A while back, I was speaking to my mum about how some people would not have to struggle with their mental health if only their environment could change for good. This is because the environment massively affects the interactions that influence an individual’s mood and feelings on a daily basis.
Sometimes, we are quick to blame ourselves when we feel stressed, anxious, unhappy, or emotionally drained. We may think something is wrong with us, or that we are not strong enough to handle what life throws at us. But what if the problem is not entirely within us? What if the place we live, work, study, or interact with every day is also contributing to how we feel?
This does not mean that the environment is the only factor responsible for our mental health, but understanding the link between environment and mental health can help us recognise what may be affecting our well-being and what changes may be needed.
What Is in Your Environment That Affects Your Mental Health?
The environment is beyond where you live; it also has to do with your place of work, your school, and other social gatherings. The people around you, the conditions you live in, the level of safety in your community, your financial situation, and even the physical conditions of the places you spend most of your time can influence your mental well-being.
Home Environment
The factors that contribute to the how and why relationship between the environment and mental health at home are:
1. People: Interactions associated with violence, verbal abuse, maltreatment, gossiping, lying, gaslighting, and malice can make you feel alone, even when surrounded by people.
2. High Crime Rate: If you live in an area with a high rate of crime, such as theft, molestation, threats, and rape, it can put you in constant fear of being robbed, assaulted, or kidnapped, which keeps your body in a state of distress and can contribute to depression and place a restriction on normal social activities.
3. Discrimination and Racism: Discrimination and racism create chronic stress and anxiety from a feeling of not belonging and can lower a person’s self-esteem from repeated experiences of rejection, exclusion, humiliation, unfair treatment, and threats, among many others.
4. Poverty: Not being able to afford one’s basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) or the education needed to excel in life can create a lot of anxiety from a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity. It makes you feel incapable of controlling the situation in your life, which may result in depression.
5. Weather Conditions and Climate Change: Floods, storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, heat stroke, and other environmental conditions can also displace people from their homes, which sometimes causes food insecurity from ruined farmlands and drives people into anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.
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Work Environment
The average worker spends a considerable amount of time at their workplace, even with the advent of remote work. Hence, some factors in the work environment and mental health are closely connected.
1. Bullying and Harassment: Constant insults, exclusion, belittlement, intimidation and threats may increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions.
2. Stress: When you are saddled with a heavy workload, unrealistic deadlines and long working hours, you are exposed to chronic stress, which can lead to burnout, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion.
3. Poor Physical Settings: Prolonged exposure to workplace environmental stressors such as overcrowded space, noisy environment, insufficient ventilation, and poor lighting can affect concentration, cognitive performance, and overall well-being.
4. Lack of Recognition and Unfairness: Working in an environment where you are not treated fairly compared with others, or where your efforts are not adequately recognised or rewarded, may lead to frustration, emotional distress, and reduced motivation.
5. Conflict: Lack of cooperation, poor communication, interpersonal conflict, and unsupportive managers can increase work-related stress and make an individual feel isolated and emotionally drained.
What Is the Way Out?
Now that we understand the link between environment and mental health, knowing what to do about it is the obvious next step.
Change of Environment
The ideal escape route from a toxic environment is to change the environment. Ideally, you can change a lot if you step out of the source of your nightmare and into a pleasant place of comfort and bliss. Change that home or work environment, and take calculated, well-thought-out steps to move into a better, more conducive environment that supports your mental health.
When a Change of Environment Is Not Possible
The cost of commitment, the investment made, and the benefits that such an environment brings can make it too costly to leave. You know it’s easier said than done with the advice of changing one’s environment permanently. Here is what you can do:
1. Change how you think about that environment. Look for what you can learn or gain from the situation without ignoring the things that are harming you. You can also practise gratitude. For some people, gratitude makes them see the bright side of life and cope with challenging environments.
2. Try to adjust to your environment and change what you can. Find creative ways to adapt to your environment. You could set clear boundaries, take breaks, and upgrade certain aspects of the physical environment within your capacity.
Seek Support and Address the Source
If the problem is at work, you can consider speaking with a trusted supervisor, a Human Resources representative, an occupational health professional, a union representative where applicable, or another appropriate support service.
If the problem involves bullying, harassment, discrimination, threats, or an unsafe environment, you should not be expected to simply “think positively” or adapt to the situation. The source has to be addressed.
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Protecting Your Environment and Mental Health Going Forward
The link between environment and mental health is not something you deal with once and forget. Environments change, and so do we. A workplace that was fine two years ago may not be fine now. A home that felt safe may stop feeling that way.
So it is worth checking in with yourself from time to time. Ask what in your surroundings is draining you, what is within your power to change, and what needs proper support rather than personal adjustment.
Lastly, the relationship between environment and mental health works both ways, which means the changes you make to your surroundings can genuinely improve how you feel.
If your environment and mental health have been weighing on you for a while, please speak to a qualified professional.
Author: Helen Ohunene Otailku is a health writer with a B.SC (Ed.) in Health Education. She has spent years translating complex data into simple health information through writing and visual storytelling.
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