Smoke can take toll on mental health
Experts suggest rest, indoor exercise, spending time with friends to help counter poor air quality
Wildfire is episodic and changes quickly over time so at least at this stage we don’t consider it a chronic exposure.” Angela Yao, PhD student
Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning around B.C. could be harming more than just your physical well-being, say health experts.
It may also lead to poor mental health.
The Canadian Mental Health Association is urging B.C. residents to practice selfcare and good mental wellness during this prolonged stretch of poor air quality caused by the more than 500 wildfires burning around the province. That may include getting lots of rest, exercising indoors, spending more time with friends, and speaking to a professional if the anxiety persists more than a couple of weeks.
On Thursday, an air quality alert continued for much of the province, including Metro Vancouver, because of high levels of particulate matter in the air from wildfires.
Some areas in the Interior and Central B.C. have experienced air quality levels this week that far exceed what are considered hazardous to health. AQI levels in Vanderhoof, for example, were double the hazardous level on Wednesday.
Maya Russell, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Mental Health Association, said for many British Columbians the smoke is causing anxiety about climate change.
“Climate change is abstract, but when you can see it in the form of pollution and smoke, you are taking something that felt far away and bringing it right up close,” she said.
Also, such a long stretch of poor air quality is unprecedented in Metro Vancouver, and that can cause a feeling of losing control, she added.
Russell says there are ways to mitigate that anxiety.
The first is to remind yourself that the smoke is temporary and the sky will return to normal. Environment Canada expected the conditions to improve by Friday, as a new weather system moved in and pushed marine air through the region.
Another tip is to practice mindfulness so you understand why you feel anxious. If the fear of climate change becomes overwhelming, she said try making small changes to feel more in control.
“We can’t single-handedly fix climate change,” she said, but suggested changes such as leaving the car at home one day a week. She noted that with climate change it’s important not to pass feelings of hopelessness or doom on to children in the home.
When people stay indoors because of the air, they can become isolated, so she advised hanging out with friends or going somewhere you can exercise indoors.
For those who would like some help dealing with the anxiety, there’s a government program for free cognitive therapy sessions with a coach called Bounce Back.
Angela Yao, a PhD student at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, says there is not enough research yet on the long-term effects of breathing in wildfire smoke over a short period of time, such as a couple of days or a week.
“Wildfire is episodic and changes quickly over time so at least at this stage we don’t consider it a chronic exposure,” she said.
Yao, who also works with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said the centre is planning a long-term study to look at how babies in utero are affected during years of wildfire smoke.
Dr. Sarah Henderson, the senior environmental health scientist at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said a couple of weeks of exposure to wildfire smoke won’t have long-term effects on most people’s health.
“People will be quite uncomfortable and maybe miserable during those two weeks but when the smoke clears their health should return to their normal everyday health,” Henderson said.
“There are a few possible exceptions. One is anybody who has a chronic condition already and who suffers any kind of severe exasperation of that condition during the smoky period. Perhaps you have heart disease and you have a heart attack during the smoke episode that you would not have had if it wasn’t smoky, you are unlikely to recover your health again after the smoke clears because of that severe event.”
Henderson says on smoky days the B.C. Centre for Disease Control expects to see a one to two per cent increase in strokes and heart attacks.
“And that’s true of pollution from all sources, not just smoke … the human body is quite sensitive to air pollution,” she said.