In a 2021 survey, 70% of more than 1,000 Americans said they are somewhat concerned about climate change.
Around 10,000 young people from around the world participated in a 2021 survey in which it was discovered that approximately half of them seemed to feel the effects of climate change on their ability to function daily, and that 75% found the future to be terrifying.
New emotions in climate change
Nicholas Doherty/Unsplash
Australian philosopher, Glenn Albrecht, was interested in thinking about how people speak about and interact with the natural world, as per The Atlantic.
He had lived in Australia's Hunter Region since 1982, which is a stunning region of dairy farms, wineries, and wallabies, and he had a great love for the place as a person.
Albrecht could understand all of this in theory, but experiencing it firsthand was more visceral: he described it as an acutely traumatic event that caused environmental devastation, with the air thick with coal-scented dust, a dull roar from mine explosions, and a cloud of orange smoke.
Over several years, Albrecht has decided to devote himself to looking for words to express a kind of sadness, shock, and loss that seemed to be happening more and more frequently; the grief of displacement, uneasiness with our surroundings, a feeling that harm and disaster may be just around the corner.
People live in a period of radical transformation when it feels like anything is being recreated and altered, and he's on the cusp of something as he observed his own and others' emotional reactions to such damages.
This sentiment may now be used to define our time.
In times of widespread distress, people have attempted to describe the suffering that results from the loss of one's place of residence.
This complex range of emotions would include longing, love, grief, negative perception, and even a nagging sense of dread.
Losing a home can cause major cultural and personal disorientation, righteous rage, and pain of abandonment, both of which can haunt a society for generations.
Climate change is acknowledged as a growing threat to mental health by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association.
After all, climate change is inevitable and will have a serious impact on the planet's future, as per SELF.
Anxiety is the result of anticipating a potential future worry, and in the case of climate change, the worst is most likely still to come.
Most mental health experts do not view mental anguish brought on by climate change in and of itself as dysfunctional or pathological, according to Leslie Davenport, LMFT, a psychotherapist, climate psychology educator, and consultant, as well as the author of Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change.
Learning self-soothing techniques and equipping yourself with a climate change action plan, according to Davenport, are the two keys to overcoming climate anxiety.
Schedule some time for meditation. Anyone who struggles with anxiety can benefit from practicing mindfulness and breathing exercises.
The nervous system can transition from a fight-or-flight reaction to a relaxation response with the aid of breath work.
Think about speaking with a mental health professional. If you have personally been impacted by climate change, you might also want to consult a specialist.
Although they can learn from peers who do have a specialty in the subject, mental health professionals currently lack official certification in climate anxiety.
According to Davenport and Doherty, anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion, but still, it turns into a problem when it significantly interferes with your ability to go about your daily activities or results in serious symptoms like persistent sleep issues or panic attacks.
