Do you get those strange feelings of worry and guilt when you take the plane, or when you accidentally buy a product that is packaged in a million smaller packages? Do you have sleepless nights thinking about what your children’s life will be like if we continue like this? Do you count all the ways the modern lifestyle is bad for the environment? In this case, you might be experiencing climate anxiety. Climate anxiety is a growing phenomenon referring to the feelings of worry, fear, or chronic stress that arise from concerns about climate change and its potential impact on the environment and society. Climate anxiety is becoming more common as people are more aware of the catastrophic consequences climate change can have on the planet. While it is crucial to recognize the severity of our situation, sometimes the alarmist language and apocalyptic visions can worsen climate anxiety. It’s a fact that climate change needs more realists. It’s very important to communicate the urgent need for action, but without falling into the mistake of using alarmist language, bashing people for their choices, and threatening with doom.
What’s climate anxiety?
Climate anxiety or eco-anxiety refers to the feelings of worry, fear, or stress that arise from climate change. It's usually about its possible impact on the environment and life as we know it. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and food and water shortages are all real threats. Finding a good place to live to avoid natural disasters is becoming harder. Those kinds of catastrophes could affect more people over time and are at the base of those worries.
Climate anxiety can manifest in many different ways. It can be a mild unease or concern to some, while it can manifest in severe panic attacks and anxiety disorders for others. People experiencing eco-anxiety may feel overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of the problem. They could feel frustrated by the lack of action from governments for a sustainable future and society to address the issue. They may also feel a sense of guilt and responsibility for their own contribution to climate change. Bad lifestyle choices and consumption patterns we enact can be hard to change. Everything that surrounds us is built to encourage us to consume. Impulse buying and impulse throwing it away because of buyer’s remorse is, well, an unfortunately common phenomenon.
How does it manifest?
First of all, climate anxiety is not a mental illness. Climate change has serious consequences, and it’s normal to worry. But eco-anxiety sometimes also involves feelings of anger, guilt, shame, and blame. Those can take their toll on mood, thinking, and behavior.
The most vulnerable to this kind of chronic stress are children and young adults. Eco-anxiety means a risk of developing depression and generalized anxiety, which can even increase the risk of substance use disorders.
Individuals experiencing climate anxiety are likely to experience feelings of hopelessness and depression, too. This doesn’t mean that it develops into a disorder all of the time, but it might help to implement some changes.
Common visions of the apocalypse
The most common concerns about climate change have valid worries at their base. All those things pose serious problems, and urgent action is needed to address them. However, sometimes alarmist language can present those in a way that communicates that there’s nothing to do and that we are all going to die. Many argue that language that emphasizes the situation's severity is important to spur action. But in reality, the doomist rhetoric can be counterproductive, and it can make climate anxiety worse, too. In reality, climate change desperately needs realists, not sensationalists. Voices that communicate facts and help take action are becoming more needed.
Some of the most common visions associated with climate change usually concern some of these subjects:
Rising sea levels
The melting of glaciers and ice sheets due to global warming is causing sea levels to rise. This could lead to the displacement of millions of people living in coastal areas.
Extreme weather events
Climate change is causing more frequent and severe weather events. Hurricanes, floods, and droughts can devastate communities and infrastructure.
Food and water shortages
Changes in climate patterns could disrupt agricultural production and water supplies. This can lead to food and water shortages in many parts of the world.
Mass extinction
Climate change is causing rapid changes in ecosystems, which could lead to the disappearance of many plant and animal species. Ecosystems are fragile. They regulate the optimal balance for the specific local flora and fauna. If an ecosystem collapses, it gives way to invasive species. This has a domino effect, where the local species can no longer sustain themselves and go extinct. Extinction then affects many areas of our lives, from agriculture to safety.
Societal collapse
These doomsday scenarios are not inevitable, though. Even if they are frequently discussed and sound horrifying, taking action rationally can help prevent them from happening. Advocating for change through political action or adopting a sustainable lifestyle can be an important contribution. Also, it can ease the feelings of climate anxiety.
These doomsday scenarios are not entirely inevitable, though. Even if they are frequently discussed and sound horrifying, taking action rationally can help prevent them from happening. Advocating for change through political action or adopting a sustainable lifestyle can be an important contribution, and it can ease the feelings of climate anxiety.
How to cope with eco-anxiety?
Feelings of climate anxiety can often involve nervousness, worry, stress, or fear about the possible outcomes of climate change. Thinking about what the future holds might come with feelings of low mood and an extended sense of powerlessness in the face of overwhelming danger. Taking action where we can in our personal lives can help to ease those anxieties.
It’s important to remember that what is in our power to do is enough. And that collective action is needed because no one can and should save the world all by themselves.
Some actions and practices can help ease the strain of climate anxiety. Working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of movement involved helps. Walking and biking instead of using a car is an excellent way to get your daily exercise dose. This way you can also contribute to reducing carbon emissions. Looking for a community or connecting with friends who share the same interests can result in decreasing the stress you are carrying. Talking about it can also lead to taking action, like taking part in an event to clean green areas of trash.
Being conscious about your feelings of anxiety can also help find ways to decrease the amount of stress you are dealing with. Formulating thoughts and feelings can give off hints about areas where you can improve or release stress. Contributing with small actions in your personal life or joining events to contribute to a cause can also bring ease.
Conclusion
Climate anxiety is a real and growing phenomenon that reflects the deep concern that many people feel about the impact of climate change on the planet and society. The way urgency is communicated can sometimes provoke feelings of anxiety and distress. it’s important for those communicating about climate change to take on a realist approach and avoid sensationalism. While worst-case scenario visions associated with climate change are frequently discussed, these outcomes are not completely inevitable. Meaningful action can be taken on a personal and on a societal level to address this global challenge and build a world that’s good to call home.
