Eco-Anxiety
I like to think of myself as someone who really cares about the environment. I used to make every school assignment on sustainability, educate my loved ones on the climate crisis and educated myself along the way.
I always figured that people just didn’t know enough about what was going on in the world.
But flash-forward a few years: it’s present day, and now I’m aware that people just don’t care.
From fires in the US, Turkey, and Greece, to flooding in Western Europe, the tropical storm in Mexico, water scarcity in Iraq and Yemen — people’s lives are being threatened, yet changes aren’t being made.
To be honest, I’ve had to take a break from the news. Every time I would turn it on and see a natural disaster occuring or another update on how we have officially reached code red and change has to happen now, I would get a wave of anxiety.
It wasn’t just anxiety that I felt: it was the existential dread, depression, and grief every time I thought about how we were losing the natural environment and wildlife populations.
Something I had been fighting so hard for, advocating daily, and educating my peers on, started to seem as if it was for nothing — because not enough people seemed to want to make a change.
It felt so weird to feel anxiety over climate change, a part of me even felt dramatic and I kept invalidating my feelings. Every time I would sit myself down to read the latest articles, I would find myself stopping after I was 5 minutes in. I just couldn’t do it anymore.
That’s when I realized that my emotions are valid and I have “Eco-Anxiety” which according to Medical News Today is, “chronic or severe anxiety related to humans’ relationship with the environment” or “a chronic fear of environmental doom”. And it was true, all I felt was impending doom.
It’s natural to feel anxious when all we see in the news is how the glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and there is a new natural disaster occuring every day.
Eco-anxiety can affect people differently, but there are ways of coping with it.
Think about yourself and prioritize self care. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by eco-anxiety, take time out. It’s okay to take a break and put yourself first! Take the time to do things that make you feel positive and safe.
Recognize that eco-anxiety is a rational feeling to have. It’s natural to feel anxious when it feels like we’re just around the corner from a sixth mass extinction.
Surround yourself with people who understand. Surrounding yourself with friends, family, peers and common interest groups to talk can help! You can try connecting to your community and participating in neighborhood gardening, trash pickup, or waste reduction efforts can also reduce feelings of eco-anxiety.
Find a support group. The Good Grief Network, is a nonprofit dedicated to boosting resilience around global concerns and offers a virtual support system.
Take action! Making more sustainable and ethical choices, volunteering with causes you believe in, and even talking to people such as friends, families, neighbors etc. to educate and encourage can make a change.
Therapy can help. Eco-anxiety is not a mental health diagnosis — yet — but many therapists and mental health professionals agree that it can create a heavy emotional impact for many. A therapist can provide a safe space to develop coping skills, create an individualized self-care plan and more.
Bottom line is: even though it may feel as if we’re in a constant state of impending doom due to our environmental crisis, it’s important to prioritize yourself first.