Exposure to smoke from wildfires can trigger anxiety disorders, experts warn.
Following the recent wildfire in California, Los Angeles, which destroyed over 10,000 homes and buildings, mental health experts have cautioned that wildfires can affect a person’s mental health for years.
According to CNN, Dr. Jyoti Mishra, associate director of the UC Climate Change and Mental Health Council, who researched the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, revealed that people who experience wildfires may suffer from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.
Dr. Mishra stated, “It can also make you feel cognitively impacted. Our work has shown that it’s difficult to focus on a single thing when everything around you feels threatening.”
Several other studies have also found that wildfires cause people to feel stressed, angry, sad, shocked, frustrated, and depressed.
Victims of the fire may experience loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and may turn to alcohol, drugs, or self-medication.
Dr. Yang Liu, chair of environmental health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, in his 2024 study, showed a link between anxiety disorders and wildfire smoke exposure.
He explained, “Inhaling a lot of smoke can trigger an anxiety disorder. LA’s air quality level is 10 to 20 times above the national center, so it’s certainly a severe smoke event for the entire Southern California region.”
Liu’s research also noted that women, girls, and older adults are more prone to the negative mental health effects of wildfires.
Experts suggested that listening to music, deep-breathing exercises, and mindfulness exercises could help calm the body and cope with the trauma.
