The conditions you surround yourself in is accountable for your mental wellness, and your brain development. This happens either positively or negatively.
Following the recent situation of Climate crisis, most greenlanders are experiencing Anxiety and Depression escalation, caused by the changing climate, unreliable economy, job insecurity, unpredictable harsh weather patterns and displacement.
The recent IPBES report indicates that being away from natural surroundings for a long time can cause isolation from nature, especially for children brought up in urban setup, hence prevents them from exploiting the benefits natural environment has for their mental wellness. their mental health is affected with the air pollution in urban setup.
Young people in urban areas are most likely to suffer mental illness like, depression, dementia, anxiety and suicide. According to a psychiatry research, children get depressed at the age of 18 if exposed to polluted air at the age of 12. Air pollution which is an environmental hazard causes both physical and mental illness.
Exposure to some heavy metals like lead can be harmful to the mental well being, for its toxicity to the nervous system, as small amounts of lead concentration in the blood leads to difficulty in learning in small children as well as depreciated levels of intelligence.
According to a research done by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, accumulation of polluted air causes anxiety levels, the government is responsible in making sure that the mental health crisis is tackled by reducing air pollution, and enabling the availability of green spaces or establishing electric and non-motorized transport initiatives, among other measures.
Natural environments on the other hand has curative effects, with countless other health benefits. According to the latest Global Environmental Outlook, forests for example can promote physical and mental well-being.
“The full health benefits of the natural world are too extensive to list,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, adding that nature is “the ultimate healthcare system”.
“There are multiple financial, social and environmental reasons for preventing and combating air pollution and for improved management of ecosystems. Human health is rapidly emerging as yet another fundamental one,” Cristina Zucca, UN Environment Programme Coordinator.
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Over the years the the role of a healthy environment of protecting human health had been greatly neglected, until recently. As citizens and governments have realised and decided to help nature in improving our well-being.
Aso Read: Sustainable Ways to Curb Drought in ASAL Areas of Kenya
