Connecting to Nature Is Good for Kids – But They May Need Help Coping With a Planet in Peril
17 November
Health + Wellness
Children need support when learning about the climate crisis. Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy / Getty Images
By Louise Chawla
As an environmental psychologist who works to improve young people's access to nature, I recently completed a review that brings two bodies of research together: one on connecting children and adolescents with nature, and the second on supporting healthy coping when they realize they are part of a planet in peril.
<p>My review shows that children and adolescents <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10128" target="_blank">benefit from living near nature</a> and having adults in their lives who encourage free play and outdoor discovery. When they feel connected to nature, they are more likely to report good health and a sense of well-being, more likely to get high scores for creative thinking, and more inclined to show cooperative, helping behaviors. They are also more likely to say they are taking action to conserve nature, such as by feeding birds, saving energy and recycling.</p><p>On the flip side, lack of access to nature has adverse effects. For example, COVID-19 restrictions on travel and social gathering led <a href="https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/2020/04/10/covid-19-era-renewed-appreciation-our-parks-and-open-spaces" target="_blank">more people to visit parks</a> to escape stress and move freely. But some families don't have safe, attractive parks nearby, or their local parks are so heavily used that it's hard to maintain safe distances. Under these conditions, city families stuck indoors reported <a href="https://nyti.ms/2BrX9fH" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mounting stress and deteriorating behavior</a> in their children.</p><p>My research literature review also shows that <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10128" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feeling connected with nature can bring difficult emotions</a> as well as happiness and well-being. When young people are asked about their hopes and fears for the future, many describe environmental breakdown. For example, when a doctoral student I supervised asked 50 10- to 11-year-olds in Denver what the future would be like, almost three-quarters <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2011.602131" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shared dystopic views</a>:</p>
<blockquote>"Everything will die out, and there will be less trees and less plants, and there will be less nature. It just won't be such a great Earth anymore."<br><br>"I feel sad because the animals are going to die."<br><br>"I feel sad because when I die I am probably gonna have a grandson or a great grandson by then and maybe them or their son or nephew is going to have to experience the end of the world."<br></blockquote><p>Children who worry about the environment are likely to report that they are doing what they can to protect nature, but they almost always <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.02.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report individual actions</a> like riding their bike to school or saving energy at home. Knowing that climate change and biodiversity loss are bigger problems than they can solve themselves can affect their mental health.</p><p>Fortunately, the research also shows some key ways adults can help children and teens work through these feelings and maintain hope that they – in alliance with others – can address environmental problems constructively.</p>
<h2>1. Create Safe Opportunities to Share Emotions</h2><p>When family, friends and teachers listen sympathetically and offer support, young people are more likely to feel hopeful that people's actions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916518763894" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can make a positive difference</a>. Opportunities to envision a promising future, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1367916" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plan pathways to get there</a> and have hands-on experiences of working toward this goal also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2020.1765131" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">build hope</a>.</p><h2>2. Encourage Time Outdoors in Nature</h2><p>Free time in nature and opportunities to develop comfort and confidence in nature are positive experiences in themselves; and by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916518806686" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">boosting well-being</a>, providing time in nature can contribute to young people's resilience.</p>
<h2>3. Build Community With Others Who Care for Nature</h2><p>Meeting other people who love and care for nature <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10128" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">affirms young people's own feelings</a> of connection and shows them they're not alone in working for a better world. Learning individual actions that add up to making a difference, or joining collective efforts to improve the environment, simultaneously demonstrate a sense of connection with nature and commitment to its care.</p><h2>4. Empower Their Ideas</h2><p>It's important to <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781613321003/placemaking-with-children-and-youth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">treat young people as partners</a> in addressing environmental problems in their families, schools, communities and cities. A boy who was part of a group of children who created climate action proposals for his city in the Mountain West summarized the benefits. After they presented their ideas to their city council and got approval to launch a tree-planting campaign, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1675594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he noted</a>, "There's something about it … getting together, creating projects, knowing each other, working together."</p><p>Research is clear: Children and young people need free time to connect with nature, but it's also important to support them when they struggle with the consequences of feeling part of a natural world that is currently at risk.</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louise-chawla-1160522" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Louise Chawla</a> is a </em><em>Professor Emerita of Environmental Design, University of Colorado Boulder.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em><em>Louise Chawla is affiliated with the Children and Nature Network as a member of their Scientific Advisory Committee.</em></em>
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<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/connecting-to-nature-is-good-for-kids-but-they-may-need-help-coping-with-a-planet-in-peril-148162" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Florida National Guard / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
From broken buildings to uprooted trees, extreme weather can leave behind a lot of visible damage. But there is invisible damage, too. Many survivors face mental health struggles after a storm.
<p>"They've experienced traumatic loss, fear, displacement. It's very traumatizing, and that's an abnormal feeling," says social worker Darcy Abbott. "And people need reassurance that it's normal to feel that way — an abnormal event has occurred — and that there's resources and support there … and that they will be resilient and they will get through this."</p>
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<p>Abbott became the mental health coordinator for disaster recovery at the Florida Division of Emergency Management last year.</p><p>After an event such as a hurricane, her job is to work with state agencies, relief organizations, and private counselors to coordinate services so that the state can respond to residents' needs during the recovery process.</p><p>Abbott says that her position is unique. Other states have mental health coordinators, but Florida is the first to connect the role with emergency management.</p><p>And in a state vulnerable to hurricanes and rising seas, the role will be crucial as the climate changes.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/11/florida-hires-mental-health-coordinator-to-help-people-recover-from-disasters/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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man in black shirt sitting on bench looking at the sunset
Photo by Jozsef Hocza on Unsplash
If you're like many busy Americans, you may feel the need for an extra boost of energy to stay focused and perform at your best throughout the day. Whether you experience the age-old 3 p.m. slump at your desk, or you need an extra jolt to power through a morning workout, you may be looking for a natural way to increase your energy levels.
<p>Caffeine happens to be the most-consumed energy booster in the world. From coffee to tea to chocolate, about 90% of Americans consume caffeine in some form every day. And increasingly, people are turning to energy drinks to satisfy their energy needs. </p><p>Energy drink consumption is especially high among young adults. In a 2016 <a href="https://supplements101.net/energy-drink-statistics/#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20the%20sales%20of,drinks%20on%20a%20regular%20basis." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">survey</a>, over one-third of 18- to 29-year-old respondents said they consumed energy drinks on a regular basis. </p><p>There are dozens of energy and sports drink companies out there to meet this growing demand for a regular energy boost. From flashy cans packed with bold flavors to all-natural alternatives, it can be difficult to cut through the noise and choose the right caffeine source for you. </p><p>That's why we're reviewing the top five healthy energy drinks that will give you a moderate level of caffeine without added sugars and artificial ingredients. </p><h2>The Downside of Mainstream Energy Drinks</h2><p>Step into most gas stations, and you'll find a fantastically colorful, shiny, and attention-grabbing display of canned energy drinks. These cans and bottles are slapped with powerful names like "Rockstar" and "Red Bull!". But often, hidden behind the neon graffiti-scribbled cans are ingredients best avoided for the sake of your health. </p><p>Most mainstream energy drinks are packed with high amounts of caffeine, sugar, and other undesirable ingredients. According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678#:~:text=Up%20to%20400%20milligrams%20(mg,widely%2C%20especially%20among%20energy%20drinks." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mayo Clinic</a>, adults should aim to consume no more than 400mg of caffeine a day. </p><p>To put that into perspective, a 1-ounce shot of espresso contains about 64 milligrams of caffeine. A regular cup of coffee has about 70 to 100 milligrams. Some energy shots contain more than 400 milligrams of caffeine in a single serving.</p><p>Overdoing your caffeine intake can have negative impacts on your health. The extent to which you experience side effects will depend on your tolerance for the drug, age, and genes. Signs of too much caffeine include headaches, anxiety, an elevated heart rate, muscle jitters, irritability, and frequent urination. </p><p>Added sugar is another common unhealthy ingredient in mainstream energy drinks. The American Heart Association recommends that adult men consume no more than 37 grams of sugar per day and women consume no more than 25 grams. However, a single serving of many mainstream energy drinks can easily contain 27 or more grams of added sugars per serving. </p><p><a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Studies</a> show that consuming excess added sugars (those that aren't naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables) can have serious health implications. For most Americans, these added sugars come from flavored drinks, cereals, baked goods, and other processed foods, including energy drinks. </p><p>All of this sugar adds up to an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In one 15-year Harvard study, participants who consumed 17-21% of their daily calories from added sugars increased their risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 38% compared to individuals who consumed 8% of their calories from added sugar. </p><p>Obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease are all leading causes of death in the US. By choosing no- to low-sugar healthy energy drinks without large amounts of caffeine, you can reduce your intake of added sugars and avoid overdoing your caffeine intake. </p><h2>What to Look for in a "Healthy" Energy Drink</h2><p>So how can you be sure your daily pick-me-up is a healthier option that will still sustain your energy levels? Start by reviewing the caffeine and sugar content. Many natural energy drinks on the market are sugar-free and made with natural caffeine sources. For example, matcha green tea is an herbal source of caffeine that has other nutritional benefits for overall wellness like antioxidants. </p><p>In addition to the caffeine and sugar content, many healthy energy drinks are fortified with essential nutrients that have positive health effects. You may get the added benefit of antioxidants from black tea, for example. </p><p>As always, be sure to read the label of any energy drink carefully and with an eye to added sugars, preservatives, and other artificial ingredients. And remember that caffeine is a natural diuretic, so it's important to watch your hydration and drink plenty of water. </p><h2>Best Healthy Energy Drinks</h2><p class="media-headline"><strong>Zevia Soda Zero Calorie </strong><br></p>
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<p><br></p><p>We like that this Zevia's zero-calorie option is made with clean ingredients. You won't find artificial colors, preservatives, soy, or sodium in these cans. With six simple ingredients, including carbonated water, you can rest assured that every sip is wholesome and good for you. Zevia offers a higher caffeine content than other healthy energy drinks, so it's a good option for someone with a higher caffeine tolerance or who reaches for just one serving of caffeine a day. </p><p><strong>Strength: </strong>120mg of caffeine per can</p><p><strong>Why buy:</strong> Sugar-free; Zero calorie; Non-GMO Project Verified; Kosher; Vegan</p><p><br></p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>Sambazon Organic Amazon Energy Drink</strong></p><p><strong><br></strong></p><div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="85c4853615e47cd7cbb10a107aacb6a2" contenteditable="false">
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<p>We love that this drink is both low in calories and sugar (with only 6 grams per serving) while providing other important vitamins. The green tea and yerba mate that give each can its 120 mg of caffeine come with potent antioxidants and vitamin C. This is another slightly more caffeinated option if you're looking for a stronger jolt from your healthy energy drink without the excess sugars and artificial ingredients you'll find in mainstream high-caffeine options. With fruity Amazon-inspired flavors like acai berry and pomegranate, Sambazon ensures every sip is delicious and refreshing. </p><p><strong>Strength: </strong>120mg per can </p><p><strong>Why buy:</strong> Made with guarana, yerba mate & green tea; USDA-Certified Organic; Non-GMO; Vegan; Gluten-free; Kosher</p><p><br></p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>Sunshine Good Energy Drink</strong></p><p><br></p><div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="6eb3213e344554c1cf64811f99368be2" contenteditable="false">
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<p>This brightly colored can is not only enticing, but it's also good for you. It has a moderate amount of caffeine (about the same amount as a cup of coffee) for a light buzz that won't cause a crash. This low-calorie option (60 calories per can) is especially great for plant-based diets, which can often lack essential b vitamins, especially vitamin B12. Sunshine Energy Drinks are fortified with B12, and the clementine flavor also offers 100% of your daily Vitamin C requirements.</p><p><strong>Strength:</strong> 70mg caffeine per can</p><p><strong>Why buy:</strong> Made with organic green coffee beans; Added B12; Contains electrolytes; 100% of your daily Vitamin C</p><p><br></p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>GURU Lite Organic Low Calorie Energy Drink with Green Tea</strong></p><p><br></p><div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="4ab4b338d9d1410089b9f5d9f9be8a35" contenteditable="false">
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<p>GURU's Lite Energy drink is brewed with antioxidant-packed green tea and hydrating carbonated water. This vegan energy drink includes the added bonus of natural sweeteners and vitamin sources. Every can is made with ginseng, echinacea, guarana, and sweetened with stevia and monk fruit for a lightly sweet, nutrient-packed sip. Plus, GURU has an environmentally-friendly commitment to using natural, organic ingredients in this low-sugar, lightly caffeinated energy drink.</p><p><strong>Strength:</strong> 100mg caffeine per can</p><p><strong>Why buy: </strong>Non-GMO; Vegan; No artificial sweeteners; Organic</p><p><br></p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>Raspberry Sparkling Yerba Mate </strong></p><p><br></p><div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="425712ca3a2ade8e1f15a1ad7241b81c" contenteditable="false">
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<p>Clean Cause donates 50% of its profits from sales of this USDA Certified Organic energy drink to support addiction recovery. The company's mission is to support recovery from alcohol and drug addiction through sustainable funding. Clean Cause brews its energy drinks from the dried leaves of yerba mate, a vitamin-rich South American plant that is naturally high in caffeine and antioxidants. Every serving offers plant-based polyphenols, a group of antioxidants shown to reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.</p><p><strong>Strength: </strong>160mg per can (two servings)</p><p><strong>Why buy:</strong> USDA Certified Organic; Natural caffeine from yerba mate; Four fruity, sparkling flavors</p>
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The earth's warming is not immediate, but gradual, and without a direct or immediate impact on our everyday actions. wildpixel / Getty Images
By Gero Rueter
The science is clear. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the same rate we have been doing for the past decades, 80 years from now, our planet will be at least four degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.
<p>"And the warming won't stop there," climate researcher and oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf told DW. "It will continue to rise to seven or eight degrees over the next 100 years. Human civilization won't survive that."</p><p>Normally, we respond to danger quickly; we put out fires, run away when we feel at risk, and protect our children in every way we can. So why are people so slow to react to the existential <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-the-chilling-reality-of-a-warming-world-its-up-to-us/a-50462117" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">threat of global warming</a>?</p><p>"In evolutionary terms, we are not built for this kind of danger," explains Andreas Ernst, Professor of Environmental Systems Analysis and Environmental Psychology at the University of Kassel. "We react to a rustling in the bushes with lightning speed. But the threat posed by climate change is abstract."</p><p><span></span>The earth's warming is not immediate, but gradual, and without a direct or immediate impact on our everyday actions, Ernst says the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fridays-for-future-uganda-climate-change-africa-activism-food-security-water/a-54732304" target="_blank">complex correlations are hard for us to grasp. </a></p>
Figures Remain Incomprehensible
<p>Although the findings of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports are unambiguous, many laypeople, as well as politicians, find their details hard to understand. This can impact the implementation of recommendations. Such, at least, is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers who analyzed the IPCC reports.</p><p>Many struggle to picture a ton of the greenhouse gas CO2. Such figures "don't really reach the human psyche," Ernst said.</p><p>Yet dealing with CO2 is essential in the climate crisis, because the more <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climatechange-emissions-fossilfuels-gdp-economy-renewables/a-55089013" target="_blank">greenhouse gases</a> there are in the air, the faster the earth warms up. CO2 is mainly produced by the burning of oil, coal and natural gas. In order to limit global warming to a maximum of two degrees, CO2 emissions need to be reduced as quickly as possible, and neutralized <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/european-parliament-confirms-2030-climate-target-to-cut-emissions/a-55197301" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no later than 2050.</a> In order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, however, the world would have to become climate-neutral even sooner.</p><p>Christoph Nikendei, psychotraumatology expert at University Hospital in the southern German city of Heidelberg says it's important to use easy-to-understand figures, and to address the emotional brain so that climate change can become a real and tangible part of life.</p>How Many Trees Need to Grow to Compensate for My Flight?
<p>To stay with that example: One ton of CO2 is produced, for example, by burning 422 liters (111 gallons) of gasoline, which would allow a car to travel an average of 5,400 kilometers (3,355 miles).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NDQyMy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjM3MTQyMH0.DI7m0IORfi_yT5vg2CqLIptK5G9ACd9fT9Meb3vuZW8/img.png?width=980" id="ebc11" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="986c72034c820ca60fed0eb43cb70276" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Conversely, plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. This enables them to grow. A beech tree, for example, takes in around 12.5 kg of CO2 per year. That means a single ton of CO2 corresponds to the annual growth of 80 beech trees.</p><p>If we compare the CO2 emitted and absorbed, we can calculate how many trees are needed to compensate for a certain distance traveled by car, and which means of transport "consumes" the least amount of tree growth.</p><p>For example, 20 beech trees would have to grow for one year to offset a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) journey with a combustion engine. For 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/to-fly-or-not-to-fly-the-environmental-cost-of-air-travel/a-42090155" target="_blank">air travel</a>, it would take 33 beech trees per person. The same distance traveled by train would equate to the growth of just one beech tree. </p>
Collective Behavior: Silence and Repression
<p>Another obstacle to tackling the climate crisis is repression, which is a very common psychological protection mechanism.</p><p>"People don't want to hear how bad things are, so they push it away. Smokers also do this when confronted with the consequences of their behavior," Ernst said, adding that many who don't want to deal with the climate issue, look away and leave it for others to solve.</p><p>Nikendei sees this behavior as a collective pattern of action: a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-and-climate-change-collective-action-is-the-only-way-forward/a-53595386" target="_blank">collective social norm of silence</a>, and likens the reluctance to acknowledge the climate crisis to the social taboos of aging, illness and death.</p>Rejection and Paralysis Can Be Overcome
<p>Nikendei regards it as the role of psychologists to acknowledge this collective rejection and the emotions associated with it while simultaneously assisting the necessary change in values. This includes mourning the end of the fossil fuel era, recognizing one's own involvement in climate change and a shift in values towards cooperation over competition.</p><p>Excessive behavior in society needs to be replaced by more sharing, repairing and preserving, the psychotrauma expert says. Reconnecting with nature is also important. In pursuing this approach, he believes <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/psychology-behind-climate-inaction-how-to-beat-the-doom-barrier/a-48730230" target="_blank">psychologists can help</a> people to cope with the climate crisis and overcome feelings of fear, paralysis and helplessness.<br><br>More than a thousand psychologists and psychotherapists in Europe are trying to do just that with the Psychologists for Future network, says co-initiator Lea Dohm. "Our campaign has struck a nerve. Lots of people from all walks of life want our help in tackling the climate crisis."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Few U.S. Students Repeat a Grade but That Could Change Due to COVID-19
19 September
Health + Wellness
54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Maria Symchych-Navrotska / Getty Images
By Pamela Davis-Kean
With in-person instruction becoming the exception rather than the norm, 54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Initial projections from the Northwest Evaluation Association, which conducts research and creates commonly used standardized tests, suggest that these fears are well-grounded, especially for children from low-income families.
<p>Based on the association's findings and my own research <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sFKNk7EAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">regarding academic achievement and socioeconomic status</a>, I believe it's likely, based on these early projections, that the widespread and rapid switch to remote schooling will have negative long-term academic consequences.</p><p>One possibility is that the share of students who end up repeating at least one grade at some point could rise due to this unprecedented disruption.</p><p>According to government data collected in 2018, only about <a href="https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/9713-children-ages-6-to-17-who-repeated-one-or-more-grades-since-starting-kindergarten" target="_blank">6% of U.S. students</a> <a href="http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/graderet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had to repeat a grade</a> before graduating from high school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDI5NzkxNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzMxNzExOH0.selMyETdcP84ZFiYNqsaFZRjPHh0Zwj9HI9ySU77Yl4/img.png?width=980" id="952f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99b9ddf4c6e5e0c4bcdbf9c2d9150f22" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Any potential effort to make students repeat a grade when they can't demonstrate they have learned enough to advance to the next one would build on some recent precedents.</p><p>Starting in 2001 with the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/reading.html#4" target="_blank">No Child Left Behind Act</a>, reading proficiency by third grade became one of the federal mandates for schools to receive designated streams of federal funding.</p><p>This <a href="https://www.fcd-us.org/assets/2016/04/DoubleJeopardyReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal legislation, combined with research</a> indicating that children who couldn't yet read <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.06.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fared better when they repeated a grade</a>, brought about a wave of state-level legislation. So far, a total of <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">16 states have enacted laws</a> that prevent students from moving on from third grade until they are considered <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proficient on standardized reading tests</a>.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank">state laws vary</a>. Some states, like <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/1008.25" target="_blank">Florida</a>, require students who aren't reading well enough to repeat third grade altogether. Others, such as <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/120B.12" target="_blank">Minnesota</a>, let children move onto fourth grade and provide them with supplemental reading assistance until they can read at what the state deems to be a third-grade level. In practice, students typically don't repeat more than one grade.</p><p>I consider it likely that the academic consequences of the extended period of remote learning that began in March 2020 will be unequal. These consequences are bound to fall more heavily on students who are growing up facing persistent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294" target="_blank">economic hardship</a>.</p><p>The practice of making children who are struggling to learn how to read repeat third grade, however well-intentioned, can be risky. For example, students who repeat a grade can feel <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stigmatized and less motivated to learn</a>.</p><p>Therefore, I believe parents, educators and policymakers will all need to try to address the inevitable gaps in learning bound to arise from widespread remote learning during the pandemic.</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/pamela-davis-kean-1142666" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pamela Davis-Kean</a> is a </em><em>Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Pamela Davis-Kean receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD).</em><span></span>
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<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/few-us-students-ever-repeat-a-grade-but-that-could-change-due-to-covid-19-143883" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: When Double-Checking Becomes an Illness
06 September
Health + Wellness
Washing hands extremely often can be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
By Gudrun Heise
"Although I hadn't used the stove at all, I touched every ring to check that it was off. Finally I had to keep telling myself: 'Off! Off! Off!'" Michaela says (her name has been changed by the editor).
Even when Michaela was a child, there were rituals that she always had to observe and from which her mind would not permit her to deviate. There were things that were simply not "allowed."
<p>Every evening, for example, the procedure was exactly the same: Her parents always got given four goodnight kisses on each side, no more and no fewer. This number was fixed, as if set in stone. "Two on the right, two on the left and then the other way around: two on the left, two on the right," Michaela says.</p><p>Today she is 48, but her compulsion for rituals and double-checking and symmetry has stayed with her. Everything still has to be exactly symmetrical for her. On her yoga mat, she lies exactly in the middle, with exactly the same distance to the right and left. "If I scratch myself on the right, I have to scratch myself on the left," says Michaela.</p><p>For many people, this may sound strange or exaggerated. But it is a serious mental illness that is not easy to diagnose. "There has to be an impairment in everyday life, either professionally or socially," says <a href="https://www.oberbergkliniken.de/fachkliniken/schwarzwald" target="_blank">Andreas Wahl-Kordon, medical director of the Oberberg Specialty Hospital in the Black Forest.</a> "An important criterion for diagnosis is the length of time consumed by the obsessive thought or the actions taken to deal with it. If you check once whether the coffee maker is really switched off, then that is fine. But if you do this 20 times or more, it is already compulsive."</p><p>For Michaela, compulsions are part of her everyday life. They are exhausting and demand a lot of strength and energy. But things have got much better now, she says. She owes this above all to her psychiatrist, Andreas Wahl-Kordon. He is a person she trusts and has treated her several times as an inpatient.</p>
OCD Is a Common Illness
<p>Checking compulsions often begin at a young age, but can also develop in adulthood. "It is a common mental illness, but it is usually not obvious because it is often made a taboo and concealed," says Wahl-Kordon.</p><p>Sometimes sufferers and the people around them do not really take the somewhat strange behavior seriously. People with this form of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/are-obsessive-compulsive-disorders-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-on-the-rise/a-54567173" target="_blank">obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)</a> must first become aware that their behavior is not normal and be prepared to start treatment.</p>One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
<p>To find out whether someone has OCD, therapists usually work with various screening questions, such as: "Do you clean or wash extremely often? Are you often concerned with symmetries? Are there thoughts that do not let go of you?"</p><p>Wahl-Kordon says that "what is most significant is the intensity at which such actions are carried out and the time the sufferer actually spends on them or thinks about them," he says.</p><p>"With many sufferers, we can achieve very good results through behavioral therapy. Exposure and confrontation exercises are core elements here," Wahl-Kordon says.</p><p>Michaela has also been taking part in these kinds of therapies, which force her to permit situations that she fears and would otherwise try to avoid. They are meant to help her deal with her compulsions and fears, which often have their roots in the past.</p>'I Thought It Was My Fault'
<p>When Michaela was 16, her sister-in-law died at the age of just 28. For Michaela, this was a traumatic experience and one that triggered severe feelings of self-blame.</p><p>"About a week before my sister-in-law died, I told a friend of mine that there was nothing to look forward to and that I dreamed that my sister-in-law was in the cemetery behind the cemetery wall and could not get out. When my sister-in-law died, I blamed myself a lot. I thought it was because of me, because I had moaned so much for no reason," she says.</p><p>She still has these feelings of self-blame and fears some kind of punishment if she complains about something without there being an obvious reason. And it is just one of many fears that she has developed.</p>Trouble Leaving the Apartment
<p>Michaela studied law; during her time at university, her checking compulsion continued to accompany her and became a never-ending ordeal.</p><p>"My apartment had a kitchenette within sight of the bed. In the evening I always had to start checking from left to right to make sure that all appliances were turned off: stove, coffee maker and kettle. Had I pulled out all the plugs? Then check the fridge door again to see that it was really closed. Then I'd start all over again," she says.</p><p>Sometimes the whole procedure lasted several hours, she says, and on occasion she would go and sit outside the front door at 4 o'clock in the morning in desperation because she had not managed to go to bed.</p>Checking the Checks
<p>During her studies, Michaela met her husband. She immediately got him involved, asking him to help her with her checking. "My husband was my salvation back then. I asked him to do a very last follow-up check after my check-ups. This gave me the feeling that he had taken the responsibility from me in case something started to burn because I had forgotten to check everything thoroughly," she says.</p><p>For about 20 years, Michaela checked every evening whether her husband had checked everything properly — checking the checker, so to speak. Thanks to the therapy, this, too, has now improved.</p>'I Was Afraid of Doing Everything Wrong'
<p>Michaela was a specialist lawyer for criminal law and social law. She was on committees, gave lectures and received requests from various associations to join their boards of directors. She was a successful lawyer, at least on the outside. But her constant self-doubt and her checking compulsion made her life so difficult that she finally had to give up her profession.</p><p>"I was always just afraid of not doing anything right, of not being able to do anything, of being too stupid for everything, and thought that it was just a matter of chance that I had a particular position. In my work, I never felt as though I had done enough preparation," she says. "If, for example, I had an appointment at 2 p.m. on one day, it was not possible for me to do anything else that day. I always thought I had to prepare myself more and more and more for this one thing."</p><p> At some point, her fears increased so dramatically that she was no longer able to go in to work at the law firm at all.</p><p>"At some point, compulsions determine their entire lives," Wahl-Kordon says. "Some sufferers withdraw completely, no longer eat properly and lose weight. Those are the most serious cases — when everything revolves around the compulsions."</p>More Than One Compulsion
<p>In addition to her constant drive to check things, Michaela developed other compulsions. Compulsive hoarding is a particular problem for her. People with this form of OCD collect all sorts of things without any necessity or good reason: small notes, old receipts, papers that are no longer valid. Michaela even finds it difficult to part with daily newspapers.</p><p>After one three-week vacation, the newspapers piled up in the apartment, but throwing them away was impossible for her. After all, something important could be hidden somewhere among the countless pages, and then she wouldn't be able to find it again.</p><p>"It is incredibly difficult for me to throw something away. It takes me a very long time to put things in order. I never finish. There is simply no end. I always think that maybe I could use the things again sometime," Michaela says.</p><p>Your partner doing the cleaning and throwing things away does not work either, says Wahl-Kordon. "That can mean that the world collapses for the sufferer, so it doesn't work at all. Hoarding often has to do with objects that I associate with certain events or experiences and which I simply can't get rid of for that reason alone."</p><p>Disposing of those objects thus becomes a difficult and confronting task that the patient must tackle with the support of a psychotherapist. Often the compulsive need to hoard affects older people in particular. In severe cases, they literally become buried in clutter because they simply cannot bring themselves to throw things away.</p>'But First I Have to Clean Up'
<p>Michaela always tries to organize and prepare everything as perfectly as possible and have control over as many things as she can — even when she had suicidal thoughts because her condition was becoming too much for her.</p><p>"It was on a Sunday, and I had actually managed to organize replacements for my appointments for the entire coming week," she relates. After all, she was planning to not be alive the following week. But then, she says, her husband came home unexpectedly and thwarted her plans.</p><p>"Later, I always thought that I couldn't ever kill myself because I would have to clean up first. The thought of someone tampering with my things is simply unbearable for me!" she says.</p>New Perspectives
<p>Michaela has now taken up other forms of employment, including teaching social law to special education teachers. This is easier for her than her work as a lawyer. She can engage with it in a completely different way and sometimes even uses herself as an example.</p><p>After all, aspiring teachers must learn to deal with disabled people like her, she says. She says everyone in her environment knows about her obsessive-compulsive disorder — with the exception of her family.</p><p>In recent years, she has undergone trauma therapy, depression therapy and exposure therapy, which have helped. "I still check the stove and the refrigerator. I still have to do everything right. I'm still afraid that I am doing everything wrong. But compared to the way it used to be, everything is much, much better now."</p>
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Family members embrace at the burned remains of their home after the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, California on August 23, 2020. Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images
By Jamie Smith Hopkins
Disasters are stressful. Our warming world keeps adding fuel to the fires — and floods and hurricanes, among other calamities. What can be done about the trauma that follows?
<p>The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia Journalism Investigations and our partners in newsrooms around the country have been reporting on this for months. We've learned a lot by asking experts: people who've lived through disasters and the professionals who study this or provide hands-on help. More than 230 shared their experiences in our <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/environment/hidden-epidemics/natural-disasters-challenge-mental-health-tell-us-your-story/" target="_blank">detailed survey</a>, and we interviewed dozens of additional people.</p><p>Some takeaways:</p><p><strong>Be aware. </strong>It might seem simplistic, but you're one step ahead if you know that surviving a disaster and dealing with the long aftermath can be hard on mental health. Keep an eye out for symptoms, not just obvious ones like constant worrying or <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/php/223/223_guide.pdf" target="_blank">feeling short-tempered</a>, but also <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190607140446.htm" target="_blank">trouble sleeping</a> (or oversleeping), overeating (or lack of appetite) and <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/dbhis-collections/substance-use" target="_blank">heavy drinking</a>. Remember that <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/srb-childrenyouth-8-22-18.pdf" target="_blank">kids can feel the impact</a>, too, and that might show up as acting out or trouble in school.</p><p>You might notice effects right away. Or they might take a while to surface. Either way, it's normal — and it can linger. Hilton Kelley, whose community of Port Arthur, Texas, was heavily affected by 2017's Hurricane Harvey, sums it up: "It will be years before we get out of this."</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>Seek support. </strong>Most people who took our survey didn't get mental-health services after their disaster experience. Some couldn't afford therapy or other assistance. Some thought they didn't need it, though the emotional challenges a portion of them reported made us wonder if support could have made the hard times more bearable. Some free avenues to try:</p><ul><li>The <a href="https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/428" target="_blank">Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program</a>. States with a qualifying major disaster can tap a federal grant to offer emotional support to residents, usually available for up to a year. You can talk to a counselor by phone or potentially a video-conferencing platform (and pre-COVID, you could meet in person). Counselors <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac/ccp" target="_blank">won't keep case files on you</a>, and you can access the help multiple times while the program is running. Counselors <a href="http://dhhr.wv.gov/healthprep/programs/behavioralhealth/documents/fema%20ccp%20toolkit.pdf" target="_blank">will try to connect you</a> with local mental-health services if you want more assistance and might also refer you to other sorts of help, such as disaster aid. Most states are running this program amid the pandemic, but you can call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (800-621-FEMA) to find out how to access it.</li><li>The federal <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline" target="_blank">Disaster Distress Helpline</a>. It's available round the clock for calls (800-985-5990) and texts (<a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline" target="_blank">instructions here</a>) in English and Spanish. Counselors offer coping advice and can make referrals to other services.</li><li>General mental-health helplines. Those include ones run by the <a href="https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/NAMI-HelpLine/NAMI-HelpLine-FAQs" target="_blank">National Alliance on Mental Illness</a> and local affiliates, the <a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/" target="_blank">Crisis Text Line</a> and the <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline" target="_blank">Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration</a>. </li><li>Your community. Family, friends, your pastor or other religious leaders, your child's school counselor, neighbors, co-workers — support can come from a variety of places. Other disaster survivors, for instance: They know what you're going through in a way that no one else can. </li></ul>
<p><a href="https://publicintegrity.org/environment/disasters-mental-health-crisis-wildfire-hurricane-flood-climate-covid/" target="_blank">Our investigation</a> found that many survivors never hear about or receive help from the federal crisis counseling program, the country's main response to the mental-health consequences of disasters. As extreme weather worsens, that puts more pressure on other forms of assistance.</p><p>"We don't have enough mental-health providers in all of the country to manage huge, large-scale disasters — nor will people use them," said Dr. Joshua C. Morganstein, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. "That is why communities and organizations become so important." </p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>Offer help. </strong>Some disaster survivors found solace as they assisted others, one way to get some control back in a situation primed to make people feel powerless.</p><p>"It helped me to keep my sanity," said Kelley, a restauranteur whose family's post-disaster efforts included cooking gumbo for people in the community. </p><p>Solemi Hernandez, a Florida resident whose employer shuttered after Hurricane Irma in 2017 and who searched for weeks for a new job, saw personal benefits from volunteer work. "Losing myself in service to others … is a way I became stable and not as depressed," she said.</p>
<p><strong>Take action.</strong> Identifying a problem that caused or worsened the disaster's impacts — and then pressing for fixes — is a key way some survivors bolstered their wellbeing.</p><p>Hernandez, a regional coordinator for the <a href="https://citizensclimatelobby.org/about-ccl/" target="_blank">Citizens' Climate Lobby</a>, presses for action on global warming, a force multiplier for disasters. Her advice to survivors: "Use that trauma. Turn that trauma and that suffering into being politically active."</p><p>Kathleen Sullivan, who lives west of Chicago, doggedly advocated for stormwater-control measures in her city's flood-prone neighborhoods, including hers. Twice her house flooded; two more times she had close calls. It took years, but showing up at city council meetings, organizing with other residents and not letting elected officials ignore the problem got results. It was also a powerful coping mechanism.</p><p>"We met all these awesome people we wouldn't have met," said Sullivan, who linked up with <a href="https://anthropocenealliance.org/higherground" target="_blank">Higher Ground</a>, a national flood-survivor group. "And we can sleep now — mostly — when it rains."</p><p>Kevin McKinney's neighborhood in Richwood, Texas, south of Houston, weathered Hurricane Harvey. The devastating flood, he said, came four days later. He and hundreds of other neighbors organized, then sued a nearby city whose floodwater diversion efforts, they allege, damaged their homes. That complaint is pending.</p><p>"I didn't know which way to turn, I didn't know which way to go. Then you know what? I got it together, and then I got mad," he said. "Not only did I get mad, but 500 other people around here got mad."</p><p>As disasters hit with more frequency, communities also face questions about how to organize help in the aftermath. Areas with fewer resources need more support to recover. But too often, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3396611" target="_blank">studies</a> <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/environment/climate-change-natural-disasters/" target="_blank">show</a>, they get less of it instead. Dr. Octavio N. Martinez Jr., executive director of the <a href="https://hogg.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">Hogg Foundation for Mental Health</a> in Texas, wants to see that change.</p><p>"We ought to have a disaster response strategic plan designed to prioritize the ZIP codes that we know are going to end up suffering the most and are going to have the most difficulty in recuperating," he said.</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>Prepare for next time.</strong> Almost all the survivors we surveyed were concerned more disasters will hit their community. We heard from a lot of people in regions struck by multiple wildfires, floods or hurricanes in the last decade, and some cope with that anxiety by getting prepared.</p><p>Kelley built a berm around his house to reduce flood risks. R.L. Miller, whose California community in Ventura County was burned by the Woolsey Fire in 2018, is diligent about clearing brush on her property.</p><p>Others are thinking of leaving — or they've already left. A handful of survey respondents said they moved out of their community at least in part to try to avoid another big hurricane, flood or fire.</p><p>Whether to stay or go is a fraught decision. It's one that more and more Americans will be forced to confront as climate change worsens — further <a href="https://www.cornellrooseveltinstitute.org/env/climate-gentrification-inequality-in-the-shifting-miami-housing-market" target="_blank">increasing</a> <a href="https://grist.org/living/climate-change-is-the-ultimate-gentrifier/" target="_blank">inequality</a>. Dr. Irwin Redlener with Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness urges communities to get ahead of this. </p><p>"We have to prepare for more dramatic changes," he said. "Many places that may be habitable right now may become uninhabitable. … We're just at the beginning of the most serious consequences of unabated climate change."</p><p>Hernandez, who lives in Naples, on Florida's Gulf Coast, sees her climate action as one form of long-term prep work. Hurricane Irma, a <a href="https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/05/18/wildfire-scorches-nearly-8700-acres-in-collier-drought-continues-fueling-risk-of-more-fires/" target="_blank">wildfire in her county in May</a>, local flooding from heavy rain, the increasingly unbearable temperatures in the summer: These are warnings of a future she wants to avert.</p><p>"I never thought about moving. I love this place," Hernandez said. "We can do something to save it."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/" target="_blank">The Center for Public Integrity </a></em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em><span></span><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647096951#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he said was the, "most terrifying event in his life," when Hurricane Harvey destroyed most of his home on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The psychological toll of climate change-fueled disasters, now compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, is mounting and the U.S. is unprepared. These are the findings of a project by the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations, in collaboration with 10 local and regional outlets.
<p>The U.S. has faced nearly 40 <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgd_3p_97V1-WJV7CgP_1W81C3NF6bjdbjW4L74GN4t2z3hW4vZ5rs46MSnsW2lYGv_1-BvLRW1GYqz79k0KR_W7sxm1f9jR2GVW5GQCty3FTXTqW8F9xvf64zjrwW45PFR32661hCW2yP80r1Rgt6bVmhd-z5ycL8SN9d1wzHSbtC-W5dxz457-Hb6KW2V5yzT2tJfFVW36xVxl7sgqpHW6ypwgw14ShndW49lj6W7cLmtHW83mTX31tgSVWN38svz6HQd40MDLCZ1MPgxJW6nbgwn3N1HCFW2BfQkp8z2GQPW7KBY946hPTddW2QbTMT7LmxXB36c71" target="_blank">billion-dollar disasters</a> in the past decade, more than ever before. </p><p>One such event, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, caused half of Houston-area residents to struggle with powerful or severe emotional distress in its aftermath, according to a Rice University <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgd_3p_97V1-WJV7Cg-glN5B-DXP3NjX8W20xx8C7PHNw4N7YDTR5_BtbbW3-FD_42BFWkQW7R0yZy6NXQ7VN7Cc9wrWXTlzW8vmdH53xYkLDW2l25DH6dsgzvW16dTQx7K278KMRjw1Lsqs7PW6Fpqmh4xYxhVW8yQZHd4b6ymvW11M2823SxV02W2z2DM-3M2WwrV64wwZ5ct_vBW1mG0jt3bzh3lW61b3vN5Tv5t8W1zsYwc4kNd8bW5xhw5m7D2ww-W8L1f4T6NDsM1MWQq4wndbNPW8mWklj5Zf95JW27yx7C7jHxmyVV-TnB66Zv8V3lvk1" target="_blank">survey</a> to be published Wednesday. </p><p>Meanwhile, the main federal vehicle for addressing the psychological trauma of weather and climate disasters, the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has distributed about as much in post-disaster assistance over its three decades of existence ($867 million) as one agency within the Department of Defense <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgfV3p_b1V1-WJV7CgPpRW23np3-1-VhCSW32jnJp2XqbH7W3S-Ytq5ff3qQW2FRHZC3CP3f1Vdp44c1Tsg0GVrfCCm9cTVXbW58mLgQ1NG0LBW3-8Qc55jRc64W2jFSB94mFsNLW10nYbB8jPxQRN50DR4zsYZlVW4Yhg2r1Lgfx8W8Rj-fx5CpkSbW5hqLcB9hDmfNV9MqbJ5SpVXrW4ZL95L42tGCBW6pWjGr2RvvbtW43y0Y_61hkG-N8_WtjTcXt4wW27-YDT5JS9PJW9lH7cw27VFYVW3NQ51N2DrLDlW8dCKlC5McKs0W7VL3Ww6lslcmW74pXDW54yxf9W3NdR968xzbm8N8pp78dpg_wmW1w__w53Bgl80VQgSy18LYDNpW7kN2p97bq7VR3hmt1" target="_blank">lost track of</a> in a single year.</p>
<p>Even if the government were to fully fund and support comprehensive mental health care for disaster survivors, it would be insufficient without action to mitigate the underlying reality of climate change, advocates argue. </p><p>"After a disaster, if the government does not declare a climate emergency and start acting like it, it's just such a betrayal," said Margaret Klein Salamon, a psychologist who started the advocacy group The Climate Mobilization after living through Superstorm Sandy. </p><p>Providing mental-health support while failing to fight climate change, "is like a Band-Aid. How can we trust a government that does so little to protect us?"</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://thelensnola.org/2020/08/25/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_IYMaLPEzuxx3m5lRW1kpZ3zuggy4rNynJgDAn-LyPI8qs-Nfeow8gDZmaDzIEJoVeqgOodYxiSecyOyAwk6rrQEjXp28w35U6gg4evV8nCv447Hw&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Lens</a>, <a href="https://www.calhealthreport.org/2020/08/25/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8O2txDji7oE7ZNnEk93fIEaGiM8-mpoTI-d1Cy6MibxAxqgN5T3zdyEeFn0zYURJ-2VHdMIFLUljXuttQ805nEyjwYfvxF38aksTU3D2Fux5Xfcfw&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">California Health Report</a>, <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article245105365.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9nj3S4ydlBCfo9HRx9AcjJXy2mb7b5PQgEKQs3wSXxt1JJNctDkTNBoccH9nMpuTAG2KaZYQMz_dUvHoDgkTIjKGVRRUWZcJVXUBO2aYtzCMTdNvY&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The State</a>, <a href="https://www.sideeffectspaublicmedia.org/post/flood-devastated-town-2019-and-residents-are-still-struggling?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--tF4OEOjQd7QwIYWNHPJMDrp6VuExDz3GuLopN4W7q4WSD55ryYkcPvh_egxcapZLCybTwjLNpheJow9RCWmsQYZdfdvROdygmf8mDu5i9nz_uVmE&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Side Effects Public Media</a>, <a href="https://mendovoice.com/2020/08/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_egHOfDmvv0UVXNuLuCFyZxEOTHfsl4Thlpu-i7ufhW3xb5mENi1GfUZRyRiFgsLGj_7PDjSExcnLbkWbzXvhwU7odDwJ13jWbjt-YindYa2o31uo&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Mendocino Voice</a>, <a href="https://www.iowawatch.org/2020/08/25/iowas-parkersburg-tornado-survivors-offer-support-hope-after-derecho-turmoil/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8nXffbOu60PrL7t9yhO-r2njCeypZnjoR3EkdT0uZBw_RI25Dj6TGPhdPwOzy09O5DTJlxaVfYaUtuumf-7T6YvR9aY4E4h2ytJl_bYRWNvucVy4c&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">IowaWatch</a>, <a href="https://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article245105365.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--l_UVm2BIOxx0WB-ydzSES88Md-qAbAo6cEEzBokxWpPkCe8lK_gTNBXmO-1RJCFHQ7ire2Nn2j66WrKDqUvnVmCwKRsRlHnb0Nvx7k_QG_q8YUEM&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Hilton Head Island Packet</a>, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/25/texas-natural-disasters--mental-health/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8s-Rbrv62GfG-dDJhjMplNrI9AtFD6Ao-N3JjE7ckblqW-F36aBm42Q_ISwTiYBNaM1BN2XX7R7TS8e22NU1cScaIVVcpyj7n1nCUQTrc1TS1TIX4&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Texas Tribune</a>, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/08/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis-the-only-federal-program-to-address-it-is-underfunded/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--GuoNr5p1I8z_dvOBbUxJEH2Cd_sxwitDSRrA9LjhsDvPyyNpucO82ES5Ba_tgwyJg3hN3kBNuEqCYrwm86kU46TTDvMUg3a7J6F1rueXeh4ObPDY&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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A new study found that children living in greener urban areas had higher IQs than children living in less green areas. Imgorthand / Getty Images
One of the best things you can do for your child's well-being may be to raise them somewhere green.
<p>The latest study to examine the positive impacts of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nature" target="_self">nature</a> on children found that children living in greener urban areas had higher IQs than children living in less green areas.</p><p>"There is more and more evidence that green surroundings are associated with our cognitive function, such as memory skills and attention," study coauthor and Hasselt University in Belgium environmental epidemiology professor Tim Nawrot told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/24/children-raised-greener-areas-higher-iq-study?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3l35tcIn7CwxmJUKt9ROGgw5lJOpaHcQGh__O76mT1xrpEWGt0RIsNLyE" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "What this study adds with IQ is a harder, well-established clinical measure. I think city builders or urban planners should prioritize investment in green spaces because it is really of value to create an optimal environment for children to develop their full potential."</p>
<div id="c0d26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03960567cbd8baf0b578ce25926363b1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296116607794794496" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In their latest publication, Esmée M Bijnens and colleagues reveal beneficial effects of a green environment on a c… https://t.co/vk8uzysUyh</div> — PLOS Medicine (@PLOS Medicine)<a href="https://twitter.com/PLOSMedicine/statuses/1296116607794794496">1597853254.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The research, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003213" target="_blank">published in PLOS Medicine</a> on August 18, looked at 620 children between seven and 15 years old living in urban, suburban and rural parts of Belgium. It used satellite imagery to calculate the amount of green space a child had access to, and then compared this with their scores on intelligence and behavioral assessments, The Guardian explained.</p><p>Children living in urban areas with three percent more greenery scored an average of 2.6 points higher in IQ. They also scored two points lower in a metric of behavioral problems, like aggression and poor attention span.</p><p>The researchers did not find any benefit to additional greenery in suburban and rural environments, perhaps because these areas already had enough baseline greenery to make a difference.</p>
<p>The research builds on other studies that show time in nature benefits children's behavior and mental health. An <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190226112426.htm" target="_blank">Aarhus University study</a> published in February 2019 found that children who grew up with access to green space were 55 percent less likely to develop serious mental disorders later in life. A <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/112/26/7937" target="_blank">2015 study</a> based in Barcelona found that access to green space improved children's cognitive development.</p><p>Another <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619302291#:~:text=Satellite%2Dimagery%20measures%20of%20greenery,5%2C%2012%2C%20and%2018.&text=Children%20raised%20in%20greener%20neighborhoods%20showed%20greater%20ability%20at%20all%20ages.&text=Children%20raised%20in%20greener%20neighborhoods%20also%20showed%20greater%20growth%20in,from%20age%205%20to%2012." target="_blank">study published in June 2019</a> also looked at satellite images to compare British children's access to nature with their performance on various cognitive tests. At first, it found an association between access to nature and cognitive ability, but it concluded that the children's cognitive performance was better explained by their family and socio-economic status.</p><p>The Belgian study, however, also controlled for the wealth and education levels of the children's parents, and found that access to green space still made a difference.</p>
<p>Exeter University environmental psychologist Dr. Mathew White, who was not involved with the most recent research, told The Guardian it could help create an understanding of intelligence as an environmental issue.</p><p>"I'm always wary of the term intelligence as it has a problematic history and unfortunate associations," he said. "But, if anything, this study might help us move away from seeing intelligence as innate – it could be influenced by environment, and I think that is much more healthy."</p>
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Everyone overthinks their lives or options every once in a while. Some people, however, can't stop the wheels and halt their train of thoughts. Peter Griffith / Getty Images
By Farah Aqel
Overthinkers are people who are buried in their own obsessive thoughts. Imagine being in a large maze where each turn leads into an even deeper and knottier tangle of catastrophic, distressing events — that is what it feels like to them when they think about the issues that confront them.
<p>Everyone overthinks their lives or options every once in a while. Some people, however, can't stop the wheels and halt their train of thoughts.</p><p>This inner monologue has two components: ruminating and worrying.</p>
Ruminating
<p>According to the late Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a professor of psychology at Yale University, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796420/" target="_blank">ruminating</a> involves replaying a problem over and over in your mind. We ruminate by obsessing over our thoughts and thinking repetitively about various aspects of a past situation.</p><p>It usually involves regret, self-loathing and self-blaming. Rumination is associated with the development of depression, anxiety and eating disorders. </p><p>People prone to such patterns of thought may, for example, overanalyze every single detail of a relationship that breaks up. They often blame themselves for what has happened and are overcome with regret, with typical thoughts being: </p><p>- I should have been more patient and more supportive. </p><p>- I have lost the most perfect partner ever. </p><p>- No one will love me again.</p>Worrying
<p>Worrying is wanting to predict the future. It involves negative thoughts about things that might and might not happen.</p><p>- They'll not like me in the interview; they'll not give me the job. </p><p>- I haven't heard back from other employers. How long will I be unemployed?</p><p>These thoughts are energy-draining and distressing. They could happen to anyone under stress. But when you reach the point where your thoughts and worrying are preventing you from doing what you want to do — from living your life to the fullest — then you should take action.</p>Catch Yourself Overthinking
<p>Reuben Berger, a psychotherapist at the university hospital in the western German city of Bonn, recommends several practical steps that you could employ in your daily routine when you catch yourself worrying or ruminating.</p><p>One effective remedy, says Berger, is the <a href="https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uf9938" target="_blank">thought-stopping technique.</a></p><p>"When the negative thoughts come or ruminations start, you say to yourself: 'Stop!,'" he says, adding that it is more effective when you actually say the word out loud.</p><p>He even recommends having a rubber band around your wrist to ping against yourself while saying the word. Adding a visual component by imagining a stop sign also makes the technique more powerful, he says.</p><p>The main idea here is conditioning yourself to stop the loop of worrying (making future predictions) or rumination (obsessing over past events).</p><p>Berger says the technique could take up to two weeks to take effect and that it needs to be practiced every day. "Consistency is very important," he says. </p>Thoughts Are Just Thoughts
<p>Another way of dealing with negative thoughts often used in modern therapy is realizing that thoughts aren't facts, says Berger.</p><p>He says it is important when we think something to ask: Is that real? Did that really happen? What is the worst thing that could happen?</p><p>Flight anxiety is one example where untrue thoughts are accepted as facts. Although air travel is the safest way to get around, people suffering from fear of flying accept their thoughts and fears as reality, then act upon them by refusing to fly.</p>Mindfulness
<p>Berger also recommends the use of mindfulness techniques, in which attention is paid to experiences in the moment without judging them, as a way of reducing worrying.</p><p>"Mindfulness helps you to distance yourself from your thoughts and to be more present in the moment," he says.</p><p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3432145/#R2" target="_blank">Several studies</a> have shown that mindfulness has a positive impact on reducing stress-related behaviors such as rumination and worrying, as focusing on the moment makes anxiety about other problems impossible.</p><p>Mindfulness can be practiced during routine activities by paying attention to your body and your surroundings. For instance, when you leave for work in the morning, you can focus on sensing the breeze, listen attentively to birds, feel the gravel under your feet and monitor your breath. </p>Trick Your Brain Into Happiness
<p>People plagued by obsessive thoughts do not always choose healthy ways like mindfulness to distract from them, however.</p><p> Dr. Edward Selby, a psychologist at Florida state university, has shown in a study that people try to avoid rumination by engaging in a range of uncontrolled behaviors, such as binge eating and substance abuse.</p><p>But he says that a much better way to overcome such distress is by distraction and shifting attention away from problems that are obsessing us.</p><p>There are many activities that can be used to distract from rumination, he says, and people should choose the one that works best for them. Here are some examples:</p><p>- Listen to music</p><p>- Read a book</p><p>- Take a hot shower</p><p>- Dance or exercise </p><p>- Talk to a friend (not about the problem)</p><p>- Watch a movie</p><p>- Mindfulness meditation</p>Changing the Perception of Events
<p>The way people perceive a situation largely influences their emotions and behavior. It is not the situation itself that determines how they feel, but rather the way they interpret it.</p><p>Reframing negative thoughts can lead to positive emotions and, subsequently, healthier behaviors — including a reduction in damaging overthinking and worrying.</p><p>Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is currently a gold standard in psychotherapy. CBT aims to change the way people think and act. It largely involves challenging unhelpful beliefs or attitudes such as overgeneralization — thinking "I always fail at public speaking" when you have had one bad experience in front of an audience, for example — or "catastrophization," i.e., imagining the worst possible outcome to a situation. </p><p>A psychotherapist can teach people how to implement such thought-changing techniques into their lives. Techniques vary depending on their issues and goals.</p>Solutions Are at Hand
<p>Try to find ways of avoiding worrying, rumination and overthinking that make you feel most comfortable.</p><p>Incorporating any routine in your life when you're stressed isn't an easy task, but you can do it! If you feel overwhelmed, you can always seek professional help. </p><p><em>If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. You can find information on where to find such help, no matter where you live in the world, <a href="https://www.befrienders.org/" target="_blank">at this website.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Should 'Eco-Anxiety' Be Classified as a Mental Illness? - EcoWatch ›
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Twitter Posts Show That People Are Profoundly Sad – and Visiting Parks to Feel Happy
07 August
Health + Wellness
Parks keep people happy in times of global crisis, economic shutdown and public anger. NPS
By Joe Roman and Taylor Ricketts
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is the deepest and longest period of malaise in a dozen years. Our colleagues at the University of Vermont have concluded this by analyzing posts on Twitter. The Vermont Complex Systems Center studies 50 million tweets a day, scoring the "happiness" of people's words to monitor the national mood. That mood today is at its lowest point since 2008 when they started this project.
<p>They call the tweet analysis the <a href="https://hedonometer.org/timeseries/en_all/" target="_blank">Hedonometer</a>. It relies on surveys of thousands of people who rate words indicating happiness. "Laughter" gets an 8.50 while "jail" gets a 1.76. They use these scores to measure the mood of Twitter traffic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU0MDk2OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MjIzNzE0MH0.tQ0VbP7vwdjdZIEydSQfhGiy-5gije8sBW7JdtJPT7Y/img.png?width=980" id="081f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76b7770b6cc9fd69f3e395f74864a776" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Hedonometer measures happiness through analysis of key words on Twitter, which is now used by one in five Americans. This chart covers 18 months from early 2019 to July 2020, showing major dips in 2020. hedonometer.org
<p>These same tweets also indicate a potential salve. Before pandemic lockdowns began, doctoral student <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0P0ZYbIAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Aaron Schwartz</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10045" target="_blank">compared tweets before, during, and after visits to 150 parks, playgrounds and plazas</a> in San Francisco. He found that park visits corresponded with a spike in happiness, followed by an afterglow lasting up to four hours.</p><p>Tweets from parks contained fewer negative words such as "no," "not" and "can't," and fewer first-person pronouns like "I" and "me." It seems that nature makes people more positive and less self-obsessed.</p><p>Parks keep people happy in times of global crisis, economic shutdown and public anger. Research has also shown that transmission rates for COVID-19 are <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Is-risk-of-coronavirus-transmission-lower-15287602.php" target="_blank">much lower outdoors than inside</a>. As scholars who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yFzb2EUAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">conservation</a> and how nature <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CCnUeN8AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">contributes to human well-being</a>, we see opening up parks and creating new ones as a straightforward remedy for Americans' current blues.</p>Park Visits Are Up During the Pandemic
<p>According to the Hedonometer, sentiments expressed online started trending lower in mid-March as the impacts of the pandemic became clear. As lockdowns continued, they registered the lowest sentiment scores on record. Then in late May, effects from George Floyd's death in police custody and the following protests and police response once again could be seen on Twitter. May 31, 2020 was the saddest day of the project.</p><p>Recent surveys of park visitors around the University of Vermont have shown people <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/sd3h6" target="_blank">using green spaces more</a> since COVID-19 lockdowns began. Many people reported that parks were highly important to their well-being during the pandemic.</p><div id="4c7e4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc0ac146ab2a94228f32d973fc2ab272"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289428912879964160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Goldengatepark #sf #quarantinemood https://t.co/9l3ufnbkt6</div> — Suvd (@Suvd)<a href="https://twitter.com/Suvd19486406/statuses/1289428912879964160">1596258783.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The powerful effects of nature are strongest in large parks with more trees, but smaller neighborhood parks also provide a significant boost. Their impact on happiness is real, measurable and lasting.</p><p>Twitter records show that parks increase happiness to a level similar to the bounce at Christmas, which typically is the happiest day of the year. Schwartz has since expanded his <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.10658.pdf" target="_blank">Twitter study</a> to the 25 largest cities in the U.S. and found this bounce everywhere.</p><p>Parks and public spaces won't cure COVID-19 or stop police brutality, but they are far more than playgrounds. There is growing evidence that parks contribute to mental and physical health in a range of communities.</p><p>In a 2015 study, for example, Stanford researchers sent people out for one of two walks: through a local park or on a busy street. Those who walked in nature showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.005" target="_blank">improved moods and better memory performance</a> compared to the urban group. And a team led by <a href="https://penniur.upenn.edu/people/eugenia-gina-south" target="_blank">Gina South</a> of the University of Pennsylvania showed in a 2018 study that greening and cleaning up blighted vacant lots in Philadelphia <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0298" target="_blank">reduced local residents' feelings of depression, worthlessness and poor mental health</a>.</p>
Creative Strategies
<p>It isn't easy to create new parks on the scale of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park or the Washington Mall, but smaller projects can expand outdoor space. Options include greening vacant lots, closing streets and investing in existing parks to make them safer, greener and shadier and support wildlife.</p><p>These initiatives don't have to be capital-intensive. In the University of Pennsylvania study, for example, renovating a vacant lot by removing trash, planting grass and trees and installing a low fence cost only about US$1,600.</p><p>Urban green space is most needed in neighborhoods that have lacked funding for parks, especially given <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/nyregion/coronavirus-race-deaths.html" target="_blank">COVID-19's disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx people</a>.</p><p>Cities can also create parklike spaces by <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-fewer-cars-on-us-streets-now-is-the-time-to-reinvent-roadways-and-how-we-use-them-140408" target="_blank">closing streets to cars</a>. Many cities worldwide are currently retooling their transportation systems for the post-COVID-19 world in order to <a href="https://thecityfix.com/blog/bicycles-slower-speeds-livable-city-paris-mayor-anne-hidalgo-plans-ambitious-second-term-dario-hidalgo/" target="_blank">reallocate public space</a>, widen sidewalks and make more space for nature.</p><p>Urban designers, artists, ecologists and other citizens can play a direct role, too, creating pop-up parks and green spaces. Some advocates <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-15/a-brief-history-of-park-ing-day" target="_blank">transform parking spaces into mini-parks</a> with grass, potted trees and seating for just the time on the meter, to make a larger point about turning so much public space over to cars.</p><p>Or cities can invest a little more. Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Arlington, Virginia, have won <a href="https://www.tpl.org/parkscore" target="_blank">national recognition</a> for their ambitious investments in public park systems. These areas could serve as models for neighborhoods that lack access to parks.</p><div id="25fd0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="383f0d2df0237e9359c30dcce6cd6c42"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276558744835379201" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Looking to safely get outside? Check out the best parks for social distancing in this year's top ten ParkScore citi… https://t.co/HJjEtDsrTD</div> — The Trust for Public Land (@The Trust for Public Land)<a href="https://twitter.com/tpl_org/statuses/1276558744835379201">1593190296.0</a></blockquote></div>
A New Park Deal?
<p>The United States has historically driven economic recovery with major infrastructure investments, like the New Deal in the 1930s and the 2009 <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act.asp" target="_blank">American Reinvestment and Recovery Act</a>. Such investments could easily include nature-positive spaces.</p><p>Parks are not panaceas, as evidenced by the widely publicized <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/nyregion/amy-cooper-false-report-charge.html" target="_blank">racist confrontation between a white woman and a Black birder</a> in New York's Central Park in early July. But Hedonometer data add to a <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaax0903?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news" target="_blank">growing body of evidence</a> that they provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807504116" target="_blank">clear mental health benefits</a>. Creating and expanding parks also <a href="https://www.nrpa.org/contentassets/f568e0ca499743a08148e3593c860fc5/economic-impact-study-summary.pdf" target="_blank">generates jobs and economic activity</a>, with much of the money spent locally.</p><p>We believe investments in nature are well worth it, offering both short-term solace in difficult times and long-term benefits to health, economies and communities.</p>From Your Site Articles
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More Than Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Study Reported Psychiatric Disorders
04 August
Health + Wellness
Healthcare workers admit a coronavirus patient to a special intensive care unit set up outside Milan's San Raffaele hospital, where 55 percent of patients surveyed developed mental health symptoms after recovering from the new coronavirus. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP via Getty Images
A study from a hospital in Milan, Italy has uncovered another complication to the process of recovering from the new coronavirus. More than half of patients surveyed one month after their treatment had developed a psychiatric disorder.
<p>The study, published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159120316068" target="_blank">Brain, Behavior, and Immunity</a> on Thursday, found that 55 percent of former patients surveyed experienced either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, insomnia or obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms.</p><p>"After three weeks of treatments, I was healing from COVID, at home, had no fever, and just a little cough," one of the patients surveyed for the study said. "But sometimes at night, my breath could go away all of a sudden, making me feel as if I was to die. I knew what it was because I had suffered from panic attacks in the past. I stayed there out on the balcony, for hours, trying to put fresh air into my lungs. It was terrible. Panic made me suffer more than COVID."</p>
<p>To obtain their results, researchers surveyed 402 patients who were treated at Milan's San Raffaele Hospital between April 6 and June 9: 265 men and 137 women. The patients were all initially assessed at the emergency room and then either admitted to the hospital or treated at home.</p><p>A month after treatment, the patients were interviewed and given questionnaires to assess their <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mental-health" target="_self">mental health</a>. They reported psychiatric symptoms at the following rates:</p><ul><li>Anxiety: 42 percent</li><li>Depression, 31 percent</li><li>Insomnia: 40 percent</li><li>PTSD: 28 percent</li><li>OC Symptoms: 20 percent</li></ul>
<p>Women fared worse psychologically than men, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/03/survivors-of-covid-19-show-increased-rate-of-psychiatric-disorders-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. People who had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder also were more likely to develop mental health symptoms after recovering from COVID-19.</p><p>The researchers were not surprised by their results, because previous studies of other coronaviruses had turned up increased mental health problems in survivors. For example, 10 to 35 percent of those who recovered from SARS have experienced psychiatric symptoms.</p><p>The reason COVID-19 survivors develop these symptoms could be down to two main reasons, the researchers think: the immune system's response to the disease and the stress of illness, such as fear, stigma and social isolation.</p>
<p>Research suggests a link between immune-triggered inflammation and mental illness. In addition, the study found that outpatients had worse mental health outcomes than people treated in the hospital, suggesting isolation played a role.</p><p>"Also considering the worse severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, this observation suggests that less healthcare support could have increased the social isolation and loneliness typical of COVID-19 pandemics, thus inducing more psychopathology after remission," the researchers wrote.</p><p>They said their findings warranted more investigation into the link between the pandemic and mental health issues.</p><p>"PTSD, major depression, and anxiety, are all high-burden non-communicable conditions associated with years of life lived with disability," they wrote. "Considering the alarming impact of COVID-19 infection on mental health, the current insights on inflammation in psychiatry, and the present observation of worse inflammation leading to worse depression, we recommend to assess psychopathology of COVID-19 survivors and to deepen research on inflammatory biomarkers, in order to diagnose and treat emergent psychiatric conditions."</p><p>The impact of the pandemic on mental health isn't limited to disease survivors, however, as <a href="https://www.techtimes.com/articles/251558/20200804/covid-19-psychiatric-disorders-like-ptsd-and-depression-prevalent-in-survivors.htm" target="_blank">Tech Times pointed out</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">Public health</a> experts have already warned about a second pandemic of psychological disorders even among those who do not contract the disease. The fear of illness and the stress of losing employment or simply following current events could all take a toll.</p>
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Fireworks Can Trigger PTSD. Here’s How to Be Considerate While Celebrating July 4th at Home
02 July
Health + Wellness
Daily fireworks in many U.S. cities in recent weeks have no doubt been interfering with the sleep and peace of mind of thousands of veterans and others who suffer from PTSD. Flickr / CC by 2.0
For some combat veterans, the Fourth of July is not a time to celebrate the independence of the country they love. Instead, the holiday is a terrifying ordeal. That's because the noise of fireworks – loud, sudden, and reminiscent of war – rocks their nervous system. Daily fireworks in many U.S. cities in recent weeks have no doubt been interfering with the sleep and peace of mind of thousands of veterans.
<p>This reaction is not unique to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Also affected are millions of others, including civilians, refugees, and first responders. <a href="https://www.starclab.org/members/arash-javanbakht" target="_blank">As a psychiatrist</a> who specializes in trauma and PTSD, I urge you not to overdo an act which causes so much suffering for so many of your fellow Americans.</p>
What Is PTSD?
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/veterans-refugees-and-victims-of-war-crimes-are-all-vulnerable-to-ptsd-130144" target="_blank">PTSD</a> can occur when someone is exposed to extreme exposure traumatic experience. Typically, the trauma involves a threat of death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Along with war veterans, it happens to refugees; to victims of gun violence, rape and other physical assaults; and to survivors of car accidents and natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes.</p><p>PTSD can also happen by witnessing trauma or its aftermath, often the case with <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd" target="_blank">first responders</a> and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-many-faces-anxiety-and-trauma/202006/invisible-wounds-the-frontline-heroes" target="_blank">front-line workers</a>.</p><p>All this adds up to tens of millions of Americans. Up to 30% of combat veterans and first responders, and 8% of civilians, <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/epidemiology.asp" target="_blank">fulfill the diagnostic criteria for PTSD</a>. And that criteria is not easily met: symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive trauma memories, difficulty sleeping, avoidance of reminders of trauma, negative emotions, and what we call "hyperarousal symptoms."</p>Fireworks Can Trigger Flashbacks
<p>Hyperarousal, a core component of PTSD, occurs when a person is hyper-alert to any sign of threat – constantly on edge, easily startled and continuously screening the environment.</p><p>Imagine, for instance, stepping down the stairs in the dark after hearing a noise; you're worried an intruder might be downstairs. Then a totally unpredictable loud sound explodes right outside your window.</p><p>For people with PTSD, that sound – reminiscent of gunfire, a thunderstorm or a car crash – <a href="https://theconversation.com/veterans-refugees-and-victims-of-war-crimes-are-all-vulnerable-to-ptsd-130144" target="_blank">can cause</a> a panic attack or trigger flashbacks, a sensory experience that makes it seem as if the old trauma is happening here and now. Flashbacks can be so severe that combat veterans may suddenly drop to the ground, the same way they would when an explosion took place in combat. Later, the experience can trigger nightmares, insomnia or worsening of other PTSD symptoms.</p><p>Those of us who set off fireworks need to ask ourselves: Are those few minutes of fun worth the hours, days, or weeks of torment that will begin for some of our friends and neighbors – including many who put their lives on the line to protect us?</p>Who Else Is Affected?
<p>Millions of others, though not diagnosed with PTSD, may similarly be affected by fireworks. <a href="https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics" target="_blank">One in five Americans</a> have an anxiety disorder, many with symptoms of hyperarousal. Also impacted are those with autism or developmental disabilities; they find it difficult to cope with the noise, or just the drastic change from life routines. Then there are people who have to work, holiday or not: nurses, physicians and first responders, who have to be up at 4 a.m. for a 30-hour shift.</p><h3>How to Reduce the Negative Impact</h3><p>There are ways to reduce how fireworks affect others:</p><ul><li>For those with PTSD, the unexpected nature of fireworks is probably the worst part. So at least make it as predictable as possible. Do it in designated areas during designated times. Don't explode one, for instance, two hours after the designated time window. And avoid setting them off <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/04/fireworks-ptsd-fourth-of-july-veterans-shooting-survivors" target="_blank">on the 3rd</a>. People are less prepared then.</li><li>If you're aware that a veteran or trauma survivor lives in the neighborhood, move the noise as far as possible from their home and give them prior warning. Consider putting a sign in your front yard noting the time you'll set the fireworks.</li><li>Remember, it doesn't have to be super loud to make it fun. Consider using <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/504964-its-time-for-silent-fireworks" target="_blank">silent fireworks</a>. And you don't have to be the one who lights the fireworks. Simply enjoy watching while your city or township does it safely.</li></ul><h3>Coping With the Stress</h3><p>If you can't stand fireworks, there are ways to reduce the stress:</p><ul><li>If the fireworks are a scheduled event, know the time they start and end.</li><li>Use earplugs or background sounds or music to reduce the intensity of the noise.</li><li>Be with loved ones who will support and help distract you.</li><li>Talk to your therapist, psychiatrist or primary care doctor for help in managing PTSD and anxiety symptoms. <a href="https://theconversation.com/veterans-refugees-and-victims-of-war-crimes-are-all-vulnerable-to-ptsd-130144" target="_blank">Effective treatments</a> are available. Your doctor may provide medication that helps during those difficult hours. But definitely do not get medications from others, as some may have <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-is-my-xanax-rx-why-your-doctor-may-be-concerned-about-prescribing-benzodiazepines-125346" target="_blank">serious consequences</a> if not used properly.</li></ul><p>And finally, don't be shy. You can kindly talk with your fireworks-happy neighbors in advance.</p>
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/arash-javanbakht-416594" target="_blank">Arash Javanbakht </a>is an </em><em>Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University.</em><br/>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em><em>Arash Javanbakht does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></em>
</p><p>
<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/fireworks-can-torment-veterans-and-survivors-of-gun-violence-with-ptsd-heres-how-to-celebrate-with-respect-for-those-who-served-141731" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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