already.
Since resources are expected to be limited following major catastrophic events, the authors also fear that the
mentally ill will not receive the treatments they need because efforts will be diverted towards the many whom will be experiencing trauma due to the catastrophe. Other concerns include that the mentally ill will not cope well with higher temperatures because they are more prone to heat-related death.
For those that are not mentally ill, it is feared that various mental illnesses could develop due to infectious disease outbreaks, mass migration because of flooding, increased urbanization, and even just thinking about the concept of man-made climate change possibly wreaking havoc.
Study authors fear that international leaders will fail to address these issues at the upcoming United Nations conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where climate change issues are expected to be discussed and solutions presented.
Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
The mentally ill tend to deal quite poorly with
stress, and climate change may indeed be a source of great stress in the decades ahead. When rainfall patterns are altered -- something we're already seeing around the world -- farmers and families suffer not just from associated economic losses, but also from the mental stress that inevitably results.
Unfortunately, Big Pharma will very likely leap upon the mental
health impact of climate change to try to push yet more
drugs onto people. And if there's one thing we've learned about psychiatric pharmaceuticals, it's that
they harm far more people than they help. Many of these drugs can cause extreme
violence, and this can have a cascading stress effect on those innocent victims who are impacted by medication-induced violence (school shootings, for example).
In a world facing yet more economic downturn, chemical contamination, prescription
drug over-medication and the possibility of future climate change, adding more mind-altering drugs to the mix is a recipe for disaster.
Sources for this story include:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/kcl-mio120309.php
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, December 11, 2009
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