Stressed-out climate change scientists are suffering from 'pre-traumatic stress' disorders
The effects of climate change scientists predict we'll see keep getting darker and darker — sea level rise powerful enough to submerge cities and droughts that could lead to famine, to name a couple. Living with these apocalyptic predictions has taken its toll on climate scientists, Esquire reports.
It's "pre-traumatic stress" characterized by sadness, fear, and anger, psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren said. And that's not just caused by a gloomy global outlook and frustration with some politicians' reluctance to help effect change before it's too late.
There are cases like climatologist Michael Mann's, where a provocative graph showing rising temperatures was denounced in Congress. He got thousands of emails suggesting things like he should be "shot, quartered, and fed to the pigs along with your whole damn families."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"You find yourself in the center of this political theater, in this chess match that's being played out by very powerful figures—you feel anger, befuddlement, disillusionment, disgust," Mann said. Read more about the psychological toll of studying climate change here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The future of X
Talking Point Trump's ascendancy is reviving the platform's coffers, whether or not a merger is on the cards
By The Week UK Published
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversible
Speed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Speed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane Oscar
Speed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane Milton
Speed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beryl kills 4, knocks out power to 2.7M in Texas
Speed Read Millions now face sweltering heat without air conditioning
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plants
Speed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published