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Eco-anxiety

Eco-anxiety (short for ecological anxiety and also known as eco-distress or climate-anxiety) is a challenging emotional response to climate change and other environmental issues.[1] Extensive studies have been done on ecological anxiety since 2007, and various definitions remain in use.[2] The condition is not a medical diagnosis and is regarded as a rational response to the reality of climate change; however, severe instances can have a mental health impact if left without alleviation.[3][4] There is also evidence that eco-anxiety is caused by the way researchers frame their research and their narratives of the evidence about climate change: if they do not consider the possibility of finding any solution to overcome climate change and for individuals to make a difference, they contribute to this feeling of powerlessness.[5]

Eco-anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, though it can also motivate useful behavior such as the gathering of relevant information.[6] Yet it can also manifest as conflict avoidance, or even be "paralyzing".[7] Some people have reported experiencing so much anxiety and fear about the future with climate change that they choose not to have children.[8] Eco-anxiety has received more attention after 2017, and especially since late 2018 with Greta Thunberg publicly discussing her own eco-anxiety.[9][10]

In 2018, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued a report about the impact of climate change on mental health. It said that "gradual, long-term changes in climate can also surface a number of different emotions, including fear, anger, feelings of powerlessness, or exhaustion".[11] Generally this is likely to have the greatest impact on young people. Eco-anxiety that is now affecting young adults has been likened to Cold War fears of nuclear annihilation felt by baby boomers.[12] Research has found that although there are heightened emotional experiences linked with acknowledgement and anticipation of climate change and its impact on society, these are inherently adaptive.[7] Furthermore, engaging with these emotional experiences leads to increased resilience, agency, reflective functioning and collective action. Individuals are encouraged to find collective ways of processing their climate related emotional experiences in order to support mental health and well-being.[13]

  1. ^ Sustaining All Life (2020-02-20). "Healing Our Climate Grief". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ Vakoch, Douglas A.; Mickey, Sam, eds. (2023). Eco-Anxiety and Pandemic Distress: Psychological Perspectives on Resilience and Interconnectness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-762267-4.
  3. ^ Dr Catriona Mellor (2020). "Eco distress: for parents and carers". Royal College of Psychiatrists. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ^ Barrett, Eden; Gulliver, Robyn (2024-04-09). "Health and Climate Activism". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  5. ^ Chiolero, Arnaud (28 January 2023). "Academic Framing as a Cause of Eco-Anxiety". Epidemiologia. 4 (1): 60–62. doi:10.3390/epidemiologia4010006. ISSN 2673-3986. PMC 9944577. PMID 36810453.
  6. ^ Vakoch, Douglas A.; Mickey, Sam, eds. (2022). Eco-Anxiety and Planetary Hope: Experiencing the Twin Disasters of Covid-19 and Climate Change. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. ISBN 978-3-031-08430-0.
  7. ^ a b Heeren, A.; Mouguiama-Daouda, C.; Contreras, A. (2022). "On climate anxiety and the threat it may pose to daily life functioning and adaptation: a study among European and African French-speaking participants". Climatic Change. 173 (1–2): 15. Bibcode:2022ClCh..173...15H. doi:10.1007/s10584-022-03402-2. PMC 9326410. PMID 35912274.
  8. ^ Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew; Leong, Kit Ling (1 November 2020). "Eco-reproductive concerns in the age of climate change". Climatic Change. 163 (2): 1007–1023. Bibcode:2020ClCh..163.1007S. doi:10.1007/s10584-020-02923-y. ISSN 1573-1480. S2CID 226983864.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Panu2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Vaughan, Adam (18 December 2019). "The Year the World Woke up to Climate Change". New Scientist. Vol. 244, no. 3261/62. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  11. ^ Climate Change's Toll On Mental Health Archived 18 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine, APA, 29 March 2017
  12. ^ 'Climate grief' takes toll on younger generations Archived 18 October 2020 at archive.today, SC Times, 21 April 2019.
  13. ^ Kieft, J.; Bendell, J (2021). "The responsibility of communicating difficult truths about climate influenced societal disruption and collapse: an introduction to psychological research". Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) Occasional Papers. 7: 1–39. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.

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