Anxiety, depression and pre-traumatic stress disorder: How extreme weather events like the flooding in B.C. impact your health

VANCOUVER -

A B.C.-based doctor says climate change and associated extreme weather events can have a major impact on mental and physical health.

Dr. Linda Thyer, a founding member of the group Doctors for Planetary Health, spoke about the issue on CTV Morning Live Friday, following a week of coverage on the devastating impact of a recent storm.

The Vancouver family doctor said events like the storm that left parts of the province underwater can have a number of effects.

Such effects can be physical, stemming from issues including potentially contaminated water, but there's also a mental toll.

"I think this is one area that we're not yet recognizing the full impact that this is having on us… With these extreme weather events we'll be seeing, I think, more post-traumatic stress disorder related to those traumas, increased anxiety, some depression as well," she said.

It's an impact seen even in people who haven't experienced the extreme weather events directly. She said social media allows those in other areas to see events playing out live, which is enough to cause trauma for some.

"We're even seeing what's called pre-traumatic stress disorder, where people are starting to have increased anxiety just watching what other people are going through and anticipating those kind of events on themselves."

Thyer said a recent study on youth showed nearly two-thirds surveyed earlier this year were feeling at least some climate-related anxiety.

She also mentioned the "heat dome" that settled over the province in the summer, leading to hundreds of deaths in addition to heat stroke and other conditions.

The heat was so severe that a B.C. doctor made headlines for diagnosing a senior patient with "climate change." 

And the smoke from yet another devastating wildfire season in the province affected people with respiratory problems including asthma.

Watch the full interview above for more from the doctor.