Normally, the bright, lime green of the St. Johns bridge rises above the skyscape, along with the treetops of Forest Park delineating Earth from sky. But lately, the air quality is often in the red zone due to wildfires in Oregon, Washington and the Nakia Creek Fire burning near Camas, in Clark County. People are advised not to go running or exercise outside and some schools keep children inside all day for days on end, so not to expose their developing lungs to the unhealthy particulate matter.

While we can’t and shouldn’t blame every wildfire nor bad mood on our changing climate, we humans are deeply impacted by the negative changes occurring around us. Many of us are very busy and do our best to tune out the noise, but it takes great effort to do so, and there’s only so much insulation we can place between our minds and the current reality.

As highlighted in the report Mental Health and our Changing Climate by ecoAmerica, “The evidence is unequivocal that exposure to climate- and weather-related disasters has serious impacts on psychological well-being, and that the chronic impacts of climate change such as higher temperatures and drought also have significant negative effects on mental health.”

As much as we try to avoid this reality, it is becoming increasingly harder to do so, as more residents are surrounded by 100-year floods every few years, rampant wildfire seasons and unfathomable drought—and suffering emotional impacts from these events as they try to carry on in a livable world.

There is a real benefit in creating a connection between climate change and increased mental health challenges. Many of us go to the doctor when we’re sick; in part, to find a solution. Some of us are also eager to understand what’s making us sick. Remove the cause, address the symptoms. So highlighting this connection between climate change and mental health can serve as deeper motivation to find effective climate solutions so that we need not suffer unnecessarily the present and future damage of higher global temperatures.

For purpose-driven individuals and communities that already have the motivation to act on climate, highlighting the connection between climate change and mental health can help them recognize personal warning signs and ultimately support them in avoiding burnout and building personal resilience around climate change and beyond. We need as many people as possible to be their best possible selves, giving all they have got to create what is possible for our beautiful world.

Tamara Staton is the education and resilience coordinator for the nonprofit Citizens’ Climate Lobby. For more information, visit cclusa.org/resilience or contact the Dallas Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby at CitizensClimateLobby.org/chapters/TX_Dallas-Fort_Worth/