‘Researching climate change feels like standing in the path of an approaching train’

Working Scientist

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Three researchers with personal experience of anxiety and depression triggered by studying the environmental destruction caused by a changing climate describe the steps they take to protect their mental health.

Ruth Cerezo-Mota, a climate scientist based at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, found herself grieving for the state of the

planet through her work for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Experiencing a panic attack at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a fear of checking emails and a sense of disengagement from work, led to her seeking professional help. “I was in a really dark place,” she tells Adam Levy. Retreating to a “happy place” that combines home, books, yoga, running, cats and wine is a key copying strategy when things get tough, she says.

Similar experiences are recounted by Dave Reay, a climate scientist at the University of Edinburgh UK, and Daniel Gilford, a meteorologist who works at Climate Central, a science-led non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey, that researches and reports the facts about climate change and its effects on peoples lives.

Talking to other climate researchers and focusing on positive developments around climate change also helps, says Reay. Gilford, who is based in Orlando, Florida, likens climate change to being in the path of an approaching train: “I can see it coming with all of its weight and heaviness, and I’m screaming ‘Stop. Stop the train. Stop the train.’

“By screaming, by saying what is happening, by naming the problem and telling people about it, I think that that can become a solution as well,” he says.

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