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Eco-Anxiety: What It Is & 5 Strategies to Take Care of Yourself Mentally (12/27/2022)

Feb 10, 2023 Annie Cao

As we keep hearing about climate change and its impact on the weather and environment, it’s normal for some anxiety to creep into our lives. After all, it’s a topic we’ve grown familiar with — from seeing natural disasters on the news to experiencing changes in the weather every year, it’s something we can’t avoid even if we wanted to.

In recent years, people have become more aware of how their actions are affecting the Earth and some have started to experience negative feelings over the future of the planet. This newfound awareness and these emotions may possibly be symptoms of eco-anxiety. 

 

image via ecoanxiety.com

 

What is Eco-Anxiety?

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), they define eco-anxiety as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.” It’s currently not listed as a disease in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), so doctors don’t officially consider it as a diagnosable condition. However, eco-anxiety is still something that affects many people to some degree.

Anxiety usually happens when the body is responding to perceived threats with a fight-flight-freeze survival instinct. Typically, we think of these perceived threats as being far-fetched and irrational. But since climate change is a real threat, you could argue that this is a rare case of anxiety working how it’s supposed to. In this case, anxiety about the environment causes people to look for solutions to climate change in order to survive.

 

image via colorado.edu

 

What Are the Symptoms of Eco-Anxiety?

People may experience symptoms of varying degrees depending on how aware they are about the environment and how severe climate change is in their area. Some of these symptoms are:

  • Worry
  • Fear
  • Guilt
  • Hopelessness
  • Stress
  • Anger/frustration
  • Exhaustion
  • Depression
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • General symptoms of anxiety

 

 

Who Does Eco-Anxiety Affect?

Eco-anxiety can affect anyone, but people who live in communities that are vulnerable to extreme weather changes are the most affected by ecological changes.

These groups are more susceptible to eco-anxiety:

  • Displaced people and immigrants
  • Indigenous communities
  • Low-income communities
  • Elderly people or people with disabilities
  • People who work in agriculture, fishing, or tourism

 

5 Ways to Cope With Eco-Anxiety

If you’re experiencing these feelings and aren’t sure what to do, here are 5 strategies that can help you manage eco-anxiety.

image via istockphoto.com

Work on overcoming denial and focus on a more positive mindset.

It’s perfectly reasonable to want to ignore climate change to ease your anxiety. But unfortunately, avoiding these emotions won’t make you feel better. It’s easier said than done, but fully acknowledging the reality of climate change and allowing yourself to feel your emotions is important.

After letting those feelings in, you can work on forgiving yourself and committing to making better choices in the future. You should also remind yourself that you’re only one person, and doing what you can is enough. Focusing on positive thinking and strengthening your mindset can help break the cycle of negative thoughts and reduce anxiety.

image via newyorker.com

 

Educate yourself on climate change.

Sometimes inaccurate or not enough information can make you feel unprepared or hopeless in the face of climate change. Finding trustworthy and credible sources and staying updated on what’s happening in the world can help you and communities feel prepared and resilient if a natural disaster occurs.

 

Participate in sustainable activities.

There are many ways to be sustainable. For example, you can participate in activities such as:

  • Plogging (picking up litter while jogging)
  • Beach and park clean-ups
  • Volunteering at a community garden
  • Looking up organizations and getting involved

And there’s a variety of things you can change in your daily habits that will add up, like:

  • Using less plastic
  • Reducing water usage
  • Utilizing public transportation
  • Choosing walking or riding a bike when possible
  • Shopping locally for groceries (check out our blog post on why you should support farmers markets!)
  • Growing your own food

It’s also okay if you’re not perfect – you don’t have to be zero-waste or be involved with an organization make a difference. Every action you take in your day-to-day life counts for something.

image via sheknows.com

Disconnect from your device.

Learning about climate change is beneficial, but if you start to feel overwhelmed, it can cause anxiety. Checking your sources and cutting back on the amount of information you’re consuming can help reduce stress.

Taking a break from media sources and fully unplugging from our devices is also a great way to refresh and calm our minds.

image via google.com

 

Stay active and spend time in nature.

Lastly, spending time in the world that we’re trying to save can help your mental health. Seeing all the green and blue spaces that still exist can calm your anxiety and staying active by exercising outdoors will help you reduce stress and enjoy nature.

 

Although it can be easy to feel discouraged about climate change and to think that there’s not enough change happening, the fact that people are more interested in the environment and are working on taking better care of the planet is a step in the right direction. It may take some time to see bigger results, but as long as we don’t give up and continue seeking out sustainable solutions, we can make a difference.

 

Sources:

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf

https://www.ecoanxiety.com/what-is-eco-anxiety/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327354#how-to-manage

https://www.iberdrola.com/social-commitment/what-is-ecoanxiety

https://www.healthline.com/health/eco-anxiety#whos-at-risk

 

Cover image by nnphi.org

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