What is eco-anxiety?

Introducing and contextualizing the concept (optional).

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The fear of the impacts of climate change are very real and every day feel more palpable. Given the importance of combatting climate change as well as analyzing its impacts societally, it has become an often discussed topic in classrooms. In addition to this, use of social media can be a major information source on climate related news (frequented by youth at a higher rate).

The result of discussing climate change on such a wide scale, in compound with the modern media cycle’s tendency towards sensationalism is one that results in a significant amount of anxiety (this feeling can be applied to a wide variety of topics, climate change is just a very easy one to see):

- “I want you to panic” – Greta Thunberg (3).
- “It is, I promise, worse than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible” – David Wallace-Wells (4).

This sort of activism has its importance, but can directly contribute to eco-anxiety/climate anxiety. Youth as it is often face an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and powerlessness (in addition to school, and work):

- 73% feel sadness, 56% feel anxious about the future in the US in 2024, as it relates to climate change (1).
- Globally, 59% of youth very or extremely worried, 84% moderately worried (2).

Generally, the resulting impacts are:

- Mental health issues are created or exacerbated by the state of the world
- Activism paralysis, general nihilistic world view, passivism on opportunities for change.

- “continual exposure to information engendered by modern technologies [...] raises the salience of global crises and can engender anxiety or passivity in the face of seemingly overwhelming threats” (5)

- Fear-based promotion of solutions (worsening the impacts of eco-anxiety cyclically)

- Fear-based tactics do make an impact on behaviour and attitudes overall, but work best in regards to one-time actions, like donations and signing petitions. While these have their positive effects, they also contribute far less to change in terms of constant behaviour, and instead can be taken as a quick way to rid onself of shame.
- “When we’re anxious and we’re scared, we want others to feel it too. It’s contagious” – Renee Lertzman, psychologist in climate-change communication (6).

Similar to the approach taken in this class, there needs to be a delicate and empathy based approach to tackling this much information. Discomfort is needed as a motivator for change, but stare too long and it is easy to become rigid with fear. Finding how you can gain control when it is in regards to societal change is the most important thing!