by Mac Slavo, SHTF Plan:
A quick internet search for “climate anxiety,” which is also often referred to as “eco-anxiety,” “eco-grief,” or “climate doom,” produces numerous links to the psychological and psychiatric literature on the topic. The Program on Climate Change Communication within the Yale School of the Environment appears to be a major contributor to this research. Mental health professionals and mass trauma researchers report seeing more patients with symptoms of this anxiety, but they’re not always sure how to treat it.
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Climate Anxiety Isn’t a Medical Diagnosis
Reputable medical establishments such as the Cleveland Clinic clarify that, although this psychological condition isn’t a medical diagnosis, it is a commonly accepted popular term used to describe a collection of symptoms triggered by long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns, and can be exacerbated by other existing anxiety disorders. Experts find that the age 16-34 demographic—those known as Generation Z and Millennials—is particularly vulnerable to climate anxiety.
Some even believe that the condition may increase the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition that is caused by either being part of an extremely traumatic event, or witnessing it. Some also believe that Indigenous people are some of the most vulnerable populations to experience negative impacts as a result of direct exposure to climate change. The list of climate-anxiety symptoms is extensive:
- A sense of being overwhelmed and helpless in the face of changing climate and weather patterns;
- Worrying about the future;
- Exposure to headlines about natural disasters or reading about climate change news;
- Losing sleep over climate change, a sense of impending doom, feelings of anger at oneself and/or others;
- Experiencing a sense of guilt or shame;
- Avoidance of conversations or activities as a way of avoiding environmental triggers; and,
- Lack of confidence in making major life decisions.
An example of this last symptom might be, for example, decisions about having children because of the belief that they would damage the planet (or because the planet could damage children). This is increasingly a fear that many young adults—the demographic most vulnerable to climate anxiety—have expressed and that could have serious repercussions for the entire world.
Experts Say Worrying about Climate is Healthy
Investigators at the Yale climate change program have found that 64 percent of Americans said they were “at least somewhat worried” about global warming. These mental health experts believe that this 64 percent finding in itself is healthy because worrying somewhat about something motivates a person to figure out what he can do about it. Thus, they advocate that more people should be worried about climate change.
But they also caution that worry can be a problem if it becomes overwhelming and debilitating, keeping a person from living one’s life, at which point it becomes a serious diagnosis. Climate anxiety, moreover, is highly correlated with generalized anxiety, so it tends to affect people who are already anxious about other aspects of their lives.
Further findings include that among Americans:
- 9 percent report feeling down, depressed, or hopeless for at least several days out of the last two weeks
- 12 percent say they struggle to stop themselves from consuming bad news about global warming
- 8 percent say they are, or would be interested in, seeking counseling to discuss feelings about global warming
- Very few are fatalistic that it’s already too late to do anything about global warming; most believe that the country can still solve the problem.
